On a more positive note (yes, we need something positive), please read this interview in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal with Prof. Temple Grandin. She was the subject of a wonderful HBO movie staring (of all people) Claire Danes. Ms. Grandin was born with autism and thanks to a WONDERFUL mother who encouraged her, tutored her, and encouraged her she has lived a great life and is a professor at Colorado State University. She has written 10 books and uses the profits from her books to sponsor students ("Ms. Grandin lives in a simple apartment in Fort Collins, Colo., and has used the profits from her books to put students through school. "Four PhDs I've already done, I'm working on my fifth right now. I have graduate students at Colorado State—some of them I let in the back door, like me: older, nontraditional students. And I've gotten them good jobs.")
Her advice:
"It's about hard work. Young children need 20 or 30 hours a week of one-on-one time with a committed teacher or mentor. Money, Ms. Grandin says, should not be an obstacle. If you can't afford a professional teacher, find volunteers through your church or synagogue, she says. Parents need to teach 1950s-style social rules "like please and thank you, basic table manners, how to shop."
There have to be high expectations. She's worried about the "handicapped mentality" that she thinks is increasing. "When I see these kids with 150 IQ and their parents want to put them on Social Security [disability], it drives me nuts." These kids "will come up to the book table and start talking about 'my Aspergers.' Why don't you talk about becoming a chemist, or a computer programmer, or a botanist?"
If you get the chance, watch "TEMPLE GRANDIN" on HBO. It's a truly great experience.
