Asperger’s in Academia: Critical Analysis of Speech Asperger’s is a form of autistic spectrum disorder that impairs one’s ability to properly process and react to social situations, and it makes communication a trial. In spite of this disadvantage, Alix Generous accepts the challenge to get through to the public in a way that even many non-autistic people couldn’t handle: by giving a speech to a live audience. This makes for particularly fascinating analysis material, and the three Aristotelian rhetoric groups will be used as the basis to which to compare the speech. The first, ethos, embodies that which makes the speaker trustworthy to the audience. Pathos encompasses the tools and methods that the speaker uses to garner the audience’s personal…show more content… Despite her autism, she has no problem laughing at herself a little bit, and her amusing stories allow for the audience to get a glimpse into what her life is like with Asperger’s. Most likely, the vast majority of the audience does not have Asperger’s, so their interest is piqued at the new perspective and lifestyle they are learning about. This further places their attention on her and what she’s saying. However, the speaker knows that the speech is not to entertain. At one point in the speech, the speaker tells a personal story that reflects a hard point in her life. By being open and vulnerable, she creates a transparency that shows the audiences she has nothing to hide. The audience can then sympathize with her struggle and better understand the problem as well as the need for a solution. All of this deepens the audience’s interest in the material, as well as gives them an emotional connection to the speaker. Once the magnitude of her struggle has set in, the speaker eventually moves to brighter stories of success. This part of her speech is especially crucial. The audience has just been guided through a very low point, and now that the listeners are emotionally attached, the rise to success feels personal, and everyone likes to feel successful, even if vicariously through someone else. Multiple times, the audience applauded at her success stories, which they may not have been as inclined to do if she had begun with her success. A large portion of her speech was a mixture of funny, successful, or gloomy tales. While this affected her pathos element greatly, it also defined what her logos would look