I think that the definition of autism is too broad. You got to remember, autism definition is a behavioral profiling.
Temple GrandinWhen you take a drug to treat high blood pressure or diabetes, you have an objective test to measure blood pressure and the amount of sugar in the blood. It is straight-forward. With autism, you are looking for changes in behavior.
Temple GrandinIn the 50s and 60s, kids were taught how to shake hands. They were taught how to have manners. There needs to be a lot more of that kind of stuff because the autistic mind doesn't pick up social things and subtle cues.
Temple GrandinI've got a lot of people that are really good at taming animals and working with animals; and they can't explain how they do. They just get a feeling from the animal.
Temple GrandinAll children in the '50s were taught manners, they were taught to say please and thank you, they were taught not to be rude. And I'm seeing some problems today where somebody's losing a job because they made fun of a fat lady that couldn't fit in the elevator. I mean that was the sort of thing that, when I was eight years old, my mother made it very clear to me that that was not okay to say that kind of stuff.
Temple Grandin