Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

About this talk

Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.
About Temple Grandin
Through groundbreaking research and the lens of her own autism, Temple Grandin brings startling insight into two worlds.


Discuss this Talk
Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!)
Sort By: Threads recently updated Original thread sequence Most replies
Matthieu Miossec (+53)

+1
Reply
6 days ago: One of the most inspiring talks I have seen here on Ted. It has really transformed my vision of autism.
Yrielis Millan (0)

0
Reply
Aug 10 2010: thank GOD!!! because exist Temple Grandin for help people to understand this condition that afect 1 in 110 kids, people like me with son with this condition. Temple your are amazing human god bless you. Please continue teach us about it. Thank you.
Tracy Spice (0)

0
Reply
Aug 8 2010: Wow o Wow way to go Temple Grandin! Thank you for doing all you do! There is hope for us all learning to value Uniqueness! : )
Nicholas Turnbull (0)

0
Reply
Aug 8 2010: Jesus, what a rock star. Like Helen Keller on cocaine and crystal meth. I was diagnosed with Aspergers' when I was about 12, and I have to say that she is much more inspirational in her talks than in her writing.
Elizabeth Lubart (+1)

+1
Reply
Mar 23 2010: I must add one thing. I have not read about the damage that video gaming, well how much it damages our children. Many children who have been diagnosed with Aspergers, are in fact, GAMERS. That is...severely addicted to video games (via x-box, playstation), and online, via Second Life, and World of Warcraft. If any of you have a son (it mostly affects boys), and if you have a kid who never leaves the house, does not socialize, etc, (symptoms that are just like AS), well, get those machines out of the house. The more the child sits at a computer or video game console, and the less time he is doing something constructively, well, he won't realize any of his potential. My son was a college graduate, moved out at age 20, and lives alone and will not get off the computer. He exists in Second Life. He is now 28 years old. Get rid of video games. They are not baby-sitters.
Michiel Snoek (0)

0
Reply
Apr 11 2010: Very true. Do not get people with symptoms near video games. Even when they (possible gaming industry) say otherwise. This is no replacement for social interaction.
Mark Fournier (0)

0
Reply
Apr 15 2010: My experience with people who play video games to excess is that they fill a vacuum rather than crowd out other activities, and gaming addiction is rarely more than a passing phase. Auspergers kids will never thrive on social interaction, but they will stick obsessively to things that meet their interests, to which computer games will take a back seat unless they just haven't found anything else. Second Life is an odd choice for someone with AS, though, because it is almost entirely about social networking, while AS people like detail oriented games of strategy.
Dustin Perry (0)

0
Reply
May 12 2010: I found games boring, so I got inside them and made my own. In the process, I learned trigonometry (self-taught) over five years before it was offered to my 'class'.
Aria Bluet (+1)

+1
Reply
May 18 2010: I'm going to have to disagree with you Elizabeth. Just because your son has trouble with self-motivation doesn't make video games bad for older children. Yes, children do need supervision when playing video games, especially online ones. Yes, many other activities, you can play it to an extent to where it is detrimental to everything else in your life. I work with a teenage boy who has some AS spectrum symptoms. When he was younger he was bullied in school and still is uncomfortable in many face to face situations. However, when he's playing World of Warcraft he's speaking to people he never would have had the courage to speak to face to face. Being able to type out what he is saying gives him a chance to make himself understood more clearly because he's an good writer and is able to re-read what he's about to say. Furthermore, World of Warcraft has gotten him interested in programming due to the fact that it allows user created modifications. I feel it's a positive influence on him.
Aria Bluet (+1)

0
Reply
May 18 2010: I do want to clarify: In no way do I feel that it is a replacement for face-to-face conversation. I do feel it could be used for a stepping stone to help a child become more comfortable with conversation in general.
Thea Pilarczyk (0)

