ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alix Generous - Advocate
Alix Generous is a college student and biology researcher with Asperger syndrome. She stresses the importance of building accepting environments for all kinds of minds.

Why you should listen

Alix Generous has Asperger syndrome, but was misdiagnosed for years. A student and researcher who is passionate about molecular biology and neuroscience, she encourages people like her to share their intelligence and insights. She is a co-owner of the startup AutismSees, which develops technology tools to help all kinds of people give presentations.

At 19, Generous won first place in a nationwide competition for her work in quorum sensing and coral reefs. Her paper titled "Environmental Threats on the Symbiotic Relationship of Coral Reefs and Quorum Sensing," was published in Consilience. In November 2013, she was a youth delegate for the UN Convention of Climate Change (COP19), where she negotiated technology transfers and issues of medical importance. She has assisted neuroscience researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of Vermont.

More profile about the speaker
Alix Generous | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2015

Alix Generous: How I learned to communicate my inner life with Asperger's

阿历克斯.杰勒罗斯: 亚斯伯格症候群的我是如何学会与我的内心世界交流的

Filmed:
1,883,472 views

阿历克斯.杰勒罗斯是一位拥有极多想法的女士 — 她发明了获奖的科技,帮助开发新技术以及讲述很棒的笑话(你将会看到)。她有亚斯伯格症候群,一种高功能自闭症,会削弱交流中需要的基本社交能力,然而她努力多年学习如何与世界分享她的想法。在这个有趣且私人的演讲中,她分享自己的故事 — 以及关于帮助更多人交流伟大想法的工具的展望。
- Advocate
Alix Generous is a college student and biology researcher with Asperger syndrome. She stresses the importance of building accepting environments for all kinds of minds. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Today今天, I want to talk to you about dreams.
0
746
2627
今天,我想跟大家谈谈「梦」。
00:15
I have been a lucid清醒 dreamer梦想家 my whole整个 life,
1
3999
2717
我一生中都做着清醒的梦,
00:18
and it's cooler冷却器 than in the movies电影.
2
6740
1976
它比电影还酷。
00:20
(Laughter笑声)
3
8740
1943
(笑声)
00:22
Beyond flying飞行, breathing呼吸 fire,
4
10707
2708
飞到远处,呼出火焰,
00:25
and making制造 hot men男人
spontaneously自发 appear出现 ...
5
13439
2841
安排暖男自然优雅地出现...
(笑声)
00:28
(Laughter笑声)
6
16304
1977
00:30
I can do things like read and write music音乐.
7
18305
2408
在梦里我能做很多事情,
比如阅读和创作音乐。
00:33
Fun开玩笑 fact事实 is that I wrote
my personal个人 statement声明 to college学院
8
21344
3331
有趣的是,我在梦里
给一个大学写过申请,
00:36
in a dream梦想.
9
24699
1320
00:38
And I did accepted公认. So, yeah.
10
26043
2755
并且真的被接纳了。所以,是的。
00:41
I am a very visual视觉 thinker思想家.
11
29873
1806
我是个非常视觉化的思考者。
00:44
I think in pictures图片, not words.
12
32393
2249
我以图片的形式思考,而非文字。
00:47
To me, words are more like
instincts本能 and language语言.
13
35174
4231
对我来说,文字更多是本能和语言。
00:51
There are many许多 people like me;
14
39993
1752
有很多人是像我这样的:
00:53
Nikola尼古拉 Tesla特斯拉, for example,
15
41769
2514
比如,尼古拉·特斯拉,
00:56
who could visualize想象, design设计,
test测试, and troubleshoot解决 everything --
16
44307
5015
他能形象化,设计,测试,以及修理每件东西——
01:01
