Ame Helenlie Journey

“Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.

Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.

The Case of Temple Grandin paints a picture of a young woman’s determination and hard work while struggling with autism during a time when the disorder was unknown. This case discusses Grandin’s challenges, early diagnosis, growth and development in school, and support from her mother. Temple Grandin could not speak like the other children at the age of two, so because doctors could not find any physical issues she had been subsequently labeled as brain-damaged. To communicate with others, she would throw tantrums and scream. She could speak by three and a half years old with the help of speech therapy. A few years later at the age of five, Grandin was diagnosed with autism so her mother worked with her 30

Throughout Temple’s ‘emergence from autism’, Temple’s mother focused on Temple’s strengths and affirmed Temple’s differences and way of looking at the world. In letters to Temple, Mrs. Grandin wrote, “Be proud you are different. All bright people who have contributed to life have been different and found the path of life lonely. While the joiners and social butterflies flutter about, Temple, you’ll get real things done (p. 124). “You need symbols. You live them. Like a work of art they are a physical expression of what you feel” (p. 125). “Wanting to grow really loves yourself, loving the best part of yourself” (p.148).

Autism can be a very challenging experience for any family. Beginning at the diagnosis process, up until adult life, this mental inception is an experience that will break you emotionally and physically at some point. Completely disregarding the things that these families go through would be an atrocity to human compassion. By obeying the “Golden Rule” that we are taught as children will show us that autistic people have a potentially unprecedented level of intelligence. In order to observe this, one needs to push past the mental barriers that are instilled due to their perception of the world.

I believe many of us would assume that everyone thinks in the same way as ourselves. We think in words and ideas. We are “verbal thinkers.” However, do you ever thought about people who might think differently than you? Not everyone is a verbal thinker or a conventional thinker. If you don’t have autism, you may have thought those who do are different or maybe even “strange.” In her speech, The world needs all kinds of minds; Temple Grandin, a woman with autism, discusses how people with autism think differently than others. She says that she “thinks in pictures” and that many others with autism also think this way. She also explain how it differs from the conventional sense of thinking. She gives personal experiences throughout her speech. She is able to tell of how she overcame some of the cons that is sometimes associated with autism. Grandin’s main argument is that individuals with autism should be encouraged to branch out and should not be confined where they don’t feel comfortable. They should not be forced to act the same as others but to be who they are. She advocates that they are individuals and they should be treated as such.

The book, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, written by Dr. Temple Grandlin, is the story of her life as she struggled to succeed in the world as an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In the book, she focuses on major issues that she was faced with from when she was young all the way till her current age. These issues include her early school experiences, dating, religion, college life, and her career. Dr. Grandlin also puts much emphasis on the medical aspects of Autism and her perspective of how the world works according to an autistic brain.

Just like all other forms of disorders, the diagnosis, handling, and treatment of cognitive disorders is something that should be done with the utmost care. However, it appears as though society does not comply with these standards and does not handle disorders under the umbrella of cognitive illnesses with much of the attention or respect they deserve. The lives of Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon and Hannah Didier in Nancy Fulda’s Movement shows us how society perceives cognitive disorders such as autism. This is demonstrated through the thoughts and actions of the protagonists themselves, their families, and those within their communities. These stories make it evidence that through the lens of society, those with psychological

Everyone needs something to believe in that is greater than themselves. Disabled or not, people long to know that there is more to life than what they are a part of now. Daniel’s Asperger’s affects his ability to “have empathy or to think abstractly, but it hasn’t prevented me from thinking about deeper questions” (223). Daniel, being high functioning, can think about things bigger than he is, it affects more of his ability to associate with people and understand human interaction. Becoming a Christian in 2002, reinforced what he already knew.

The movie entitled Temple Grandin featured the life of an autistic girl and the experiences she had from when she was so distant to others until she learned to cope up and became a better individual. She has autism which, according to Ernspberger, refers to “neurologic disorders involving serious impairment of abilities to interact and communicate socially, and repetitive and restricted interests and activities” (3). The purpose of this film is to let us see the life of an autistic person and feel what it is like to be her. Temple had struggles in life because of her gender and disability. People around her thought that she’s weird.

Did you know that one in very sixty-eight children is diagnosed with autism? Many Americans do not know that much about autism or its effects and challenges that come with it. What is autism anyways? Autism is a neurological disorder that affects one’s ability to communicate with others, respond to stimuli in an appropriate way, or build relationships (Barnes,2015). Temple Grandin was just two years old when she was diagnosed with autism. Temple has faced, and will continue to face many barriers in her life with this disorder, but has overcome many of them. She has used her abilities and her different perspective to accomplish amazing things.

The book Thinking In Pictures My Life With Autism, state author’s name here gave me a new perspective on Autism Spectrum Disorder. Temple Grandin is a very unique and inspirational character. I have met many individuals living with this disorder, but had never fully understood it quite the way Grandin is able to express it to the audience. I gained a new understanding of the daily challenges that higher functioning individuals with this disorder face. It also gave me a more clearer understanding of the differences in the operation of our brains.

Sam continued to be persisted and contacted a well known attorney named Rita Harrison which also had a disorder, who didn't want anything to do with him. All she wants is to prove to her colleagues that has a good heart. Despite Sam being a kind-hearted person it affected his quality of life in that he lacked the support, accommodation, and he was perceived as incapable. Sam and Lucy had a healthy and respectful relationship. However, society tends to view that the love someone has towards someone or something should only be measured through having a disability or higher IQ. Society views someone with disability as hopeless and less of a high rank. Some people don't truly understand a person with autism just because they don't how act around them. This film truly depicts an insight of what a person may feel with a disability. It also impacted my learning through the eyes to the parents of person with a disability and how there is some type of determination to be the best parents for a child, not just people of the

The world needs different kinds of minds to work together to eventually help develop our future generations. Temple Grandin’s lecture was published on a TedGlobal in February 2010. Grandin wants parents, teacher, mentors, and the general public to be aware that the schools need better methods to help the kids get interested in education, so they obtain the path to success. Her main focus is on getting these kids the resources they need. Grandin’s argument is to develop better ways on teaching kids and especially for the kids with autism. Grandin builds her credibility by showing work that she had created, as well as explaining to the audience, that her process of thinking is different than others. Throughout the talk, Grandin used appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos to get her message across on needing all kinds of minds.

In reviewing the required videos and reading on low incidence, there were a large range of how it affected individuals are processed by individuals without disabilities, these videos demonstrates what it is like to try to be normal with a disability. The first video called, Autistic Basketball Player,” presented an enlighten outcome, that people should not assume that individual with disability are not able to contribute to a job or sport. Jason Mcelwain’s a young man with Autism that id given to chase an individual with a disability self-worth is just as valuable as the rest of the team when it come to sport. The second video called, “Breaking Barriers of Autism: The power of Kindness and friendship present how individuals with disabilities are able to leap bounties id one person will acknowledge them. In his lecture he was able to present insight on how lonely it is on another side of the disability spectrum.