Leaps and bound in the Autism Community.

1. Autism from
the Inside
A university professor and industrial designer with autism
shares what she'd like teachers to know about autistic students.
T
eachers need to understand
how autistic people think.
How I think is different
from how "normal" people
think.
As 1 described in Thinking in Pictures
(1995), ail my thoughts happen in
photorealistic pictures. My mind works
like the search engine Google when it
does an image search. If somebody says
the word saddle, the first image I see in
my imagination is an English saddle, my
most prized possession when 1 was in
high school. The next image is the lack
room full oi' saddles at my aunt's guest
ranch in Arizona. The third image is
tennis courts. How did I gel from a
saddle to tennis courts? Next to my
aunts tack room were tennis courts for
ihe ranch guests. My thinking is associa-
tive and is often not sequential or linear
Research using brain scans now
shows that my brain works differently in
its greater reliance on its visual areas.
Researcher Nancy Minshew and her
colleagues at the University of Pius-
hurgh and Carnegie Mellon University
found that people on the autistic spec-
trum process both high-imagery and
low-imagery sentences in the visual
parts of the brain (Kana, Keller,
Cherkassky, Minshew, &Just, 2006).
Temple Grandin
"Adding and subtracting are math oper-
ations" is an example of a low-imagery
sentence. "The number 8 on its side
looks like a pair of eyeglasses" is a high-
imagery sentence. A nonautistic person
shuts off the visual areas of the brain lo
process a low-imagery sentence. But
when I read ihai low-imager)' sentence
about adding and subtracting, 1 imme-
diately see an image of my 3rd grade
teacher teaching me arithmetic basics.
I have had teachers ask me, "How can
1 get the pictures oul of the student's
head?" The answer is ihai you cannoi.
Pictures are the autistic student's way of
thinking. What teachers can do is work
with such thinking patterns and make
adjustments that will bring out an
autistic student's strengths. The
following are tips for working success-
fully with students on the spectrum of
autisip disorders.
ASSOCIATION FOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOI'MENT 29

2. What Helps with
Elementary School Students
Give the student time to respond. 1 process
information slowly and I need time to
provide an answer. 1 remember a very
frustrating episode from kindergarten.
The assignment was to mark all the
pictures of things that began with B. 1
failed to mark a picture ot' a bike and a
birdbath. The teacher did not give me
time to explain that I did not know the
difference between the little trike that I
rode and a bike. 1 also marked the bird-
bath picture G for garden. The garden
seemed like a more importani elemenL
in ihe picture than the birdbaih.
Avoid long strings of verbal directions.
When I ask for directions when 1 am
driving, 1 have to write ihem down if
anyone tells me more than three steps.
I have absolutely no sequential
memory for verbal directions. If Lhe
student can read, provide him or her
with mitten instructions.
Respecl semory sensitivities. The way
an autistic child perceives the world is
different; many have heightened sensi-
tivities. Sensory sensitivities can var>',
but in class the teacher may need to
help a student cope.
When my elementar>' school bell
rang, it hurt my ears as much as a
dentist drill does when it hits a nerve. 1
have great difficulty hearing another
person talk if there is loo much back-
ground noise. Fortunately, my school
had small, quiet classrooms where
ever>'body worked on the same thing at
the same time. 1 would have done
poorly studying or listening in large.
noisy classes.
Some children are sensitive lo the
flicker of fluorescent lights. Problems
with fluorescent lights can be reduced
by moving a student's desk near a
window or providing that student a
lamp with an incandescent light bulb.
Avoid vcigue language- Children on the
autism spectrum think concretely
Telling an autistic child to get ready for
the bus is loo vague. U would be beiier
to say, "You need to have your back-
pack, homework papers, and jacket
with you before you go to meet the
bus." Students may not understand such
common expressions as "champing at
lhe bit." Today, 1 use expressions like
these all ihe time, but I had to leam the
meaning of each one by having some-
body explain it to me.
What Helps with Older Students
Develop the student's strengihs. The most
successful adults with autism, Asperger^
syndrome, dyslexia, or other learning
problems had teachers who developed
their strengths. For example, 1 use my
ability lo think visually in my business
designing livestock facilities. But not all
Autism: Putting the Pieces Together
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act defines autism as
a developmental disability that significantly affects a person's
ability to communicate and use nonverbal cues.' According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately
1.5 million Americans have some form of autism. The U.S.
Department of Education indicates that the incidence of autism
is growing by 10 to 17 percent each year (Autism Society of
America, 2006).
The Cause of Autism
Autism spectrum disorders are caused by abnormalities in the
brain that affect the neurodevelopmental system. Brain scans
reveal differences in the shape and structure of the brains of
children with autism. No single cause of autism has been
found, but researchers are searching for irregular segments of
genetic code that may be passed down in families and lead to
autism. There appears to be a pattern of autism and related
disorders in many families.
