April is Autism Awareness Month. To kick it off, News-O-Matic wrote about Temple Grandin (TG). She created equipment to better handle and treat cattle. She’s also written books about living with autism, or ASD. Readers had a lot of questions for her. Grandin answered them from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Pia, age 9: What is having autism like?
TG: Learning social skills can be hard. At school, I recommend getting involved in an activity, such as art or math. It is easier to talk to people with shared interests.

I, age 10: Are people born with autism?
TG: Yes. And a little bit of autism can help in creativity. But some people can get serious conditions, such as epilepsy. So it’s important to know about the range of conditions people can get.

Wynslett, age 10: Do people with ASD not like loud noises?
TG: It happens to a lot of people. They are sensitive.

Z, age 10: What was it like growing up when people didn’t understand autism?
TG: In my elementary school, things went pretty well. There was art that I enjoyed. And kids could do all kinds of hands-on things, like fly kites and make model airplanes.

Sophia, age 7: Have people bullied you for being autistic?
TG: I had trouble as a teenager. High school was the hardest. There was teasing. The thing that saved me was getting involved in horses. So I was friends with students who had the same interests.

Lexis, age 10: What animals do you take care of?
TG: I mainly work with cattle. I design facilities for them. I got interested in cattle because I went to my aunt’s ranch when I was 15. It’s a great way to find out if you want to have a career in it.

Jaya, age 12: What is going on in the brain of a person with ASD?
TG: Well, often kids with ASD are really smart. And they are often good at math or writing. Usually they’re good at one thing and bad at something else.

Kaia, age 11: What inspired you to help people with autism and become a teacher?
TG: I had a great science teacher in high school. I also had to work very, very hard.

Joshua, age 10: How did you come up with the idea for the hug machine?
TG: I got the idea from a cattle squeeze chute. (Farmers use it to steady cows while they give them shots.) For some people with autism, pressure is relaxing.

Ryland, age 9: Do you ever have trouble speaking? (Temple Grandin couldn’t speak until she was almost 4 years old.)
TG: I had a lot of speech therapy. A lot. When I gave my first lecture in grad school, I panicked and walked out. But you learn by doing. (Tap play to hear one of Grandin’s many talks.)

Anakin, age 11: How does autism affect your job?
TG: Well, being a visual thinker helps me in animal behavior. I speak their language. They think in pictures and in sound and in smells. So it helps me understand animals. It helps me in my design work because I can visualize the things in my head.

Sofia, age 10: What parts of having autism are the hardest?
TG: I got interested in working with cattle, which is an industry mostly with men. It was harder being a woman than dealing with autism!

Jasmin, age 14: I am autistic. Sometimes I see and hear things that are very confronting. Do you have ways to get things out of your head?
TG: I’m always seeing pictures in my head because that’s how I think. So I find I can control it. I test-run a design in my head like a computer.


Updated April 1, 2019, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Stephanie Santana