all of his inventions发明 --
in his mind心神, accurately准确.
17
49346
3406
所有他的发明——
都在他的意识里,精确地进行。
01:06
Language语言 is kind of exclusive独家
to our species种类, anyway无论如何.
18
54633
3342
不管怎样,我们这类人
是比较排斥语言的。
01:09
I am a bit more primitive原始,
19
57999
2110
而我更原始一点,
我就像谷歌翻译,
还是测试版。
01:12
like a beta公测 version of Google谷歌 Translate翻译.
20
60133
2568
01:14
(Laughter笑声)
21
62725
2612
(笑声)
01:18
My brain has the ability能力
to hyper-focus超焦点 on things that interest利益 me.
22
66741
3883
我的大脑会高度集中于感兴趣的事物,
01:23
For example, once一旦
I had an affair事务 with calculus结石
23
71307
2667
比如,我曾经爱上微积分学,
01:25
that lasted历时 longer
than some celebrity名人 marriages婚姻.
24
73998
2689
爱得比一些名人的婚姻还久一些。
01:28
(Laughter笑声)
25
76711
2927
(笑声)
01:32
There are some other
unusual异常 things about me.
26
80527
2516
还有一些关于我的
不寻常的事情。
01:36
You may可能 have noticed注意到
that I don't have much inflection拐点
27
84391
2826
大家可能注意到了,
在我的声音里,
没有多少音调变化。
01:39
in my voice语音.
28
87241
1214
01:40
That's why people
often经常 confuse迷惑 me with a GPS全球定位系统.
29
88479
3061
因此人们经常分不清
我和GPS导航的声音。
01:43
(Laughter笑声)
30
91564
3874
(笑声)
01:48
This can make basic基本 communication通讯
a challenge挑战, unless除非 you need directions方向.
31
96034
3947
这会对基本的交流带来挑战,
除非你只是想要导航语音。
01:52
(Laughter笑声)
32
100005
4415
(笑声)
01:56
Thank you.
33
104444
1174
谢谢。
01:57
(Applause掌声)
34
105642
4227
(鼓掌)
02:02
A few少数 years年份 ago, when I started开始
doing presentations简报,
35
110600
3239
几年前,当我开始做公开演讲时,
02:05
I went to get head shots镜头 doneDONE
for the first time.
36
113863
2629
我第一次去拍头像写真,
02:09
The photographer摄影师 told me to look flirty卖俏的.
37
117381
2743
摄影师让我表现得妩媚。
02:12
(Laughter笑声)
38
120148
2269
(笑声)
02:14
And I had no idea理念
what she was talking about.
39
122441
2589
然而我不知道她说的是什么。
02:17
(Laughter笑声)
40
125054
1646
(笑声)
02:18
She said, "Do that thing,
you know, with your eyes眼睛,
41
126724
2428
她说,“就那样,你懂的,用你的眼睛,
像你在跟别人调情一样。”
02:21
when you're flirting调情 with guys."
42
129176
1901
02:23
"What thing?" I asked.
43
131101
2091
“什么样?”我问。
02:25
"You know, squint."
44
133608
1453
“比如…斜视。”
02:27
And so I tried试着, really.
45
135553
1684
然后我试了,真的。
02:29
It looked看着 something like this.
46
137261
1661
看起来就像这样。
02:31
(Laughter笑声)
47
139382
2461
(笑声)
02:33
I looked看着 like I was searching搜索 for Waldo沃尔多.
48
141867
2623
我看起来就像在寻找沃尔多。
(译注:一本书《Where's Waldo?》)
02:36
(Laughter笑声)
49
144514
2386
(笑声)
02:40
There's a reason原因 for this,
50
148582
1732
这是有原因的,
02:42
as there is a reason原因 that Waldo沃尔多 is hiding.
51
150338
2569
就如同沃尔多
藏起来也是有原因的。
02:44
(Laughter笑声)
52
152931
4447
(笑声)
02:52
I have Asperger's亚斯伯格症,
53
160918
1588
我有亚斯伯格症候群,
02:54
a high-functioning高功能 form形成 of autism自闭症
54
162530
1992
一种高功能自闭症,
02:56
that impairs也妨碍 the basic基本 social社会 skills技能
one is expected预期 to display显示.
55
164546
3476
会削弱一个人本该具有的
基本社交能力。
03:02
It's made制作 life difficult in many许多 ways方法,
56
170726
3084
它使生活在很多方面变得困难,
03:05
and growing生长 up,
I struggled挣扎 to fit适合 in socially社交上.
57
173834
3740
在成长的过程中,
我很难适应社交活动。
03:09
My friends朋友 would tell jokes笑话,
but I didn't understand理解 them.
