Autism expert Temple Grandin has sage advice for autistic adults and their caregivers.
Her recommendations come just in time for World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday, April 2.
Autism Awareness Month is celebrates acceptance and inclusion for individualswith autism spectrum disorder and other special needs.
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Grandin, 77, the best-selling author or co-author of 16 books on autism and livestock handling, is eager to respond to individuals with autism, their parents, grandparents, and caregivers who seek her advice at speaking engagements around the world. This includes upcoming summer speaking tours in Germany and Spain.
She recalls being bullied, ridiculed and underestimated as a child and teenager and believes that her work ethic has always been a major key to her success.
“When I meet young adults with autism and their families, I tell them the importance of holding a job before they graduate from high school,” Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, exclusively explains to Parade. “Getting a job is so important because otherwise, the adult with autism will end up being unemployed, staying home, becoming isolated and not being exposed to what the world has to offer.”
Her work ethic started early. Grandin recalls wearing her Sunday best when she was nine years old, and the often-timid child being required to help her mother as a party hostess.
“I answered the door, greeted the guests, shook their hands, offered to take their coats, and served some of the snacks,” she said. “That was something that my generation did when we were young children and it taught us social skills at a young age. I believe that those skills are still really important today.”
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Temple Grandin teaching an animal sciences class at Colorado State UniversityColorado State University
Various studies reveal that in the first eight years after high school, only 53% of young adults on the autism spectrum had ever worked for pay outside the home, and only 20% worked full-time at a current or recent job.
A 2024 U.S. Dept. of Labor Statistics Studyreveals an estimated 77% unemployment rate for adults with autism after graduating from high school, as well as many years later.
As a result, concerned parents and caregivers often envision an uncertain future in which their loved one spends countless hours at home obsessed with video games, cell phones, and other electronic devices. They worry that this social isolation will lead to difficulties with self-confidence and, more disturbingly, a life without socialization, goals or a sense of purpose.
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Temple Grandin on a cattle ranchRosalie Winard
“I’ve talked to many young adults who are video game addicts, and their concerned family members want to know how to get them off of them and into the workplace,” Grandin said. “One way is to slowly wean them off it with exposure to classes or workshops in car mechanics. They found it interested them and it gave them a vocation.”
“It’s never too late to start, but they’ve got to learn how to work. Work skills are not the same as academic skills,” Grandin said. “I am meeting 16-year-olds in which everything is being done for them,” Grandin said. “They’ve never been shopping by themselves and they haven’t learned how to handle a bank account. These are all important life skills.”
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Grandin developed a strong worth ethic early in her life and was crucial as she pursued her career in the livestock industry. As a result of her extensive animal research, most of the big cattle processing plants in the U.S. and Canada use a system she developed, the Center Track Restrainer System, to improve cattle handling operations.
Temple Grandin spending time with her friend's dog, Louie, a fluffy Pembroke CorgiKelly Buster
Among her published books, co-authored with Kate Duffy, is Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Autism, now in its third edition, which details everything from finding a vocation you love to rules for success in the job.
In the book’s forward, Grandin says, “We do not want our autism to be the whole of our lives. This is neither healthy nor wise. I think that people who are able should get out in the community and get jobs. Without work, no matter how big or small the job, life would become small and unsatisfying for me. With work, we discover we can give back to our family and community that has given so much to us.”
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Temple Grandin's Best Advice for Preparing Autistic Adults for the Workplace
“I get extremely frustrated when I go back and forth between the business world and the autism world because I am seeing too many kids getting locked into the label," Grandin says. "The parents do everything for them and they are not learning any life skills.”
2. Start volunteer and community jobs early.
“We don’t have paper routes anymore, but some substitutes for young kids would be walking the neighbor’s dog or helping as a church volunteer," she explains. "You have to have the confidence to offer up your services. We used to have businesses mowing lawns and we also tinkered with science, arts, and craft projects. All of this will boost social skills and self-esteem and start an all-important work ethic.”
“I am seeing college graduates who have never had gainful employment, and they do not have the skills to handle the workplace,” she says. “If I hadn’t gone to my aunt’s ranch I wouldn’t have gotten interested in the beef industry. Exposure is the key. Expose children and adults to a myriad of things so they can find out what they are interested in and good in.”
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4. Young children with signs of autism must get early intervention.
“Start at age three for verbal and nonverbal children and it will lead to major improvements,” Grandin advises. ”The spectrum is wide; from Einstein and Bill Gates to somebody with severe challenges that require different services and needs.”
“My mother always gave me choices instead—when it came time to go to my Aunt Ann’s ranch in Arizona, refusing to go was not an option: I could go for a week, or I could go all summer. This is how you ‘stretch’ their options,” Grandin explains. ”I went there, loved it and stayed all summer.”
6. Help autistic teens learn to drive, even if they're scared at first.
“When it comes to learning how to drive it is going to take maybe three times for practice in totally safe places before he or she goes into traffic, but it can be done,” she says. ”It took me a lot of time driving on dirt roads, big fields, and empty parking lots. They need to learn how to drive to help foster independence.”
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“I hear from parents who feel badly because the child or teen has no friends,” Grandin says. ”When I was a teenager and was bullied; I had friends with similar interests. We were all interested in riding horses and getting the animals ready for the horse show, so encourage these shared interests.”
8. Believe in your children and adult loved ones with autism.
“My mother had high expectations with some accommodations—just the right amount of pressure and support,” Grandin said. ”I can’t over-emphasize the importance of having really good teachers like the ones who mentored me.”
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