11/1/2013 By Temple Grandin Colorado State University When Does Normal Variation Become an Abnormality? Person with bipolar - More siblings in creative careers Person with autism - More relatives in technical careers What Would Happen to Them Today? 1 11/1/2013 Autism is a very broad spectrum and diagnosis is not precise. It is a behavioral profile. History of Diagnosis 1943 Leo Kanner published Disturbances of Affective Contact 1950-1970 Psychoanalytic approach blaming mothers 1952 DSM I – Autism listed with schizophrenia 1968 DSM II – Autism mentioned with schizophrenia 1980 DSM III – Listed autism under PDD. Onset under 30 months, delayed or abnormal speech 2 11/1/2013 1987 DSM III – R changed infantile autism to autistic disorder added PDD-NOS 1994 DSM IV – Added Asperger Syndrome, No speech delay, Introduced concept of a spectrum 2013 DSM V – Eliminated Asperger and PDDNOS, All Autism Spectrum The Double Helix Photo Credit: Dr. Murray – IST Issues in Human Genetics Genetics is Complicated Less than of the 2% DNA Codes for proteins The rest is Non-Coding Regulatory DNA Operating System 3 11/1/2013 Folding Principle Human Genome Lieberman et al., 2009, Science 326:5950 “Our results start to place genes and regulatory elements in three dimensional context revealing their functional relationships.” Sanyal et al., 2012, Nature 489:109 Genetics of Personality Traits are Like a Music Mixing Board Photo Credit: Matt Hall, Agile 4 11/1/2013 Visual Thinking has been a huge asset in my career designing livestock facilities I Have a Huge Graphics Circuit Control T. Grandin Humphreys, Minshew, Behrmann, and Cibu, 2006 Brain Scans T. Grandin Control Humphreys, Minshew, Behrmann, and Cibu, 2006 5 11/1/2013 Abnormalities in Left Hemisphere University of Utah, 2010 I Could Not Learn Computer Programming Credit: Wikimedia Commons 6 11/1/2013 Develop Talents in the Individual’s Specialist Brain 1. Photo Realistic Visual Thinking Object Visualizer – Poor at algebra 2. Pattern Thinker Spatial Visualizer Music and Math – Poor in reading 3. Verbal Facts Language Translation – Poor at drawing 4. Auditory Thinker – Visual perception fragmented There can be mixtures of these thinking types Evidence for two types of visualizers, Marie Kozhevnikof, 2005 Pet Meta - Analysis of Object and Spatial Mental Images, Angelique Mazard, 2004 Two Categories of Mathematicians Geometers – See this figure Algebraists a2 + b2 = c2 Masha Gessen – Perfect Rigor, 2009 7 11/1/2013 Robert Lang, 2006 Pattern Thinking Spatial Visualizer Kamiya Satoshi's origami dragon 8 11/1/2013 Jessy Park Bridge Grant Manier Eco Artist The Most Obvious is the Least Obvious Credit – Stephen Clark We Need All Kinds of Minds 9 11/1/2013 Animals may refuse to move toward a waving flag Most people fail to see the problem caused by the flag Animals See Details An animal’s world is sensory based. Their memories are sights, sounds, taste, and touch. 10 11/1/2013 In humans, language covers up sensory based thinking Miller et al., 1998, Neurology 51:978 Van Gogh’ ’s Starry Night Eddies in the sky match Kolmogorov Statistical model of turbulence Jose Luis Aragon and Manuel Torres, 2006 My thinking is bottom up Concepts consist of specific examples placed in categories Everything is learned by specific examples 11 11/1/2013 My thinking is Associative and it is not Linear At the United Airlines Terminal in Chicago, I look at the glass structure Credit – Thornton Tomasetti This Triggers Associated Streams of Specific Pictures Glass Structure Category Airport Category There are no generalized pictures 12 11/1/2013 Glass Structure Category Biosphere in Arizona Glass Structure Category Crystal Palace – World’s Fair Glass Structure Category Greenhouse at Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 13 11/1/2013 Airport Category Denver International Airport Airport Category Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Airport Category Photo Credit: Roberto 8080 Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport 14 11/1/2013 Airport Category Photo Credit: City of Atlanta Atlanta Airport Airport Category New York’s LaGuardia – American Airlines Terminal When asked about church steeples, an Astrophysics Professor saw no images. He saw the motion of people singing and praying. Photo credit: Jeffry Newman, UC Berkley, NASA 15 11/1/2013 Cattle perceive a man on a horse and a man on foot as two different things They need to be habituated to both How to Categorize Problems When Troubleshooting