58
177955
3627
朋友们说笑时,
我却无法理解。
03:14
My personal个人 heroes英雄 were George乔治 Carlin卡林
and Stephen斯蒂芬 Colbert科尔伯特 --
59
182320
4656
我心中的英雄,是乔治·卡尔林
和史蒂芬·科尔伯特——
03:19
and they taught me humor幽默.
60
187000
2381
他们教我幽默。
03:22
My personality个性 switched交换的
from being存在 shy害羞 and awkward尴尬
61
190881
3806
我的性格,从害羞与笨拙,
03:26
to being存在 defiant目中无人 and cursing咒骂 out a storm风暴.
62
194711
2793
变得叛逆,满是怨恨和诅咒。
03:30
Needless不必要 to say,
I did not have many许多 friends朋友.
63
198322
2733
不用说,我没有多少朋友。
03:33
I was also hypersensitive过敏的 to texture质地.
64
201714
2278
我对触觉也有过激反应。
03:36
The feel of water on my skin皮肤
was like pins and needles,
65
204722
3687
皮肤碰到水的感觉
让我如坐针毡,
03:40
and so for years年份, I refused拒绝 to shower淋浴.
66
208433
2294
所以在很多年里,
我都拒绝淋浴。
03:43
I can assure保证 you that my hygiene卫生 routine常规
is up to standards标准 now, though虽然.
67
211251
3968
不过我现在能向你们保证
我的日常卫生是合格的了。
03:47
(Laughter笑声)
68
215243
1633
(笑声)
03:50
I had to do a lot to get here,
and my parents父母 --
69
218487
4393
我和我的父母,花了很大功夫
才让我变成现在这样。——
03:54
things kind of got out of control控制
when I was sexually assaulted殴打 by a peer窥视,
70
222904
4629
在某次我遭到性别歧视之后,
病情开始变得无法控制,
03:59
and on top最佳 of everything,
it made制作 a difficult situation情况 worse更差.
71
227557
4800
原本就很困难的情况
被搞得更加糟糕。
04:05
And I had to travel旅行 2,000 miles英里
across横过 the country国家 to get treatment治疗,
72
233270
5563
我不得不穿越2000英里的国土去接受治疗。
04:10
but within days of them prescribing处方
a new medication药物治疗,
73
238857
3674
但是吃了他们给我开的新药没几天,
04:14
my life turned转身 into an episode插曲
of the Walking步行 Dead.
74
242555
2752
我的生活就像是活在
《行尸走肉》的某一集里。
04:18
I became成为 paranoid偏执,
and began开始 to hallucinate产生幻觉
75
246109
3112
我变得偏执妄想,
并开始出现幻觉:
04:21
that rotting腐烂 corpses尸体
were coming未来 towards me.
76
249245
3024
腐烂的尸体们不断向我涌来。
04:24
My family家庭 finally最后 rescued获救 me,
77
252769
2842
我的家庭最终拯救了我,
04:27
but by that time, I had lost丢失 19 pounds英镑
in those three weeks,
78
255635
4689
但在接受治疗的三周里,
我整整瘦了19磅,
04:32
as well as developing发展 severe严重 anemia贫血,
79
260348
2429
患上了严重的贫血,
04:34
and was on the verge边缘 of suicide自杀.
80
262801
1761
并且处于自杀的边缘。
04:38
I transferred转入 to a new treatment治疗 center中央
that understood了解 my aversions厌恶,
81
266180
4675
我被转移到一个新的治疗中心,
那是一个真正能理解我的厌恶、
04:42
my trauma外伤, and my social社会 anxiety焦虑,
82
270879
3681
创伤、以及社交焦虑的地方,
并且他们知道怎么治疗。
我最终得到了所需的帮助。
04:46
and they knew知道 how to treat对待 it,
and I got the help I finally最后 needed需要.
83
274584
3316
04:50
And after 18 months个月 of hard work,
84
278202
2572
在18个月的努力之后,
04:52
I went on to do incredible难以置信 things.
85
280798
3092
我的生活得以继续,
可以去做美妙的事情。
04:56
One of the things with Asperger's亚斯伯格症
is that oftentimes通常情况下,
86
284710
3428
亚斯伯格症候群患者的一个特点是…
05:00
these people have
a very complex复杂 inner life,
87
288162
2093
这些人往往有着
非常复杂的内心世界。
05:02
and I know for myself,
I have a very colorful华美 personality个性,
88
290279
2841
并且,我知道就我来说,
我有非常多彩的个性,
05:05
rich丰富 ideas思路, and just a lot
going on in my mind心神.
89
293144
3704
丰富的想法,并且很多想法
正存在于我的意识当中。
05:08
But there's a gap间隙
between之间 where that stands站立,