0
Reply
Jun 1 2010: Yet another example of someone blaming an entertainment industry for the supposed failings of a generation. First it was books that didn't fit the societal "norms," then radio, then movies and TV, now it's the Internet and video games. It's comfortable to force the blame for your son's supposed detriment on technology, but it is far from accurate. As someone said, gaming addiction often fills a void that is left by something else, whereas a simple gaming hobby is just that - a hobby, and sometimes even a career.Perhaps you should view Jane McGonigal's TED talk on how gaming can save the world for an alternative perspective on an industry that you're so willing to scapegoat. (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html)
Cheryl smith (0)

0
Reply
Jun 6 2010: As with all things, moderation is key. My husband is a 41-year-old undiagnosed Aspie. He grew up as a gamer and turned it into a career. He now works as a software developer for a nuclear facility. He still games at night. It's his way of unwinding and getting away from the stresses of work and our 7-year-old Aspie daughter. However, he doesn't let it get in the way of fulfilling his duties as a husband and father.
Reinier Post (0)

0
Reply
Jul 22 2010: Elizabeth, are you sure you aren't reverting cause and symptom?
Kathryn Read (0)

0
Reply
Jul 27 2010: My son is diagnosed high functioning autism/aspergers. He has not been exposed to any sort of gaming. Children with aspergers may be drawn to gaming but gaming does not cause aspergers
raja sanjeev kumar nakka (+3)

0
Reply
Jun 9 2010: I can speak/understand three languages : English, Hindi, Telugu. I was about to ask a question on my social networking account "In which language do you think?". This talk opened me up to thinking in non-verbal/non-language terms.
Marija Tomasevic (0)

0
Reply
Jun 14 2010: I speak Serbian and English, and English is like a shortcut for my brain, and Serbian is more complicated
andreea molocea (+2)

0
Reply
Jun 18 2010: I'm a romanian girl, so i speak romanian and english. Because of all this globalisation, my brain often starts to think in english. But the "main language" of my thoughts is still romanian :)
This post has been removed by the author.
Macc Nelson (0)

0
Reply
Jul 23 2010: I had seen some other video from Ted but this one is not as much as interesting what others was,but still ilike this perhaps a good memory techniques for the kids,i had seen some similar techniques in the http://www.dozenkids.com and they are worthy enough.
Tiago Martins (0)

0
Reply
May 19 2010: Thinking in Patterns Part I ) I'm just a normal average person with a very fast rebellious creative brain on top of my head. Only until now we have reach some understanding and a balanced coexistence.I'm not Autistic or Asperger but my brain could have some traces of it and i'm glad for it, its like a creative super power, all my senses are super accurate and i experience everything in a very intense way. I think in Patterns by accident and spontaneously, i was only aware of if when i notice some behavioral changes in my brain, if he was trying to connect everything, Psychology, Philosophy, Astronomy, Music, Art, God, Love, Freedom and now i can see patterns and grids everywhere, i can understand them and feel the flux of information circulating inside me.Now with all this changes made more gifted and now i understand thinks that goes beyond my natural needs but on the other hands makes me more eager to know more.
Norman taylor (0)

0
Reply
Jul 7 2010: I ave ADD, diagnosed late in life, and I use drugs to focus when I have to.Being creative and quite abstract is great fun, but somethings just have to get done.
Reinier Post (0)

0
Reply
Jul 22 2010: Which drugs? I have this problem, and the drugs I've tried didn't seem to do much.
Laura Hjaltason (+1)

+1
Reply
Jul 11 2010: Fantastic!
Derek Warren (0)

0
Reply
Jun 22 2010: I absolutely hated high school. During my freshman and sophomore year they told us time and time again that math and algebra skills were on a standardized test or they were a graduation requirement. They never proved to us how these skills applied to real life. I fell asleep in most of my classes and still got A's and B's. However, during my junior and senior year I went to an all day technical and academic high school. The academic instructors worked with the technical instructors and showed them why we needed to know algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics and history in real life. The tech school motivated me to do well in school, and they prepared me for life after high school. My regular high school only wanted me to become a standardized test score. They proved to me that I couldn't blow it off after I graduated after high school.
Ari Melman (+29)

