Autism On My Mind

It started this Sunday when I was driving around listening to a recent edition of “City Arts and Lectures” featuring my ASD heroine Temple Grandin. Most of us are familiar with Temple, the professor of Animal Science who has authored many books and was the subject of a documentary a few years back where she was played by the very talented actress Claire Danes. In Grandin’s October 2021 interview she talked about how schools can better help and teach students on the spectrum; how school testing can be improved; and how the workplace can offer better work situations for adults on the spectrum. I urge you to listen to the conversation at: https://www.cityarts.net/event/temple-gradin-2/

Then, while reading Berkeley Parents Network for Parents of Teens (www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org), I saw that Star Academy in Marin has started a new program where they help high school graduates segway to College of Marin. After admission, the college continues to offer support for these students through its Student Accessibility Services (SAS). Many of the students at Star are on the spectrum. For more info, contact Lisa Keene (lisa.keene@staracademy.org) at Star Academy.

And last night, while cooking dinner, I was searching for something better to watch than more depressing news when I stumbled upon a new original amazon series which I found fascinating called, “As We See It”. It features three young adult actors who are on the spectrum in a show about trying to get started in the work world and become independent adults. The three live in a group home with a full-time therapist. It seems so realistic. My daughter lived in a young adult transition program for a few years with a lot of people on the spectrum and she would tell me about so many similar situations. I told her about the series and her response was exactly like mine. She was so glad to see mainstream media offering insight to ASD. It will help to make us all understand one another so much better.

Lisa Scimens