By Paul Albani-Burgio, Reporter-Herald
Renowned writer and Colorado State University animal science professor Temple Grandin has one major piece of advice for teens with autism-spectrum disorders: Get a job as soon as you are legally able to.
“I want to get the transition to work before [these kids] graduate from high school, especially for these fully verbal kids,” said Grandin, who is on the autism spectrum. “And I don’t want them to talk about it and I don’t want them to think about it. It’s non-negotiable. A lot of parents are getting way too over-protective.”
The importance of getting young people who are on the autism-spectrum into jobs early was one Grandin returned to often during a talk she gave at the Loveland Museum/Gallery on Tuesday night.
The professor spent part of that event being interviewed by Trust Decatur, a Fort Collins seventh-grader who is also on the autism spectrum, about her experience with autism and advice for young people who are on the spectrum.
Grandin told Decatur that she was glad to hear that he would be doing volunteer work this summer and hoped he would apply for a job as soon as he turned 14 as there is no substitute for the experience such work can provide for those on the spectrum.
“We’ve got to get these kids these skills,” Grandin said. “We don’t chuck them off the deep end of the pool but they’ve got to learn that discipline at work. Work skills aren’t the same as academic skills and what you learn at work is a whole lot more important.”
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