Autism Spectrum Disorder is a rare and severe neurological disorder that is typically portrayed in a negative light. It is called a spectrum disorder because the symptoms and characteristics of it range from high and low degrees; some individuals need full time care and assistance, where others are very high functioning and can live on their own. An example of some who can function fine on their own is Temple Grandin; author of her autobiography “Thinking In Pictures.” (need stronger intro, state purpose of paper)
Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts. As a baby Grandin showed all the typical signs of having autism. She was not speaking, had tantrums, did not make eye contact with others, appeared to be deaf, and would space out instead of being interested in what others were doing. Her mother took her to a neurologist who told her that she was “brain-damaged,” and it was not until a few years later that the term autism was accepted and her diagnosis changed. The doctor suggested that she should be institutionalized, but her mother would not allow that and instead found a speech therapist to help. It wasn’t until she reached the age of four that she finally started to speak, but not all of her symptoms disappeared. The tantrums, and avoiding…show more content… Grandin eventually built her own device that she called her “squeeze machine” that helped her get through college and many other difficult situations throughout her life. What this machine does is apply pressure so it stimulates what a hug feels like and would relax and calm Grandin down. This was important since she never liked being touched by other people. At one point the college took her “squeeze machine” away, but after Grandin did an experiment to show that it in fact does help people relax and feel calm she was allowed to keep