“I’m seeing smart autistic students graduate from college and lose it in the workplace,” Dr. Temple Grandin, Ph.D., said Thursday in Centreville. “They end up back in the basement playing video games. (They) never learn any work skills.”

Grandin, this year’s Glen Oaks Community College Viking Speaker, presented before approximately 330 people at Firm Foundations Ministries. Her speech included advising that youth, especially autistic youth, should be prepared for a slow transition from being students to becoming workers.

At about age 11, youth should start learning to work for someone outside of their family, Grandin said. She recalled talking to a 12-year-old who was proud to be her church’s coffee lady.

“That is teaching work skills,” Grandin said. “It costs nothing to set up.”

Speaking about how animals and humans behave and think, Grandin referred to her own books, published research, and what she has observed.

“I’m a total visual thinker. I don’t think in words. It was a shock for me, when I was in my late ‘30s, when I figured out that all people didn’t think in pictures. But being a person who thinks in pictures helped me in my work with animals, because I thought about what cattle are seeing. And people thought that was crazy,” Grandin said.

Visual thinking is a different kind of problem solving, Grandin said. You just see how something works, and you see a solution to a problem. She gave the example of being at the airport and seeing a woman who was missing a baby stroller. Grandin saw that woman using a wheelchair as a substitute stroller.

Businesses need people who are visual thinkers just as much as they need people who are good at math, Grandin said. She explained it is about bringing different skills into projects. Those skills aren’t always initially valued.

“I’m very concerned. In a lot of states right now, our visual thinkers are getting screened out. The hurricanes have ruined a lot of equipment in Florida. It’s going to be the visual thinkers that are going to put that stuff back together,” Grandin said.

Autistic people need direct feedback, Grandin said. She recalled criticizing the welding at her first job.

“I said it looked like pigeon doo-doo. The plant engineer made me go and apologize. He didn’t say it was rude. That’s too late. He told me exactly what I had to do,” Grandin said.

Clear directions were shared throughout Thursday’s presentation. The audience learned or was reminded about ideas including:

• An animal’s first experience with a new person, place, or vehicle should be good to prevent the formation of fear memories
• Sudden new things and experiences are frightening to both animals and people with autism
• The importance of reducing fear is now being recognized.
• Fear of veterinarians is a common problem, but fear-free methods are being used at veterinary clinics.
• Many dogs live too sheltered a life and are afraid of new things.

“I’ll also tell you that too many autistic young adults are living too sheltered a life. Teenagers are not learning about shopping or bank accounts. I’m very concerned about this,” Grandin said.

“The Loving Push: How Parents and Professionals Can Help Spectrum Kids Become Successful Adults,” written by Grandin and Dr. Debra Moore, Ph.D., explores this topic further.

“What you’ve got to do is stretch them,” Grandin said. “Give them some choices.”

Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.