90
296872
3373
但有个障碍,
阻碍着我的意识与
05:12
and how I communicate通信 it
with the rest休息 of the world世界.
91
300269
2591
世界的联系。
05:15
And this can make
basic基本 communication通讯 a challenge挑战.
92
303416
3476
这就给基本的交流带来了挑战。
05:20
Not many许多 places地方 would hire聘请 me,
due应有 to my lack缺乏 of social社会 skills技能,
93
308106
3259
由于我的社交能力缺陷,
没有多少地方会雇佣我,
05:23
which哪一个 is why I applied应用的 to Waffle胡扯 House.
94
311389
2300
所以我去申请「华夫之家」的工作。
05:25
(Laughter笑声)
95
313713
5587
(笑声)
05:32
Waffle胡扯 House is an exceptional优秀
24-hour-小时 diner餐车 --
96
320070
3678
「华夫之家」是一家特别的24小时营业的餐厅--——
05:35
(Laughter笑声)
97
323772
1953
(笑声)
05:37
(Applause掌声)
98
325749
3254
(掌声)
05:41
thank you --
99
329027
1940
谢谢——
05:42
where you can order订购 your hash哈希 browns棕色
100
330991
1759
在那里你能吃到各种马铃薯饼,
05:44
the many许多 ways方法 that someone有人
would dispose部署 of a human人的 corpse尸体 ...
101
332774
3153
它们展现了处理一具尸体的多种方式。
05:47
(Laughter笑声)
102
335951
1633
(笑声)
05:49
Sliced切片, diced切块, peppered接二连三, chunked分块,
topped突破, capped封顶, and covered覆盖.
103
337608
4729
切片,切丁,撒胡椒粉,切块,
削尖,封顶,以及覆盖。
05:54
(Laughter笑声)
104
342361
2103
(笑声)
05:56
As social社会 norms规范 would have it,
105
344488
1445
因为有社会规范,
05:57
you should only go to Waffle胡扯 House
at an ungodly恶人 hour小时 in the night.
106
345957
3497
你只有在夜里很晚的时候
才会去华夫之家。
06:01
(Laughter笑声)
107
349478
1151
(笑声)
06:02
So one time, at 2 am, I was chatting聊天的
with a waitress小姐, and I asked her,
108
350653
4356
所以一次在凌晨2点,
我与一个女服务员聊天,并问她,
06:07
"What's the most ridiculous荒谬 thing
that's happened发生 to you on the job工作?"
109
355033
3270
“上班时遇到过最荒谬的事情是什么?”
06:10
And she told me that one time,
a man walked in completely全然 naked.
110
358873
3263
她告诉我,一次有一个男人光溜溜地走进来。
06:14
(Laughter笑声)
111
362160
1230
(笑声)
06:15
I said, "Great! Sign标志 me up
for the graveyard墓地 shift转移!"
112
363754
2508
我说,“真棒!雇我做夜班吧!”
06:18
(Laughter笑声)
113
366286
2604
(笑声)
06:20
Needless不必要 to say,
Waffle胡扯 House did not hire聘请 me.
114
368914
2791
不用说,「华夫之家」没有雇我。
06:25
So in terms条款 of having Asperger's亚斯伯格症,
it can be viewed观看 as a disadvantage坏处,
115
373838
4380
所以,关于亚斯伯格症候群,
它会被认为是不好的,
06:30
and sometimes有时 it is
a real真实 pain疼痛 in the butt屁股,
116
378242
2167
并且有时它真的是令人极其讨厌的事,
06:32
but it's also the opposite对面.
117
380433
1754
但是也有相反的一面。
06:34
It's a gift礼品, and it allows允许 me
to think innovatively创新.
118
382211
3591
它是一个礼物,
使我能创新地思考。
06:38
At 19, I won韩元 a research研究 competition竞争
for my research研究 on coral珊瑚 reefs珊瑚礁,
119
386810
6830
19岁时,我的一项关于珊瑚礁的研究,
赢得了一个研究竞赛,
06:45
and I ended结束 up speaking请讲
120
393664
1515
并且最终得以在
06:47
at the UN联合国 Convention惯例
of Biological生物 Diversity多样,
121
395203
2251
联合国的生物多样性大会上发表演讲,
06:49
presenting呈现 this research研究.
122
397478
1496
公布这项研究。
06:50
(Applause掌声)
123
398998
1688
(掌声)
06:52
Thank you.
124
400710
1158
谢谢。
06:53
(Applause掌声)
125
401892
4898
(掌声)
06:58
And at 22, I'm getting得到 ready准备
to graduate毕业 college学院,
126
406814
3995
现在我22岁,正准备从大学毕业,
07:02
and I am a co-founder联合创始人 of a biotech生物技术
company公司 called AutismSeesAutismSees.
127
410833
4535
