Interviews: Ask Dr. Temple Grandin About Animals and Autism

Being listed in the "Time 100" of the most influential people in the world in the "Heroes" category, is just one of the many awards received by Temple Grandin. Diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Temple overcame many obstacles and earned a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a professor at Colorado State University. Dr, Grandin is recognized as an expert in animal behavior and one of the leading advocates for the rights of autistic persons. She lectures, and has written numerous books on animals and autism, and was the subject of the award-winning, biographical film, Temple Grandin . Dr. Grandin has agreed to take some time out of her schedule to answer any questions you may have. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one per post.

Comments

autism and the mentally ill

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you feel any connection to the challenges of the mentally ill (schizophrenia, manic depressive, bipolar disorder) and autistic persons?

Advice for parents of a high functioning toddler

[Anonymous Coward]

What advice do you have for parents of a high functioning toddler with hearing loss and autism?

From a friend who saw your PBS documentary

[Krishnoid]

Some people with autism experience sensory overload and anxiety. Do animals share that, or what is simliar/different between animals and people who have autism?

genesis of autism?

[spads]

Do you follow any theories on the genesis of autisism, and if so, do you prefer any in particular?

Self diagnosis and too broad a spectrum

[kokirikory]

Over the last year I have been collecting personal accounts and studying professional research on the subject of autism. I believe I have gone my whole life undiagnosed high functioning. But because the spectrum and symptoms are so broad, and I don't relate to every single story I read, I begin to doubt myself. Would you agree that doubt rooted in the lack of absolutes, despite an otherwise large amount of signs, is a sign itself?

Re:Self diagnosis and too broad a spectrum

[Jason Levine]

I know, technically speaking, we're not supposed to answer the questions raised, but as a parent of a child on the Autism spectrum as well as someone who considers himself undiagnosed as well, I think I have some personal experience to share.

Don't worry if you don't match all the stories of autism. Every person with autism is different. My son has sensitivities to some noises (running the vacuum in my house leads to him screaming if he hasn't been properly prepared - and even if he has been), but I don't. I tend to be withdrawn socially and riddled with doubt about how to proceed. My son just leaps into social situations and doesn't seem to care if people think he's odd. (Granted, this could just be his lack of awareness of the situation - something that can be good or bad.)

I'll doubt myself also at times. Sometimes I'll think that maybe I'm not on the spectrum because I've had a good run. Then, something happens and I find myself barely holding myself together and nearly unable to cope with it.

industrialized farming

[Comboman]

Dr. Grandin: Over the course of your career you have seen (and promoted) many changes in the humane treatment of livestock. However, over that same time period you've witnessed the decline of small family farms in favor of large-scale industrial farming with it's focus on economic efficiency. Overall, do you believe farm animals are better or worse off now?

Frequency of Autism

[NothingWasAvailable]

Is there an actual increase in the frequency of autism, more awareness (diagnosis), changing definitions, or something else that explains the [presumed] increase in number of children with autism?

Re:Why don't other animals have "social justice"?

[quantaman]

Humans are animals. Humans also have the concept of "social justice" (which is, in fact, neither social nor justice, but rather a perversion of both). Yet other animals do not have this concept.

The adherence to "social justice" by many of its proponents also follows many of the symptoms of autism, most importantly a complete willingness to overlook irrational and hypocritical behavior.

If autism is found in other animals, why do we not see these animals also suffering from "social justice"?

That must have been hard to phrase your angry off-topic rant in the form of a question.

I'd also question your claim that animals don't have social justice. If we ignore your incoherent definition (ie any moral judgement you disagree with) and look at actual social justice things like concepts of fairness and policing social norms it's clear animals do have social justice.

Factory farming

[fieldstone]

What are your thoughts on factory farming, specifically the treatment of the anmals, the high percentage of greenhouse gases and waste it produces, and its contribution to antibiotic resistance?

High Function vs Low function

[gurps_npc]

I understand that the words High Functioning and Low Functioning get thrown around a lot. These terms were designed to reflect the level of support the Autistic person needed. Some people claim that the difference between high and low functioning Autism is merely intelligence. Others claim that it is a matter of how severe the Autism is, not the intelligence of the person.

What do you believe is the difference between a high functioning Autistic person and a low functioning Autistic person.

Idealism vs Reality in Veterinary Medicine

[Pryon]

Dr. Grandin,

I'm not a veterinarian, but my spouse is, so I'm in contact with veterinarians regularly. In the majority of cases, these vets entered school with the idea that they would be spending the rest of their lives helping animals and are bitterly disappointed with the reality of ear/tail docking, convenience euthanasia, and the lack of will when confronted with clients who should probably not have pets (neglect, abuse, etc.) - "there's always another vet who will work with these people if I lay down the law."

Do you feel that you and your fellow faculty members are preparing your students for the realities of general practice? Are the veterinarians I'm describing simply being naive?

Thanks very much for your time.

Nice option would be

[willworkforbeer]

If those without specific questions had a simple way to express their admiration and great respect for Dr. Grandin's work, life and personal courage.

