This complex, detailed hand drawing was done by a woman who has autism. She not only grew up with this diagnosis, she was also a self-admitted goofball throughout most of her school years.
The woman of course is Dr. Temple Grandin, Ph.D., who is the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world.
Dr. Grandin didn’t talk until she was three and a half years old, communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping, and humming. In 1950, she was diagnosed with autism and her parents were told she should be institutionalized.
From not talking and communicating, being diagnosed with autism, and being a goofball student she came along way to become the Temple Grandin we all know today.
There are countless lessons we can learn from Dr. Grandin’s life, many of which she shares in her books and talks. Here are 10 I thought I’d share, inspired by a talk she gave at the TED Conference titled: The world needs all kinds of minds.
- The majority of children on the autism spectrum have uniquely gifted minds. If mozart or einstein were alive today they would be diagnosed with autism. This from Dr. Grandin an adult who is very high functioning and is a genius in her own right. She makes the plea for us to work with these children to bring out the Einsteins and Mozarts in all of them.
. - Schools should increase hands-on learning. Many children, especially those on the autism spectrum, learn by doing and tinkering and experimenting. Dr. Grandin finds it “concerning” that an increasing number of schools are doing away with these types of classes, and are increasing lessons that are abstract and non-specific.
. - Be specific, not abstract with children on the spectrum. Many on the spectrum have incredible minds. To harness and nurture those minds and to help these individuals succeed, give them specific rather than abstract tasks. This does not mean that we need to provide all of them with detailed step-by-step instructions, but even the greatest minds of those on the spectrum tend to be highly focused and benefit from specificity which helps organize them.
. - Education needs to be individualized for each child. As a child in school, Dr. Grandin was self-admittedly very bad at algebra, but she was great at trigonometry and geometry. Yet, she was not allowed to take trig and geometry because she hadn’t passed algebra. Visual thinkers, which many on the autism spectrum are, do poorly with algebra, but they can be highly successful in trig and geometry because they can visualize it. The same applies to other areas of education in which a child’s strengths and weakness should be taken into account. Taking a cookie-cutter approach to education is short changing many children.
. - Individuals on the spectrum process sensory information very differently than those without autism. Not every child who has a sensory processing disorder has autism. However, many experts in the field of autisms believe every child that has autism has a sensory processing disorder. Sounds, sights, movements, and feelings that have no importance to you other than the information they convey and purpose they serve, may be very noxious and threatening to those on the spectrum. To illustrate, Dr. Grandin shares with the TED audience that she came a half hour before the talk to get the microphone put on her so she can get accustomed to how it feels on her face.
. - It is important to follow the child’s lead. We often get frustrated with the little things children, especially those on the spectrum, are obsessed with. It might often appear dysfunctional and may sometimes take the place of academic and social success. Dr. Grandin brilliantly advises to use those fixations to motivate the child. If a child is obsessed with racecars, Dr. Grandin illustrates, use it to teach him math. How many miles per hour can it go? How many cars are there? What if one crashes? Get the drift? Roll with it, instead of against it.
. - Children should have mentors. Being mentored is invaluable for everyone, adults and children. Yet, not many have mentors. Dr. Grandin stresses the importance of children having mentors. It is disconcerting, she says, that so many of the best and brightest teachers teach college, not elementary and high school where the seeds of curiosity are planted. Mentors could be retired professionals or teachers who want to spend some time with children and adolescents and give them opportunities and experiences that will turn them on to areas they could be good at. And, Dr. Grandin points out, mentoring is not about teaching specific bodies of knowledge, but rather about igniting a spark in childrens’ minds.
. - Teachers can turn goofballs to greatness. Dr. Grandin was a goofball student in elementary and high school. Goofball is the word she chooses to describe herself. What turned a goofball student with autism into a great scientist? A high school teacher who found a way into her goofiness and once challenged her to figure out an optical illusion room. That teacher found a way to use her strength of being an incredible visual thinker to help her reach great heights. The rest is history.
. - We must show children interesting stuff. Children are engaged with what they find interesting and are enthused by what piques their curiosity. Of course, academics are important, but are we making it interesting enough that all children become and stay interested in the subject? Moreover, what about drafting classes, art classes, or other similar types of curricula? As Dr. Grandin recalls, these were her best subjects in schools. How many schools, however, are stripping their curricula of these subjects, while it is precisely these areas that some children, especially those on the autism spectrum, would thrive in?
. - The world needs different kinds of minds to work together. Last but perhaps most notable, Dr. Grandin time and again pleads with whoever will listen that children with differences should be celebrated and nurtured not forced to fit some predetermined mold that does not suit them. She laments the fact that so many educators don’t know how to deal with a child who is gifted or unique. The different kind of minds are the geniuses who brought us technology, the greatest music, and the brightest scientific breakthroughs.
As Dr. Grandin puts it, “If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the earth then men would still be socializing in front of a woodfire at the entrance of a cave.”
Here’s the talk that inspired this post. How does Dr. Temple Grandin inspire you? What lessons did she teach you? Please share.
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Beautiful!