People rarely perceive being diagnosed with Autism as acquiring a strength. Temple Grandin, a renowned researcher, author and professor at Colorado State University, recently spoke at a conference where she explained how living with autism has granted her a unique perception on life which she believes to be the driving force in her research success.
Grandin perceives living with autism as a strength to her successful work with animals. She believes that animals, like herself, think in pictures. Finding the connections between autism and animal behavior has driven Grandin to her current work. She emphasizes the importance of encouraging an autistic child and focusing not on what they can’t do, but rather on what they are capable of.
Grandin has shed a positive light on a previously misconceived notion that living with autism was like bearing a heavy, unwanted cross. Rather, she explains that in order to be great, one mustn’t be ordinary. “It is likely”, she writes, “that genius is an abnormality.”
To learn more about Temple Grandin and her heartwarming story, click here. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20140107/LIFESTYLE20/301070004?nclick_check=1