Autism cuts across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic categories
but is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls (Autism
Society of America, 2006). Children do not outgrow autism, but
their symptoms may lessen as they receive treatment.
Common Characteristics
The problems with processing and expressing language that
are characteristic of autism underlie the difficulties autistic
students have with social interaction, communication, and
academic work, according to The Puzzle of Autism, a 38-page
guide for teachers recently released by the National Education
Association.
Four early indicators of autism are
• Lack of eye contact (children with autism do make eye
contact, but less often than nonautistic children do),
• Lack of attention to the same Item or topic that another
person is focusing on when interacting with that person.
• Lack of reciprocal conversation Iverbai turn-taking).
• Atypical sensory/motor processing.
Students with autism tend to have deficits in five areas:
communication, socialization/social skills, breadth of interests,
sensory integration, and behavior (National Education Associa-
tion INEAl, 2006), Although many problems may interfere with
the learning of students with autism, there are many ways to
modify behaviors and help autistic students function well in
mainstream classrooms. These Include communication strate-
gies and transitioning routines.
30 EDUCATIONAI LsAiniRSHll'/FEURLlARV 2007

3. people with autism are photorealistic
visual thinkers like me. Some [hink in
visual or sound patterns instead ol in
pictures. These pattern thinkers "see" in
their minds eye relationships between
numbers instead of photorealistic
images; they usually excel in music and
math. Still other people with autism
appear to have almost no ability in
visual imagery. They think with long
lists of words and facts and often love
history and sports statistics.
The bottom line is that skills are
uneven, and encouraging students to
excel in their strongest areas is better
than trying Lo push for well-roundedness.
If a 7th grader can do 12th grade math,
he or she should be taking 1.2th grade
math. Otherwise the student will
become bored and have behavior
problems.
Develop social skills through shat^d
interests- I was brought up in a strict
household, and I was taught table
manners and to say please and ihank
you. Also, my mother ensured that my
nanny and speech teacher kept me
occupied for more than 20 hours each
week with speech therapy and turn-
taking games when 1 was a preschooler.
I will never really be highly socially
related. But these aaiities helped me
learn social skills, which are imponant
for people with autism to thrive.
Socially, high school was the worst
time in my life. I was teased constantly
My only refuges from teasing were
horseback ridmg and my science
teacher's electronics lab because the kids
who sought these activities were not the
kids who teased. I recommend getting
children with autism or Asperger's
syndrome into activities where they can
socialize through shared interests v/ith
other children. Specialized activities or
clubs, such as robotics, chess, spelling
bees, art, music, or computer program-
ming, are wonderful for students on the
autism spectrum,
Find—or he—a mentor. I was a goof-
olT in high school. My high school
science teacher. Bill Carlock, saved me.
By gEving me interesting projects, he
gave 'me a reason to study: to become a
scientist. For one project, 1 stretched a
thin rubber membrane over a large
loudspeaker and glued small mirrors on
il. When the sound waves made the
membrane vibrate, the mirrors made
light patterns on the wall that moved in
time with the music.
The secret to motivating a student
with autism is to broaden the student's
fixations into useful activities. If a child
likes airplanes, then use airplanes as the
subjQct for reading and math. Fixations
are great motivators, and it is often a
tnistake lo stamp one out. Try to help
the student develop his or her fixation
Most students with autism have difficulties with the
following core activities (NEA, 2006):
• Identifying important global concepts and elements of
tasks.
• Processing auditory information.
• General/zing (skills must often be taught in context).
• Sequencing information or steps.
• Transitioning between activities.
• Managing time.
Variability on the Spectrum
Autism IS a spectrum disorder. Although certain behaviors are
common in autisnn. there is huge variation in how the disability
manifests itself in individuals. Some people with autism show
only slight delays in language and problems with social interac-
tion, such as difficulty holding a conversation rather than
speaking in a monologue about an obsessive interest. Others
may have great difficulty learning to talk or read. According to
the Autism Society of America (2006), "Two children, both with
the same diagnosis, can act completely different from one
another."
Teachers can work with students with autism to help them
modulate behavior, develop social and communication skills,
and turn many of their differences into strengths. The Puzzle of
Autism lists concrete strategies and specific supports for
autistic students.
References
Autism Society of America. (2006). Defining autism.
Bethesda, MD: Author. Available: www.autism-society
.org/site/PageServer?pagenan'ie=about_wbatis_home
National Education Association. (2006). The puzzle of autism.
Washington, DC: Author. Available: www.nea.org
/specialed/images/autismpuzzle.pdf (Hard copies can be
ordered at www.nea.org/books; S11.95 for non-NEA
members, $6.95 for NEA members)
'Asperger's syndrome, which has some characteristic symptoms in
common with autism, is listed as a separate diagnosis in the 1994
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
(Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association).