0
Reply
Jun 8 2010: I have a brother with Aspergers so this hits close to home. The problem is, although many of those on the autistic spectrum have a higher than average IQ and may be able to share a unique perspective of the world, more often than not, they are unable to function well within society. The costs of putting a child on the spectrum through public school, after school tutoring, special classes, weekly teachers meetings, in class aides to keep the child focussed, as well as the toll on the other family members, are enormous. My Mother, at the time she birthed my Brother, was a highly motivated and successful research pediatrician who had graduated cum laude and aspired to help people around the world. She was published for a study on lead in public water fountains that led to new piping throughout Philadelphia. Since then, she had to give up the research and dedicates all her after work hours to aranging my Brother's life.
Rod Sherwin (+5)

+5
Reply
Mar 5 2010: For me this highlights another evil of the psychiatry industry that is drugging our geniuses because they don't think the way everyone else does. Please, please, please if you are a parent, don't let you genius childed be drugged because they don't fit in the mold.
This post has been removed by the author.
Sheryl Davenport (0)

0
Reply
Mar 13 2010: Actually, if you read her book, she has taken medication since she was in college. Medication can help if given in reasonable doses.
Ryan Shaffer (0)

+1
Reply
Apr 10 2010: Rod, I think the evil industry you're referring to is the pharmaceutical industry. Drugs do have a place for those whose untreated condition(s) can be dangerous to either the individual with the condition or those around them. Though not exactly relevant to this talk, schizophrenics (like John Nash, for example) can be greatly aided by the use of medication.It's the overuse of drugs to move people toward some ethereal concept of "normal" that is evil and most definitely a practice of the modern pharmaceutical industry. There is undoubtedly a gray area, which is why alternate lifestyles and habits should be tried before throwing drugs at somebody.
Julie Nolan (0)

0
Reply
May 5 2010: I have a son with ADD, and they are looking at a diagnosis of Aspberger's as well. We did not want him to be medicated. But where does the benefit come from 'not drugging our genius' if that keeps him from functioning in life? I don't want him to 'be like everyone else'. I love him being him - he's not violent and rude like the other 8/9 year old boys in his class who are bullying each other and the younger students. If anything, he is overly kind and helpful. But, without the meducation, he would not be able to read or write, and, as it is, he is having trouble spelling and composing his thoughts. He's top of his class in math and loves engineering. I'm not saying he has to be able to do everything, but I want to limit his 'low' areas - Temple mentions that her mother pushed her on (challenged her) and I think we need to do this with our son too. He cannot emotionally accept challenges without the medication. We don't drug to make him like us, but to make him the best of him
William Sar (0)

0
Reply
May 27 2010: Hello Julie. My name is Bill and like you I have an 8 year old son who just over 18 months ago was "supposedly" diagnosed with ADHD. The usual treatment methods of drugs were presented to us. My wife and I felt it was our only option. Yes there were amazing leaps forward in his academic ability. He could write clearly, he could sit through a day at school, follow instructions etc. The downside was he was on a drug potentially for the rest of his life. It was hard for me to accept. In addition he could never sleep and rarely had an appetite. I just could not accept this as his fate. We were living in HK at the time and in the last year returned to Australia. We found some fabulous help which has now had my son off the use of drugs for 7 months now and he is acquiring extraordinary skills. A local early childhood educator was our saviour. He taught us how to train my son to cross the midline in his brain. He can now sequence, co-ordinate his body movement, writes well etc.
Tara Detlor (0)

0
Reply
May 20 2010: Every family has to make the decision that they feel is best for them. When investigating options for treatment, all aspects must be considered. I wouldn't have sugery, start medication or any other treatment without first analyzing the risks/benefits. If you do start, it doesn't mean that you have to continue if it's not working for you.Medication brought my son to a level of control that we could reason with. It was dosed carefully and monitored regularly to ensure it was having the desired effect. Luckily, it didn't interfere with those traits that were positive about him. He's still very observant and creative, among many other things.What good is a brilliant mind if he's so angry that he can't express his brilliance?
Tiago Martins (0)

