Temple Grandin advises attendees to see their skills, not themselves

[Guest guest]

Temple Grandin advises attendees to see their skills, not themselves

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Temple Grandin explains the different sensory problems that children and adults

with autism struggle with. Grandin is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado

State University and was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential

people this year. While talking about growing up with autism and establishing a

career, Grandin said she realized " you have to sell your work, not yourself. "

¦ Ziemba

BY a Gust

COLUMBIA — In high school, Temple Grandin said she was once suspended after

throwing a book at another student. She said her emotions are hard to handle,

remembering that she often hid to escape her fears.

Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3, spoke Wednesday at MU about her

experiences growing up with autism, her achievements and her advice on raising a

child with an autism spectrum disorder. Grandin was named one of Time magazine's

100 most influential people of 2010 and was the subject of the HBO film " Temple

Grandin. "

Grandin discussed different types of autism with the crowd that packed the

auditorium and left many sitting on the floor. She talked about the warning

signs of the disorder and specific ways to handle it, saying that autistic

people have visual, cognitive, auditory and sensory problems.

“Autism takes many different forms, " she said. " We have got to work on

developing these kids’ strengths. If a kid likes trains, teach them English, art

and physics with the train. Using their fixation motivates them to learn.”

Grandin said that the autistic mind is geared toward details and that everything

is learned by specific examples.

“It’s all memorization in the beginning but after learning more and more things,

it’s easier to put things into boxes and relate them to each category,” she

said. “You sort the cats and dogs. That’s how I form concepts.”

Grandin also stressed the importance of work experience. When she was 13, she

worked for a seamstress, and at 15 she was given the responsibility of caring

for nine horses. She emphasized the importance for students with autism to

recognize their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

“There are too many smart kids leaving college with no work experience, " she

said. " It’s important for them to network and gain life skills. See your skill,

not yourself.”

Grandin, who said she has been on antidepressants for 30 years, also spoke about

alternative ways to handle the symptoms of autism in young people instead of

resorting to heavy doses of drugs.

“I am on a low dose of antidepressants, but that’s the secret — low dosages,”

she said. “Sometimes there is a place for a heavy artillery of drugs but not in

a 5-year-old to make him or her a little less hyper.”

Grandin urged the crowd to try simpler alternatives such as a better diet with

less sugar, omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, gluten-free foods and lots of

exercise.

MU freshman Mike Kirk, who is majoring in special education, came to the event

after receiving an e-mail about it. Kirk said his interest in special education

sparked after he befriended another student with Down syndrome in kindergarten.

Throughout high school, he was a physical education leader in an adaptive gym

class for students with special needs.

“Special education has always been important to me, " Kirk said. " I received the

e-mail and wanted to see what it was about. I’m very glad I came because it was

very educational and informative, and I can’t wait to watch the movie about

(Grandin's) life.”

a , an MU doctoral student interested in combining autism and theater,

has an 8-year-old daughter with an autism spectrum disorder.

“It was amazing to find a person who was so clear about her experiences growing

up with autism,” said. “It’s comforting that I could see somebody with

her results, knowing that my daughter will go through that eventually.”

said she appreciated Grandin’s concrete and tailored teaching methods on

how to help her daughter become a productive individual.

“Because of Temple, I can tell my child that her brain is strong and it doesn’t

make her less, it makes her different,” said. “She’s kind of like our

role model.”

Janet Farmer, director of academic programs at the Center for Autism

and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, helped bring Grandin to MU as part of the

Center Exceptional Achievement Series.

“The message for the series is that people who start out with disabilities can

take advantage of it,” Farmer said. “We picked her because she is just excellent

and very willing to do it.”

Grandin will also speak in various animal science lectures Thursday.