We're all doing the best we can

While browsing through the bookstore, I spotted a book, "Animals Make us Human," but the author's name is what caused me to pick it up – Temple Grandin.

Dr. Grandin is an animal scientist who revolutionized the cattle processing industry as well as other methods of handling livestock. More importantly, she's a vocal advocate for people with autism.

She knows what she's talking about – Grandin is autistic and has become a voice of reason and hope for people like her and for parents with autistic children.

Her road wasn't easy. As a young child, Grandin didn't speak and had trouble interacting socially. Doctors told her mother she needed to be institutionalized, but her mother refused to believe her 4-year-old daughter couldn't learn.

She was right. Grandin proved incredibly intelligent and became fascinated with cows while visiting her aunt's ranch.

The teenage Grandin eventually devised a chute system that calmed cattle on their way to the slaughterhouse. This system continues to save the meat industry millions of dollars.

Grandin is successful because she approaches life scientifically and logically. Her books and magazine articles provide incredible insight into the world of autistic children.

Her writings and talks educate the world about the different ways people with autism, Asperger's or attention deficit disorder function every single day.

As I watched the HBO movie about Grandin, I thought about some of the kids I knew back in high school -- the "juvenile delinquents" whom the system pigeonholed as troublemakers. There were those who had trouble paying attention in school. They were labeled daydreamers and put into a societal cubicle they could never escape.

But those troublemakers and daydreamers had quite a bit to offer the rest of us, but we overlooked and misunderstood what they were capable of providing because we labeled them, much as Grandin was labeled as a youngster.

I'm as guilty as the next person in judging someone based on a first impression, but through Grandin, I've come to understand that the child throwing a tantrum in a grocery store might not be a spoiled brat. That child could have deeper emotional problems, and the parents are doing the best they can.

The adult who has trouble making eye contact or is uncomfortable in a party situation might have undiagnosed social disorders. They're not someone to avoid but very often they're someone who needs to be approached in a different way because they see the world through an unusual lens.

Some, like Grandin, are scientists who see the world in bold numbers and sequences. Others, the writers and poets, view the world as phrases and words. Dancers see the world as form and grace, and they ensure we never forget there's beauty in simple movements.

But when we refuse to accept where people are in their development, refuse to look beyond different behavior or a quirk that doesn't quite meet our definition of "normal," then we miss out on so much these individuals can teach us.

Not everyone can dance or paint or build humane cattle chutes, but we all have something unique to offer the world, even if it's a smile to someone struggling or a comforting word to a parent wondering why their child won't give them a hug at night.

Temple Grandin is a reminder to see the world through others' eyes and to remember we're all doing the best we can.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.