0
Reply
May 19 2010: Thinking in Patterns II ) Use philosophy to understand the psychological patterns trough logic and reason and everything looks new and the old obsolete.I had some hard time coexisting with my brain but by learning the patterns i can say that i've made my live easier, i never saw a doctor because i always thought that it was a waste of time, for sure they want to give me their treatments and their drugs and i'm not interested in that, i like to understand and with drugs and to much useless information you can damage your clear thinking and loose track of the real problem.
mmarin mmurin (+2)

+2
Reply
May 1 2010: "Expose kids to interesting stuff"as a high school student, I can't express how valuable this is. Music classes when I was in earlier schools was learning bone dry facts about different famous composers. I thought I didn't care about music history. I get to high school, and the first thing I have to do about music is in a history class, where we're not only learning narratives about music/composers, but we're actually listening to the music. Strange difference. Exposure to different viewpoints/ideas/religions is also extremely useful for getting people to get their interests triggered. Learning has got to be experiential.
Esther Hartwig (+12)

0
Reply
May 1 2010: I watched the movie after seeing her on TED, one I had never heard of before, and I am deeply impressed - it's been I while that I've been glued to the screen for an hour and 45 minutes (there are too many crappy movies really). It gives you a way better understanding and insight as to how the world functions and all the components react and interact to people who are not exactly average.It makes me believe that there must be differences, slight ones and significant ones between most individuals, and it emphasizes the importance of understanding and accepting it.Autism is in most parts of the world of course not being handled in the way it is shown in the movie, as it was the case in the 60s and 70s when people and experts didn't know as much about autism as they do now. But we have to understand that differences can occur in many ways we know equally little about now, differences that might change parts of our world fundamentally. As she said: different, not less.
Jan Commandeur (0)

0
Reply
Apr 26 2010: wow really nice talk!
Joo Ho Kim (+6)

0
Reply
Apr 18 2010: asperger's syndrome, I did not know what this syndrome it is.Through TED, i could know that lots of people have been diognosed.I really hope they will get along very well with all of people in the world.
ole kristensen (+9)

+9
Reply
Feb 24 2010: brilliant speech.and especially her qualification of a continuum, that no two are alike and that there are many kinds of autism, that need not be disabling.a parent to an autist child here in denmark has taken this thinking into practice. a few years ago the danish tv had a story about his new consultancy firm, called 'Specialisterne', primarily employing people with asbergers syndrome. here, it showed, that it was perfectly possible to work commercially with tasks that required focus and dedication of a specialised mind. not surprisingly one of their most valued services is intensive software testing and metriculous documentation.the hardest part for him was to make his employees go home from work and not work overtime.look to http://www.specialisterne.dk/om-specialisterne/ for inspiration. google will translate.
Paulina Eklöf (+25)

+1
Reply
Apr 7 2010: Tack Ole för länken, jag talar inte dansk, men förstår nog för att läsa genom mitt modersmål. :-)The site is an interesting place. They call people within the spectrum "Specialists" and talk about neurotypical individuals as "Generalists". I love that expression. It doesn't exclude talent potential, but differs the two without sounding degrading to either. At least in my ears.I read it in Danish only to realise after that Google was already suggesting it could translate for me. I was too busy paying attention to the information on the page to care about such a barrier as language. Silly me.
John Miles (+57)

+12
Reply
Feb 24 2010: In the next wave of education reform/revolution I think it would be wise to identify these special talents early and nurture people into helpful and useful contributors to the community. Temple is a perfect example of what can happen when they receive a YOU CAN message instead of a you're disabled message. And Bravo for brining this to the world!
Liz McLellan (+192)

