‘Thinking in Pictures My Life with Autism
By Mel Fabrikant Saturday, May 08, 2010, 02:20 PM EDT
By John Driscoll Jr.
Paramus
In the book ‘Thinking in Pictures My Life with Autism” the author Temple Grandin who is a world renowned scientist, takes us on her tour of life. You see Temple as a women who sees life through the eyes of a scientist and a women living with Autism. I say living with Autism because people with Autism are truly never cured they just manage to deal with their Autism. In the Autism community. Temple Grandin is the equivalent of how basketball fans view Michael Jordan, she is our hero. Temple brought Autism out of the institutions and showed mainstream world that people with Autism can live and function in the world.
Temple became known for her treatment of how cattle were to be treated. She would put herself in the eyes and the minds of the cattle. When she would get down on the eye level of the cattle that were herded thru a chute she saw shadows and very shiny blasts of sunlight that would scare the cattle. Temple wanted to have the cattle calm as the herd proceeded thru the chute whether it is for veterinary treatment or for the reasons of a calm moment before the cattle were slaughtered. Temple would visualize what the cattle saw and turned that into a successful design that many companies use to this day.
Temple, always the one for research and fact finding, thought most people on the Autism spectrum were like her, all visual thinkers, but she learned something different. Most people on the spectrum break into three categories: the first being visual thinkers who see life in photos but even here there are varying degrees. Adults who are visual thinkers are good with their hands such as jewelry design, animal training and drafting to name a few. Children who are visual excel in drawing, building things with building toys such as Legos. This is the category where both my boys fall into.
The second is music and math thinkers, these people are strong in areas of math, chess and computers. People in this area see a pattern to life and everything in it. Many people and children who can play musical instruments by ear fall into this category and there is no need for written verbal communication here, The third group is the verbal logic thinkers many children diagnosed with Autism in this category have has no speech delay. People in this sector have a love in areas of numbers, languages, stock reports, anything dealing with numbers. The adults in this area find work in the journalism, accounting or even into special education fields to name a few. Temple says something very interesting, “Since brains on the autistic spectrum are specialized there needs to be more educational emphasis on building up their strengths instead of just working on their deficits.” This is very true since in the world of Autism there is a small window to get through to our children.
Temple speaks of savants. There is research that nine to ten percent of Autistic people have a savant whether it be a human calculator, someone who can recite names of locations and directions like a computer or one who can play a full classical piece of music after hearing it once. These people have a very difficult time with socialization. Unfortunately a savant in one area causes a deficit in another a human calculator who does comprehend the meaning of money or the person who recites street locations of an entire map of a city after one reading cannot get around the block. A person with a savant locks into a situation and locks out the outside world this is where we see the zoning out of our children.
As I completed reading this inspirational and informative book on the life and accomplishments of Autism’s rock star, Temple Grandin, I look at my boys who have severe Autism differently. I wonder how much they really do know. I thought a lot on the topic of Autism but this Temple taught me even more about Autism than I knew before. Some people call children affected by Autism as a handicap, but I call all our children affected with Autism as capable of infinite wonders. So enjoy Autism Awareness Month during April and help these children.
Paramus
In the book ‘Thinking in Pictures My Life with Autism” the author Temple Grandin who is a world renowned scientist, takes us on her tour of life. You see Temple as a women who sees life through the eyes of a scientist and a women living with Autism. I say living with Autism because people with Autism are truly never cured they just manage to deal with their Autism. In the Autism community. Temple Grandin is the equivalent of how basketball fans view Michael Jordan, she is our hero. Temple brought Autism out of the institutions and showed mainstream world that people with Autism can live and function in the world.
Temple became known for her treatment of how cattle were to be treated. She would put herself in the eyes and the minds of the cattle. When she would get down on the eye level of the cattle that were herded thru a chute she saw shadows and very shiny blasts of sunlight that would scare the cattle. Temple wanted to have the cattle calm as the herd proceeded thru the chute whether it is for veterinary treatment or for the reasons of a calm moment before the cattle were slaughtered. Temple would visualize what the cattle saw and turned that into a successful design that many companies use to this day.
Temple, always the one for research and fact finding, thought most people on the Autism spectrum were like her, all visual thinkers, but she learned something different. Most people on the spectrum break into three categories: the first being visual thinkers who see life in photos but even here there are varying degrees. Adults who are visual thinkers are good with their hands such as jewelry design, animal training and drafting to name a few. Children who are visual excel in drawing, building things with building toys such as Legos. This is the category where both my boys fall into.
The second is music and math thinkers, these people are strong in areas of math, chess and computers. People in this area see a pattern to life and everything in it. Many people and children who can play musical instruments by ear fall into this category and there is no need for written verbal communication here, The third group is the verbal logic thinkers many children diagnosed with Autism in this category have has no speech delay. People in this sector have a love in areas of numbers, languages, stock reports, anything dealing with numbers. The adults in this area find work in the journalism, accounting or even into special education fields to name a few. Temple says something very interesting, “Since brains on the autistic spectrum are specialized there needs to be more educational emphasis on building up their strengths instead of just working on their deficits.” This is very true since in the world of Autism there is a small window to get through to our children.
Temple speaks of savants. There is research that nine to ten percent of Autistic people have a savant whether it be a human calculator, someone who can recite names of locations and directions like a computer or one who can play a full classical piece of music after hearing it once. These people have a very difficult time with socialization. Unfortunately a savant in one area causes a deficit in another a human calculator who does comprehend the meaning of money or the person who recites street locations of an entire map of a city after one reading cannot get around the block. A person with a savant locks into a situation and locks out the outside world this is where we see the zoning out of our children.
As I completed reading this inspirational and informative book on the life and accomplishments of Autism’s rock star, Temple Grandin, I look at my boys who have severe Autism differently. I wonder how much they really do know. I thought a lot on the topic of Autism but this Temple taught me even more about Autism than I knew before. Some people call children affected by Autism as a handicap, but I call all our children affected with Autism as capable of infinite wonders. So enjoy Autism Awareness Month during April and help these children.
