Temple Grandin

If I had to name one of the most inspirational people in present day, it would have to be Temple Grandin. She was diagnosed with autism in the 1950s. Back then, they considered a person with autism being mentally retarded, and better off in an institution. Her mother did not accept this, and raised her daughter with sheer courage. Grandin did not start talking until she was 4. She finished school, and went on to get a bachelor's in psychology, and a masters and doctoral degree in animal science. She is accredited with helping change the way livestock is handled on the way to slaughter. She is an advocate for the humane treatment of animals. Aside from the amazing feats she has accomplished in the world of rugged cowboys, she is a person living day to day with autism. She goes around the country speaking at conferences about autism. I was extremely blessed to be able to attend a conference she was speaking at on November 4. It was a little difficult for me to understand her at first, she talks fast. She knows what she is going to say, and says it without all those dramatic pauses other people take. Grandin presents her knowledge of autism in a frank way. No nonsense. What I most remember from her presentation is this: autism is NOT an excuse. Too many parents, teachers, and therapists are using the diagnosis of autism as an excuse to just exist in the world, but not contribute. She told stories of ASD or Aspie people she had met who couldn't hold a job, or couldn't simply order food at a restaurant. Grandin would know, her mother forced her to go out into the world, and to deal with people when there was something she wanted. If she wanted it bad enough, she would have to get it herself. Her mother didn't coddle her. So many of these children are being shoved aside or completely protected from the world because they have autism. Grandin says we should not look at someone and only see the autism. We are to look at them and see their strengths. There is more to a person than the diagnosis. This is the reason why I take my son out into the world. Walmart, the mall, the zoo, the park, trick-or-treating for Halloween, the list goes on. I will not shelter my son from the world. I will find his strength and work on that, once his strength shines through. I will not use his autism as an excuse to hold him back from the world. I've come to the realization he may never talk, but I'm not giving up. I will find him a voice, even if it is an electronic voice from an AAC. Although he may never be able to live alone, or hold a job, I will look back on this time when he was young and know I tried. Not every person with autism is the same, and not every one of them will be able to do the amazing things Grandin has done. But we should be able to look back and know we had given it our all.