+5
Reply
Feb 25 2010: If we were able to convey that being passionately interested in what ever you are into is a good thing, be it cars, flowers, drawing, dancing, baking... is a good good thing.. Perhaps like google does..20% of your entire school day - everyday -let's make it 35% is totally dedicated to whatever you are interested in, so long as you can convey that deep interest and a plan to take it deeper...is for you and a mentor to work out...What kind of world would we end up with? A far better one I imagine!Also - people have more than one passion...I was an art student like Temple, but was lucky enough to have parents that put a very early computer in front of me...I loved that too. I think we so often box kids in and kill their curiosity when they have trouble in one subject. I know I got labeled early on as "not math centric" or whatever it was. Turns out I just had a few stinky teachers and my parents got totally stressed..it became 'fraught.' In college I tutored it!
fred landis (+2)

+2
Reply
Mar 10 2010: Hans ASperger in 1943 focused on the upper end of the autism spectrum,stated that it would be an asset in scientific research,and that he could identify such people by the age of 8.So why are we only hearing about this in the last few years?
Paulina Eklöf (+25)

0
Reply
Apr 6 2010: Because of the cold war, a lot of Hans Asperger's research hasn't been translated to English until the early 1990s. For example in my country, they've only been diagnosing children for about a decade after they found the English translations; they are only slowly beginning to admit that adults might have it. A friend of mine got diagnosed with Asperger's at age 23, and ADHD at age 25 on top of that. I get less anxiety attacks from some basic life skills like grocery shopping and cooking, because those skills were emphasised at home, while I've only had to start figuring out what the meaning of homework is in adulthood, as I've tried studying a bit more seriously again.When I've tried, prompted by a person who sees the "schoolbook Aspie" in me, to get a doctor to at least refer me to a specialist or do a preliminary test (I score "Autist" in the Baron-Cohen test), but shrinks say "well you've made it this far, you can't have it!" They never look at how poorly I've done at a lot of it.
Paul Brighton (+2)

+2
Reply
Mar 28 2010: Its great and encouraging to see so many people giving their most positive thinking about this whole matter, Temple gives us hope, and somewhat a reassurance about what could happen with our kids' with the spectrum.I do not fear my son of not being able to manage in this cruel world, i fear from ignorant people outhere who still, in this day and age, have no concept of what autism means.
Paulina Eklöf (+25)

+1
Reply
Apr 6 2010: I'm likely at the Aspie end of the spectrum. Despite my fight with the public healthcare system in Finland for an official diagnose beyond "depression" or "stress/panic disorder" is a losing battle... I survived growing up as the odd kid even with a mother who fears hearing of my "retardation" being public knowledge more hysterically than I fear crowds, or enclosed spaces I do not know the designer of.Patience and the best of luck raising your son to be a balanced adult. You have my full mental support. Some day, I may have my own children to raise, and with the father's mental traits being similar to mine, we have a high risk of more autists being born into the family.Last, a glimmer of hope to both you and me: I've started finding a lot of people like myself in the video game industry, and not only systematic thinkers (programmers, RPG mechanics developers) but also visual (level or conceptual design) and verbal thinkers (the text-based paperwork) can excel in the software field.
Paulina Eklöf (+25)

+3
Reply
Apr 4 2010: I am wired in a way that would place me on the autism spectrum. Probable diagnose, if my country would actually direct resources to diagnosing adults, would be Asperger's Syndrome or somewhere along the "functional" autistic spectrum. I am a visual/verbal thinker with an eidetic memory and an encyclopaedic knowledge of things that interest me, and I love immersing myself into new books and new information on subjects that I like.I have worked as a substitute teacher in a few schools in Helsinki, Finland, and some of those schools had autistic students. What is interesting is that these children, who were scorned and seen as somehow "unfit" by plenty of the staff, were curious about me, since I was thinking along similar patterns as they were, and always did my best to answer their questions honestly, or trying to direct them to a source that would provide answers. The bright spark in their eyes at an "a-HAH!" reaction to discovering new things was a better reward for me than the pay.
Frank Dozier (+2)