Adult Diagnosis

[Jason Levine]

First of all, thanks for all your work for people on the spectrum.

I'm the parent of a child on the autism spectrum (High Functioning/Asperger's). When we got our son's diagnosis and I was reading up on Autism, I began to realize that these books were describing me also. Suddenly, all the things in my life that seems to set me apart from everyone else made sense. Now, I identify myself as undiagnosed Asperger's. I've considered getting a diagnosis but held back for various reasons (financial constraints, thinking my diagnosis wouldn't help my son, thinking that my diagnosis wouldn't help me). Sometimes, though, it feel like not getting the diagnosis sets me apart and casts doubt on whether I really have autism or not.

Would you recommend that adults who think they are on the spectrum get a diagnosis? If so, do you have any recommendations for how to proceed with this?

Re:Adult Diagnosis

[avandesande]

I don't really understand the point of the diagnosis. Changing or improving behaviors that negatively impact yourself or others around you apply to autistic people as much as ntypicals.
  If you think you need help with this get counseling.

Re:Adult Diagnosis

[Jason Levine]

At times, I want to get a diagnosis not so much for myself but for others. My parents, for example, reacted to my "I have autism" declaration as if I insulted their parenting skills. I know that this comes out of ignorance and that a diagnosis won't stop this. My father still tries to claim that my diagnosed son will "grow out of it" or that an accomplishment of his is "proof he doesn't have autism." Still, it would be nice sometimes to say definitively "Yes, I have autism as diagnosed by this medical doctor."

Re:Adult Diagnosis

[Orne]

My now-5-year-old son was also diagnosed as a high functioning autistic, and both me and my wife have many of the traits, with regards to social anxiety and language delays as youths, but neither diagnosed. Born 3 weeks premature, he was always on a track for monitoring. At age 2, he spoke about 10 words, was touch sensitive (hated anything loud or sticky), and got the diagnosis then. I myself was in denial for a while, thinking why did it have to happen to him, he's just a little behind, it will come. I had the same perspective, that every little accomplishment meant the condition was over. But as time went on, it didn't. At age 3, he qualified for our school district's Intermediate Unit, and began pre-school classes 4 days a week.

He will "grow out of it" by constant reinforcement and occupational training, both in school and at home. If you assume it will go away on its own, you are doing a disservice to your child. Find the things that he likes, and use it as a example to teach social skills. Remain calm, because he doesn't know why he does things either. It's a constant battle, where every waking hour of the day is reinforcing "good choices" and being mindful of other people's perspectives and feelings.

Is there a maturity factor, the "growing out of it"? Probably some percent. I wonder all the time, was he inattentive because he's just a 4-year-old boy? No one is born with social skills, so is it my fault? Was I the bad teacher? We recognized that my son wasn't developing eye contact skills, and my wife and I were indirectly enabling this behavior -- he would shout a question across the room, and we would answer it without requiring facial contact. Once we recognized this, we created a plan and broke him of the habit ("I'm sorry, I can't see your eyes . . ."). I wouldn't need to worry about this with my nephews, but my son didn't have that instinct for facial confirmation.

Today at 5 years old, I can't get him to shut up. He is constantly asking questions, and is what anyone would now recognize as an over-average-intelligence child. He is reading at a 2nd grade level, knows basic multiplication, adds and subtracts up to thousands in English, and counts to 100 in Spanish. He loves playing as the "GPS" when we drive, telling us what roads are coming up next and reading every sign.

You are a good parent just by recognizing there's an issue. If this disease really is genetic like current research is showing, there's nothing anyone could have done to prevent it, it's all dependent on how we respond to it. And whether you get a diagnosis for yourself or not isn't a reflection on your parents, it's just your own "medical state". But ask yourself, what can you do with that information? We refuse to let autism be a crutch to excuse away bad behavior for our son. If you have it, or I have it, how can we focus our efforts more productively? If you feel like you have social anxiety, maybe you can push yourself into uncomfortable or unusual situations to (as I was told) "flex those social muscles". The more you practice it, the better you will get. Then it really doesn't matter what the diagnosis could have been at the end of the day, because that doesn't have to be you today.

Re:Why don't other animals have "social justice"?

[__roo]

Most animals don't live in a society, so the concept doesn't apply. Animals that do live in a society do have social justice ("justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society"). Some animal societies (eg. bee colonies) do a lot of resource sharing. It's not hard to see why this would be a useful group behavior to evolve.

Autism More Common Now?

[pipingguy]

Do you think that autism has actually increased over the past years or has the definition expanded to encompass other conditions/misdiagnosis?

Internet Autism

[Anonymous Coward]

There a phenomenon on the internet - particularly among the nerd/geek technical community - to self-diagnose as "autistic" or having Asperger syndrome. (That is, they read something on the internet about autism, say "hey, that sounds vaguely similar to me", and then claim to have autism/Aspergers without even going to a doctor for an official diagnosis.)

What's your take on this? By claiming a condition which they might not technically have, are they de-stigmatizing it, or is it more that by "jumping on the bandwagon" they are trivializing a potentially serious condition? Are you concerned about "autism poseurs"?