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Brenda Bales
Prof. Stevenson
COMS-105-73418
January 30, 2024
Behind the Mask: Autism for Women and Girls | Kate Kahle | TEDxAustinCollege
1. The name of the speaker is Kate Kahle and she is speaking about gender discrepancy in
autism diagnoses in women and girls. The TEDx was presented at Austin College in
Dallas, Texas in September 2021, and this clip lasts 13m40s.
2. Kate Kahle started the presentation with an engaging and attention-grabbing introduction.
The speaker effectively used a personal anecdote about an art show where she was having
her art displayed at the age of 17 but all she could think about was how much she
couldn’t stand the velvet on the chairs touching her arms and legs. This was very relevant
to the topic, which immediately connected with the audience. The use of connecting with
the audience and bringing in possible similar situations for the audience added to the
engagement component. The introduction not only grabbed the audience's interest but
also clearly outlined the purpose and main points of the speech. Overall, the introduction
was well-structured and set a positive tone for the rest of the presentation. The thesis was
clear because Ms. Kahle went on to elaborate about her testing as a teenager, and what
the definition of being diagnosed with Autism meant for her. Her credibility is
established because she is giving her own testimony.
3. The main points were organized by topics as an informative value speech. The structure
was very clear, however there was one noticeable weakness in the organization. At times,
the speaker relied too heavily on a single supporting material type, such as anecdotes
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about herself, which could have been diversified with relating back to expert testimony or
quotes from psychologists that are experts in the field for a more well-rounded
presentation.
4. Ms. Kahle speech structure is:
•
Introduction
•
The Definition, What is Autism?
•
History on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
o Current Diagnosis
o Testing
•
Masking
•
Secondary Health Challenges
•
Conclusion
The main points were supported with clinical data about the differences and percentages
between demographics of gender and race with adequate examples. The data that is
provided is not quoted nor referenced. She is studying political science at the University
so it could be that she got her data from classes, or the school but doesn’t mention it. She
does speak out about a call-to-action to support various organizations, self-advocacy
networks for autistic women and non-binary networks that support autistic self-love
acceptance. She also asks the psychology community to conduct more research on autism
in women, people of color and other minorities. This seemed to be only an informative
value speech as there is no solution provided or request to sign any petitions.
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5. The conclusion was summarized effectively with a final remark strategy and a call-toaction for each individual as to what tactics we can do in each of our lives. It was
impactful and left a lasting impression.
6. The speaker demonstrated excellent delivery skills throughout the event. Ms. Kahle
maintained more eye contact with the audience than I expected given the topic and her
self-admissions, used appropriate gestures to emphasize key points, and had a wellmodulated voice that was easy to understand. She spoke at a speed that was appropriate,
so that the audience could follow along. The speaker's eagerness to help people
understand Autism was evident and added to the overall engagement of the speech.
However, there were a few areas for improvement in the delivery. Ms. Kahle
occasionally stumbled on her words or laughed, but this was not overly distracting, and I
found her to be charming and perhaps a bit nervous.
7. I learned from observing this presentation to continue to stay on topic, recenter when I
lose my place, take a deep breath to restart and keep eye contact with the audience. I like
the fact that Ms. Kahle is passionate about this topic and would try to emulate my
knowledge of any given topic to be informative in my speech as well.
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Works Cited
Kahle, Kate. "Behind the Mask: Autism for Women and Girls | Kate Kahle |
TEDxAustinCollege." TEDx Talks. Austin: Philipp Dettmer, 01 Nov 2021. YouTube. 30
Jan 2024. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbes1mm2VgM>.