+2
Reply
Apr 1 2010: Clarity and hope comes when listening to such things. Perhaps I am not an alien. Once I click the 'X' in the top corner and close this window, however, all clarity will be gone. This planet is chaotic.
Dog Monkey (+2)

+2
Reply
Apr 3 2010: I know what you mean. Spent the first 20 years of my life thinking I was an extraterrestrial, then a couple of years ago I get diagnosed so I start watching these videos and realize I'm not so different afterall. Serious relief finding out I'm on the spectrum because although I always knew I was smart I was questioning it since I was so bad with verbal language.
mathi tamil (+2)

+2
Reply
Apr 1 2010: wonderful! I do not know how appreciate for your talk. I did not have no words to appreciate you. We must have all kind of mind .Then only we talk other kind of people. It maybe easy to work. Example consider one person. He or she did not talk no one. because she did not have different kind of mind. so she do not talk everyone. Because everyone have variety of kind. so we change our self according to different kinds of people. At the same time consider other person. he had some kind of mind. but he talk to everyone and he gradually improve all kind of mind. In that two persons the second person is best person. Why I say this if we did not have different kinds of mind we can't do anything.I also like these kind. As i have these kind i suffered lot of problem. I only have particular kind of mind. So I suggest everyone 'please live with all kind of mind'. I also different thinker. In addition you say about continuum. I think continuum is happened by genes in our body . THANK YOU!
mathi tamil (+2)

0
Reply
Apr 1 2010: wonderful! I do not know how appreciate for your talk. I did not have no words to appreciate you. We must have all kind of mind .Then only we talk other kind of people. It maybe easy to work. Example consider one person. He or she did not talk no one. because she did not have different kind of mind. so she do not talk everyone. Because everyone have variety of kind. so we change our self according to different kinds of people. At the same time consider other person. he had some kind of mind. but he talk to everyone and he gradually improve all kind of mind. In that two persons the second person is best person. Why I say this if we did not have different kinds of mind we can't do anything.I also like these kind. As i have these kind i suffered lot of problem. I only have particular kind of mind. So I suggest everyone 'please live with all kind of mind'. I also different thinker. In addition you say about continuum. I think continuum is happened by genes in our body . THANK YOU!
Markus Gershater (+30)

+5
Reply
Feb 25 2010: What an excellent, enlightening talk. I hope teaching professionals take note.I would like to add my voice to those people who have commented below that autism shouldn't be regarded as unfortunate. I don't have direct contact with anyone who might be 'diagnosed' as autistic (although working in science, I definitely come across plenty of people who have some of the 'genetics', as Temple puts it!), but my impression of autism from people who have written about it (like Oliver Sacks and Mark Haddon) is that it is different, not worse. And I say this without trying to be 'politically correct', but out of real convinction, hugely bolstered by the eloquence in this talk, that autistic people offer much to the world through their different perspectives and abilities.
Rick Thomson (-2)

-1
Reply
Feb 25 2010: I think the citizen today do not need enlightening specially those people at the middle age. you can not change them anymore by just talking.
Sharon Murphy (+12)

+6
Reply
Mar 2 2010: Rick, your action of commenting speaks differently. By commenting, you prove that you did listen, and absorb at least some of what she said. The next time you deal with someone autistic, or even just "off" you will think of this. No one can change someone else, all we can do is give them the tools to change themselves. You are already changing, so will others.
Ryan Shaffer (0)

+4
Reply
Mar 26 2010: Markus, in my experience, I've often found "autistic types" to be more interesting to converse with than "regular" people because they are hung up on fascinating concepts and puzzles rather than obnoxious social gossip. One thing I've also liked about autistic friends of mine more than my more "normal" friends is the ability to talk intellectually about somewhat touchy subjects without worrying whether I'll offend them or not.I realize, of course, there are autistic people for whom social interaction is nearly impossible if not totally impossible, but the ones I've known have enriched my life more than many of the countless "normal" people who've just sort of faded into the background.
Ryan Shaffer (0)