—Naomi Thiers
A S S O C I A T I O N F O R S u p i r . R v t M O N A N D C L I K R U I ; L I . I M D I V I - I H C M I - N I 3 1

4. into a useful skill that other people will
value.
In my case, nobody was interested in
my obsessive interest in cattle squeeze
chutes. A squeeze chute is a narrow stall
with movable sides to hold the animal. 1
watched cattle go through chutes for
their vaccinations on my aunt's cattle
ranch and became fascinated because
the chute appeared to calm the cattle
dowa. Alter watching tliis, I built a
personal pressure device similar to a
squeeze chute that 1 used to calm myself
down during my constant panic attacks
in adolescence.
Mr. Carlock channeled my interest in
the squeeze machine ! built into
studying physiology. He assigned me
scientific articles to read to determine
why pressure had a calming effect on
tbe body, and 1 spent many hours
reading in the library. Wlien 1 eventually
transformed the obsession into the skill
of (it'sig?iing cattle chutes and other facil-
ities, other people became interested in
what 1 could do.
Middle school and high school
students wiib autism disorders often do
well in science, music, and art classes.
Teachers in these specialized subjects
are often in a good position to direct a
disengaged student down a successful
path. But sometimes a mentor has to be
found outside the school. When 1 gave a
talk in a large school district I recently
visited, 1 was shocked to leam that there
were only two high school science
teachers in the entire district.
One parent told me that her autistic
son is doing well in high school because
the weatherman at the local T' station
took an interest in him. Some of the
most successful individuals on the
autism spectmm were "apprenticed"
into such fields as auto mechanics or
computer programming. An autistic
student often does better by "selling" his
or her work, raiher titan by relying on a
charismatic personality Showing
Some of the most successful individuals on
the autism spectrum were "apprenticed"
into fields such as computer programming.
student work in a portfolio is a good
strategy Talent will attract a mentor. For
instance, I recently saw a portfolio of
professional-quality photograptis taken
by a 15-year-old student with Asperger's
syndrome who had a mentor at the local
community college.
Make a gradual transition from school to
employment. People on the spectrum
handle transitions vvith difficulty To
ease the transition from school to
employment, schools need to teach
these students work skills from a young
age. When I was 13, I worked two after-
noons a week for a dre^maker. In
college, 1 had an internship at a research
lab. These Jobs helped me learn such
skills as how to get along with new
people, arrive at work on time, and do
the tasks assigned to me. Doing a job
thai other people appreciated gave me
confidence.
How Autistic Students
Develop Sociai Si<iiis
Peojile ask me if there was a magic
turning point in my life when I bad a
"breakthrough" in learning social skills.
There wasn't one point; 1 gradually
improved as I learned more. But there
were three important events that helped
me develop social skills: the early
education program that my mother
provided, the guidance of Mr. Carlock.
and starting amidepressant medication
in my early 30s. The medication
stopped my constant anxiety and panic
attacks. In school and at home, I was
always testing ihe limits. Children on
the spectrum need consistent discipline
between home and school. Mother and
my elementary teachere worked as a
team. 1 knew if 1 misbehaved at school.
my mother would find out about it.
It has taken me almost 60 years to
learn how different my brain is. When 1
was in my early 50s, I first learned why
looking at another persons eyes was so
important. 1 did not know that people
had all these little eye signals until I
read about them in Simon Baron-
Cohen's book Mindblindness (1995).
People on ihe autism spectrum are
highly variable. 1 have found satisfaction
in life by immersing myself in my work;
other individuals are more social. U all
depends on which circuits in the brain
get hooked up.
In conclusion, 1 want to thank the
wonderful teachers 1 had. Mr. Carlock
and a firm but fair 3rd grade teacher
named Alice Dietsch saved me. S!
References
Baron-Cohen. S. U'^yS). Mindblindnas: An
essay on autism and theoty of mind.
Cambridge, M A: MIT Press.
Grandin. T. (1995). Thinking in pictures: My
life wilh aulism. New York: Douhleday.
Expanded edinon published by Vintage,
2006.
Kana, R. K., Keller. T A., Cherkassky, V L.
Minshew. N. J., &rjust, M. A. (2006),
Sentence comprehension in auiism:
Thinking in pictures wiih decreased func-
tional connectivity Brain, 129(9),
2484-24^3.
Temple Grandin is a Professor of Animal
Science at Colorado State University and
a designer of livestock handling facilities;
Department of Animal Science, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins. CO 80523.
She is the author of Thinking in Pictures:
My Life with Autism (Vintage, 2006) and
Animals in Translation (Harcourt Books,
2006).
32 E|->l.'CrtIHlNAI. L l ^ A n r R S H I P / F L B R L l A R Y 2 0 0 7