Overcoming Autism: Temple Grandin

Autistic individuals think differently than other folks. This is a key concept for those of us with autistic kids, or those who work with such persons, to grasp. Dr. Temple Grandin helped me better understand the dynamics of this in a wonderful way.

Dr. Grandin recently was featured on National Public Radio. Opening sentences:

Because I have autism, I live by concrete rules instead of abstract beliefs. And because I have autism, I think in pictures and sounds. I don't have the ability to process abstract thought the way that you do. Here's how my brain works: It's like the search engine Google for images. If you say the word "love" to me, I'll surf the Internet inside my brain. Then, a series of images pops into my head. What I'll see, for example, is a picture of a mother horse with a foal, or I think of "Herbie the Lovebug," scenes from the movie Love Story or the Beatles song, "Love, love, love..."

Here's the entire NPR piece, audio and text.