同时,我还是一家生物技术公司的联合创立人,
叫「AutismSees」。(「自闭症诊断」)
07:08
(Applause掌声)
128
416275
1008
(掌声)
07:09
Thank you.
129
417307
1255
谢谢。
07:10
(Applause掌声)
130
418586
2677
(掌声)
07:13
But consider考虑 what I had to do to get here:
131
421287
3184
但是请记住我走到今天这一步
曾作出过的努力:
07:16
25 therapists治疗师, 11 misdiagnoses误诊,
and years年份 of pain疼痛 and trauma外伤.
132
424495
5291
25位治疗专家,11次误诊,
和多年的痛苦与创伤。
07:22
I spent花费 a lot of time thinking思维
if there's a better way,
133
430698
3071
我花了大量时间思考
是否有更好的办法。
07:25
and I think there is:
autism-assistive自闭症辅助 technology技术.
134
433793
4052
我想是有的:
自闭症辅助技术。
07:30
This technology技术
could play an integral积分 role角色
135
438503
2017
这个技术能起绝对重要的作用,
07:32
in helping帮助 people
with autistic自闭症 spectrum光谱 disorder紊乱,
136
440544
2855
帮助泛自闭症障碍患者,
(autistic spectrum disorder)
07:35
or ASDASD.
137
443423
1154
也就是ASD。
07:38
The app应用 Podium讲台, released发布
by my company公司, AutismSeesAutismSees,
138
446465
4966
这个应用软件「Podium」,
是我的公司AutismSees发布的,
07:43
has the ability能力 to independently独立地 assess评估
and help develop发展 communication通讯 skills技能.
139
451455
5274
能够独立地评定、
并帮助人们提高交流能力。
07:49
In addition加成 to this, it tracks轨道
eye contact联系 through通过 camera相机
140
457324
4322
此外,通过摄像头能追踪眼神接触,
07:53
and simulates可模拟 a public-speaking公开演讲
and job-interview工作面试 experience经验.
141
461670
5907
并模拟公开演讲和工作面试的体验场景。
08:00
And so maybe one day,
Waffle胡扯 House will hire聘请 me,
142
468561
2557
也许有一天,「华夫之家」会雇佣我,
08:03
after practicing on it some more.
143
471142
2180
在我使用这个软件
再进行一些练习之后。
08:05
(Laughter笑声)
144
473346
1181
(笑声)
08:09
And one of the great things
is that I've used Podium讲台
145
477162
5519
有一件非常棒的事情是,
我使用「Podium」
08:14
to help me prepare准备 for today今天,
and it's been a great help.
146
482705
5086
准备了今天的演讲,
它真是帮上大忙了。
08:19
But it's more than that.
147
487815
1627
但是,还不止这样。
08:21
There's more that can be doneDONE.
148
489466
1554
它能做得更多。
08:24
For people with ASDASD --
149
492274
3092
为ASD患者——
08:27
it has been speculated推测
that many许多 innovative创新 scientists科学家们,
150
495390
4517
据推测,许多创新科学家、
08:31
researchers研究人员, artists艺术家,
and engineers工程师 have it;
151
499931
4591
研究员、艺术家和工程师都患有ASD。
08:36
like, for example, Emily艾米莉 Dickinson迪金森,
Jane Austen奥斯丁, Isaac艾萨克 Newton牛顿, and Bill法案 Gates盖茨
152
504546
6030
像是,比如,艾米丽·迪克森,简·奥斯汀,
伊萨克·牛顿,以及比尔.盖茨,
08:42
are some examples例子.
153
510600
1737
这都是有名的例子。
08:44
But the problem问题 that's encountered遇到
154
512361
1753
但是,问题是,
08:46
is that these brilliant辉煌 ideas思路
often经常 can't be shared共享
155
514138
3837
优秀的想法经常不能被共享,
08:49
if there are communication通讯 roadblocks路障.
156
517999
2264
如果存在交流的障碍。
08:53
And so, many许多 people with autism自闭症
are being存在 overlooked忽视 every一切 day,
157
521249
4726
所以,如今许多有自闭症的人们正在被忽略,
08:57
and they're being存在 taken采取 advantage优点 of.
158
525999
1810
并且一直被欺负。
09:01
So my dream梦想 for people with autism自闭症
is to change更改 that,
159
529175
6895
所以,我梦想为自闭症患者改变这个状况,
09:08
to remove去掉 the roadblocks路障
that prevent避免 them from succeeding下一.
160
536094
2927
除去阻挡他们成功的障碍。
09:11
One of the reasons原因 I love lucid清醒 dreaming做梦
161