People training vs. equipment design problem A major design fault vs. an easy-to-fix glitch Curiosity Mars Rover Team World Needs All Kinds of Thinkers Photo Credit: Reuters 16 11/1/2013 Objects are More Interesting than Faces T. Grandin Blue = objects Control Red = faces Humphreys, Minshew, Behrmann, and Cibu, 2006 Tips for Helping Kids Who Are Different to Succeed Have to stretch them Mentors Learning working skills Kids doing projects and playing games where the rules and duties are negotiated teaches valuable social skills 17 11/1/2013 Emphasize Developing the Area of Strength My ability in art was encouraged Let the child proceed ahead to more advanced lessons in areas of strength On-Line Resources Khan Academy Udacity Coursera EdX Wolfram Mathematica MOOCS Free classes MIT and Stanford My Design in SketchUp Search for “sketchup spectrum” 18 11/1/2013 Online Scientific Projects Foldit Phylo Galaxy Zoo Zooniverse I was a poor student but I learned lots of valuable work skills in high school. I did building projects that other people appreciated Before After Mentors are Essential!! My science teacher motivated me to study. More teachers are needed. Many retired scientists would be great teachers 19 11/1/2013 I am concerned that our educational system is failing to stimulate and educate the visual and pattern thinker Taking hands-on classes out of the schools is really bad Hands-on classes, such as welding, sewing, cooking, and auto shop teach resourceful thinking and problem solving Art class was my salvation in elementary school. Carpentry and horses saved me in high school 20 11/1/2013 We need people in this country who can do real stuff Businesses cannot find enough mechanics, programmers, and other skilled people Many talented, quirky kids are going nowhere because they have no mentors to channel their abilities into challenging careers Keys to Successful Employment on the Autism Spectrum Sell your work, not yourself Ask your boss for specific goals and work outcomes Bosses need to correct mistakes and give specific instruction. Don’t be vague. 21 11/1/2013 Examples of Specific Instructions for Museum Tour Guide Demonstrate correct distance between people Demonstrate correct greeting Give assessments of performance; similar to coaching a character to be in a play Sensory processing disorder occurs with many other disorders (co-morbid) Autism spectrum Asperger Dyslexia Head injury Learning problems Oppositional defiant ADHD Many others Auditory Processing Problems Loud sounds hurt ears Hearing may fade in and out like bad mobile phone Difficulty hearing hard consonants. Slow down when talking 22 11/1/2013 Auditory Walt Schneider, University of Pittsburgh Axon Projection Field Much Less Organized Temple Grandin Normal Age Matched Subject Walt Schneider, University of Pittsburgh Speech Production Walt Schneider, Univ. of Pittsburgh Visual Representation 23 11/1/2013 Attention shifting slowness occurs with many disorders Takes longer to shift back and forth between two different things Words vibrate and jiggle on page Structural MRI Connection s 24 11/1/2013 High Definition Fiber Tracks of Temple Grandin Walt Schneider, University of Pittsburgh Other Brain Scan Findings Amygdala (fear center) Three times larger – Anxiety has been controlled by low dose of antidepressants since my early thirties Cerebellum 20% smaller Accommodations in the Work Place No fluorescent lights Quiet place to work May need breaks to calm down No sudden surprises for change in work routine No scratchy clothes 25 11/1/2013 NASA Space Scientist Cries When the Shuttle Was Cancelled It’s ok for Geeks to cry! It Takes a Village to Raise a Child Communities need to work together to help kids succeed. Includes teachers, local businesses, neighbors, religious organizations, and professionals All members of the family may need help, especially when autism is severe There is a need for a network of heads of organizations to get to know each other and talk person-to-person to share ideas Everybody needs to get out of their silos and work together 26 11/1/2013 Temple Grandin Therapeutic Riding Center at CSU http://www.equinescience.colostate.edu Temple Grandin Therapeutic Riding Center at CSU http://www.equinescience.colostate.edu 27 11/1/2013 Books by Temple Grandin Thinking in Pictures Developing Talents Animals in Translation Unwritten Social Rules Emergence Labeled Autistic The Way I See It, 2nd Edition Animals Make Us Human The Autistic Brain 28