+1
Reply
Mar 26 2010: Man! After hearing this talk, I thought Claire Danes' depiction of Temple Grandin was terrible! Temple herself is a great speaker, while I wanted to cover my ears ever time Claire Danes spoke in that movie!Being a visual thinker myself, I have always enjoyed conversing with people I've known who have Asperger's. Such a conversation usually involves me probing on a specific subject and letting a wealth of information flow out at me at a breakneck pace. Though I can't be certain, I used to work with a guy I suspected had Asperger's. If there was some concept I just couldn't wrap my head around, he was very good at making sense of it. In his case, lack of social graces were a blessing because he didn't feel the need to go through the typical rigamarole of small talk that usually precedes a substantive professional discussion.It's sad that in this day and age, people who are so obviously gifted though a little odd would be seen as anything but gifts themselves to our society.
Richard Liston (+4)

0
Reply
Mar 22 2010: What Temple Grandin says resonates deeply with me. I believe I have been a high-functioning autistic individual for most of my life, and only recently discovered how to open up other parts of my mind. I then created a free college for adults who are not a good fit for the current model of higher education (you guessed it: because they experience some level of autism that keeps them from functioning properly in that environment). It is quite a challenge to get this project to a stable point because non-autistic people find it difficult to understand and therefore to support. I would be delighted for people to read about it, and offer suggestions or direct support: Sphere College, http://spherecollege.org
alison whitmire (+11)

+10
Reply
Feb 24 2010: Temple is a shiny beacon of hope for me. I have a son on the spectrum and she gives precious insight into what's going on inside his head that I can't access. I LOVED that she was at TED this year. CDC states the stat at 1 in 110 kids are now diagnosed with some ASD. This is an unfortunate growing trend. - This is also the reason that I had such a visceral reaction to Sarah Silverman- too close to home - but that's another talk.
Kelli Bickerstaff (+15)

+14
Reply
Feb 24 2010: Hi Alison. I have a son who has not been diagnosed with autism, but I think that diagnosis is incorrect. He definitely exhibits all of the signs. Instead, he has been diagnosed as mentally retarded. I have not challenged the results because it doesn't matter to me. A diagnosis does not help me to connect with my child.I noticed you said the rising trend of children with ASD is unfortunate. I would like to encourage you to look at it from a different percpective. My son, for example, is incapable of sarcasm, violence, hostility ect. In fact, I have to stop him from hugging complete strangers and have to advise him when others are poking fun. This innocence is scary when dealing with today's society, but isn't this what society should actually be like? My son and others like him are different from the majority, but different does not equal wrong. Besides, with the trend rising as steadily as it is, they may not be the minority for much longer:)
John Accarino (+101)

+4
Reply
Feb 24 2010: You are a very lucky mother to have such a loving son.
Hsin Wang (+29)

+7
Feb 25 2010: as is her son, who has such a loving mother.
Ayşe Seda Demirel (+1184)

+6
Reply
Feb 26 2010: Now I am once more stunned by reading your comment Kelli. "My son, for example, is incapable of sarcasm, violence, hostility ect. In fact, I have to stop him from hugging complete strangers and have to advise him when others are poking fun. This innocence is scary when dealing with today's society, ...but isn't this what society should actually be like? My son and others like him are different from the majority, but different does not equal wrong. "I wish I could have shared not only the talks, I would love to highlight your comment and share it along...Thank you!!!
Susie Weber (+2)

+2
Reply
Mar 2 2010: Kelli, I love your comments. I think it's refreshing to hear how positive you are about your son. I think that his take on life is how we all should be. When you look at the "majority" these days, I would hope I don't fall in that category. The "majority" looks pretty ugly to me and I'm sure our world would benefit from more people like you and your son.
Stefan Morrow (0)

0
Reply
Mar 21 2010: Hi Kelli, have you ever looked into the sensory aspect of ASD which requires pressure? Touch and pressure sensory dysfunction is quite common in greater and lesser forms. Our daughter loves hugs and joint compressions - although I would not necessarily mistake it as a gesture of love but more of a form of self-treatment.
Turil Cronburg (+83)