539808
2502
我喜欢「清醒梦」的其中一个原因是,
09:14
is because it allows允许 me to be free自由,
162
542334
2882
它会使我变得自由,
09:17
without judgment判断 of social社会
and physical物理 consequences后果.
163
545240
4065
没有社会的评价和物理的后果。
09:21
When I'm flying飞行 over scenes场景
that I create创建 in my mind心神,
164
549638
3002
当飘荡在由意识创造的场景中时,
09:24
I am at peace和平.
165
552664
1229
我处于平和的状态。
09:27
I am free自由 from judgment判断,
166
555346
2020
我不需要被评价,
09:29
and so I can do whatever随你 I want, you know?
167
557390
2016
并且能做我想做的一切事情,
你知道吗?
09:31
I'm making制造 out with Brad布拉德 Pitt皮特,
and Angelina安吉丽娜 is totally完全 cool with it.
168
559430
4904
我想象我和布拉德·皮特在一起,
而且安吉丽娜也完全不介意。
09:36
(Laughter笑声)
169
564358
1880
(笑声)
09:39
But the goal目标 of autism-assistive自闭症辅助
technology技术 is bigger than that,
170
567759
3899
但是自闭症辅助技术的目标比这更大,
09:43
and more important重要.
171
571682
1361
并且更重要。
09:45
My goal目标 is to shift转移 people's人们 perspective透视
172
573725
3921
我的目标是改变人们对自闭症,
以及高功能亚斯伯格症候群患者的看法。
09:49
of autism自闭症 and people
with higher-functioning高机能 Asperger's亚斯伯格症
173
577670
4980
09:54
because there is a lot they can do.
174
582674
3864
因为,他们是能做很多事情的。
09:58
I mean, look at
Temple寺庙 Grandin格兰丁, for example.
175
586562
3436
我的意思是,比如,
像坦普尔·葛兰汀那样。
10:02
And by doing so, we allow允许 people
to share分享 their talents人才 with this world世界
176
590022
5095
通过这样做,我们使他们能够与
这个世界分享他们的才能,
10:07
and move移动 this world世界 forward前锋.
177
595141
2367
并推动这个世界前进。
10:09
In addition加成, we give them the courage勇气
to pursue追求 their dreams
178
597532
3222
另外,我们给他们勇气来追逐自己的梦想,
10:12
in the real真实 world世界, in real真实 time.
179
600778
2288
——在真实的世界,真实的时刻里。
10:15
Thank you.
180
603090
1159
谢谢。
10:16
(Applause掌声)
181
604273
3648
(掌声)
10:19
Thank you.
182
607945
1151
谢谢。
10:21
(Applause掌声)
183
609120
3840
(掌声)
Translated by Shoudong He
Reviewed by Twisted Meadows

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alix Generous - Advocate
Alix Generous is a college student and biology researcher with Asperger syndrome. She stresses the importance of building accepting environments for all kinds of minds.

Why you should listen

Alix Generous has Asperger syndrome, but was misdiagnosed for years. A student and researcher who is passionate about molecular biology and neuroscience, she encourages people like her to share their intelligence and insights. She is a co-owner of the startup AutismSees, which develops technology tools to help all kinds of people give presentations.

At 19, Generous won first place in a nationwide competition for her work in quorum sensing and coral reefs. Her paper titled "Environmental Threats on the Symbiotic Relationship of Coral Reefs and Quorum Sensing," was published in Consilience. In November 2013, she was a youth delegate for the UN Convention of Climate Change (COP19), where she negotiated technology transfers and issues of medical importance. She has assisted neuroscience researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of Vermont.

More profile about the speaker
Alix Generous | Speaker | TED.com