Different as a Child
Every case study for autism spectrum disorder is unique. However, after comparing Temple Grandin’s childhood experiences with autistic children that went to my grade school, I notice that there are several key characteristics that define autism through childhood. In elementary school, I observed that the few autistic children separated themselves from the rest of us during class and recess, but as a young child myself, I never questioned why. Oliver Sacks's insight, in the novel An Anthropologist on Mars, of Temple Grandin’s childhood allowed me to finally comprehend my observations. Even though autism provides hardships through Temple Grandin’s entire life, she mostly struggled to thrive with her condition as a child.
One of the first signs of Temple’s autism occurred with her hearing. At the age of two, she describes her ears being “helpless microphones, transmitting everything, irrespective of relevance, at full, overwhelming volume” (Sacks 254). Her trouble hearing caused sudden impulses and violent rage. This alienated her at a young age. She did not understand the common actions and reactions of human relationship. It was not until the age of three when her parents sent her to a special nursery to learn speech therapy. She finally learned to communicate, which calmed her down and made the noises around her less chaotic. Also, she discovered her ability to deeply concentrate. She had the ability live in her own world and block out any outside noises at an extreme level.
However, these traits did not help her develop relationships until much later. It was not until age six when she began to interact with teachers, who noticed her wit and uniqueness (Sacks 271). Eventually, she began to find pleasure in arts and crafts. Throughout her childhood, she did not interact much with other children because she could not understand them. The emotions and mannerisms of the other children seemed strange to her. Also, the fact that Temple did not understand her own condition made it especially tough to understand why everyone acted so different from her.