+2
Reply
Feb 24 2010: Alison, I hope you can consider that, as Temple points out, we NEED people like her and your son, and the world being more full of these unique minds is a GOOD thing, a fortunate growing trend. :-)
This post has been removed by the author.
Colleen Parsons (+3)

+2
Reply
Feb 24 2010: Alison, were you at TED in Long Beach or Palm Springs? (I didn't like Silverman either. There is a line between funny and cruel that she crossed.) Temple is a shining star -- and as she so aptly pointed out, there were many in the audience who fit on the spectrum. Kelli -- the only really good reason that you would want to have a definitive diagnosis for your child is so you can get him the best kind of high quality services available. Temple designed her own "services" and has stated they helped her enough that she could get through the day, feel calm and safe, and then do it again. She also once told me she's on a fair number of meds (or was) and they really help her with her speaking engagements. And for those of you tempted to think either one of these moms need cheering on, they may, but I doubt they need "reminders" of how special their kids are. Or how unprepared our society and culture is to accept so many "different" kinds of kids.
Thomas Hjort (+8)

+6
Reply
Feb 25 2010: Hi again ColeenI too have a child with a mild autism, and I know that a diagnose will help in more ways than expected. It is a great communication tool, both to get the services availeble and right guidance, but also personally. Having a mild form of autism, my daughter is just a bit "off", but in many areas, and only the sum makes the "case". Many persons in my personal network initially said things like: "you worry too much", "every kid is different" etc when I brought up the subject, needless to say it is tough enough to deal with the problems of lacking social skills and the like, but missing backup makes things a lot harder. Also we need to be aware that the parrent is not always with the child (day care, school etc) here the diagnosis is also a good way to be sure that care taker have the right means to handle the child. I know that this should not be needed, but at least that is my experiance.BTW I also found Silverman out of place, but she put the item on the agenda
Colleen Parsons (+3)

0
Feb 26 2010: Thomas!! So delighted to see you! I so enjoyed meeting you and listening to your challenging creativity. I hope your flight home was okay? Did the kids like their presents?You make a case for people to understand unseen neuro influences such as those sitting somewhere on the autistic spectrum -- if you tell me what the barriers or struggles are, I can adjust my behavior in a way that won't be potentially disturbing. For instance, one of the kids in my care struggles with verbal conversation, so we found a way to communicate with that child over the internet. That slight removal from that personal feeling has worked well. We also adjust our words from "how do you feel" to "what's happening with you?" Simple things that help us connect. (And yes, Silverman did put items on the agenda, but at what cos?. I was as disturbed about her thoughts on "adoption" as I was with her perspective of the aged ones. I'm working on forgiving myself for not walking out.)
This post has been removed by the author.
clare russell (+3)

0
Reply
Mar 15 2010: I appreciate the 360 perspective she takes on learning - through using all of our senses (and learning to apply them through creative teaching/mentors), we can be better problem solvers. After all art, maths, science, writing are all different 'languages' for the same subject matter...life! What we miss in one, we can see through another.
Griffin Jones (0)

0
Reply
Mar 18 2010: there might even be more senses?!?! and i think maybe more than 3 different kinds of minds. i think this because for one, im great at art (any kind for some reason) good at math (suck at geometry good at algebra) ..depending on what kind of geometry, but i am good at making images in my head... say for when i am making a print of somthing or i need to remember what an object looks like for art. (things might remind me of what things look/sound/feel like to)?
Francois Visagie (0)

0
Reply
Mar 17 2010: Well done, Temple, on your dedication and perseverance. Naturally, none of it should have been necessary.It saddens me that such - sometimes super-human - effort is required to challenge conditions created by sub-human practices, such as prejudice, discrimination, conformance, peer pressure and other defunct tribalistic behaviour. All in turn being rooted in fear and greed, both entirely obsolete in the absence of human presence.