Developing Talents: Careers For Individuals With Asperger Syndrome And High-functioning Autism

by Temple Grandin, Kate Duffy, Tony Attwood (Foreword)

This career planning guide is written specifically for high-functioning adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum, their families, teachers, and counselors. The two authors weave together a unique blend of information and advice based on personal experiences. Temple Grandin draws from her own experience with autism spectrum disorders and her professional career, and Kate Duffy uses her expertise on employment issues and the mother of two teenagers with autistic-like behaviors. The result is an extremely useful and practical book that introduces step-by-step processes for the job search with a major section on the impact ASD has in the workplace, including managing sensory problems, how to nurture and turn talents and special interests into paid work, jobs that are particularly suited to individuals on the spectrum, and much more. First-hand accounts of job experiences and advice from individuals representing a broad range of careers particularly suited for high-functioning individuals on the autism spectrum round off this exciting new resource.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Psychology, Mental Health, Parenting, Aspergers, Self Help

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Mary Temple Grandin is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Grandin is a consultant to the livestock industry, where she offers advice on animal behavior, and is also an autism spokesperson.
Grandin is one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experiences with autism. She is a faculty member with Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University.
In 2010, Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, named her in the "Heroes" category. She was the subject of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning biographical film Temple Grandin. Grandin has been an outspoken proponent of autism rights and neurodiversity movements.

Reviews

[A.J. Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grandin makes many false assumptions and promotes harmful stereotypes. Grandin was born into an extremely wealthy family and has no practical understanding of lack of privilege in so many ways. She makes many able-ist missteps such as believing if a person works hard enough they can be less autistic. This is actually masking. The autism spectrum is not linear. An autistic can have some "high" functioning traits and some "low" functioning traits. Her persistent use of terms no longer used in professional circles is indicative that she is not an expert. Her experience is the experience of one autistic person. There are many much better books by much more aware advocates who are not stuck in the 20th century. Her lists of appropriate jobs for autistic people fail to grasp the diversity, abilities, and challenges we face.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my day job, I help people with disabilities maintain jobs in the community. Some of my co-workers, meanwhile, match people to jobs and try to get them those jobs. We serve a few people with an autism diagnosis, so I thought this might help as a resource. It contains a lot of perspectives I hadn't considered before, and is absolutely packed with vocational information, for such a short book.

Temple Grandin is best known for her autism diagnosis, either because you've seen her HBO-produced movie where she's played by Claire Danes, or because you've read about her in Oliver Sacks' Anthropologist on Mars. She's also a brilliant woman, and has served as something of a translator between the neurotypical and autistic brain.

This book is mostly addressed toward those with mild autism: questions to ask oneself about learning style, talents, and things to start thinking about. The book is divided into short sections about preparing oneself for the working world in various ways, and pointing out factors many neurotypicals take for granted. People with intellectual disabilities aren't prepped for a career the way neurotypicals are, or at least they weren't when Grandin was writing the book a decade ago.

The final section includes details about various professions, including the training and skills needed, how to prepare, and accommodations that may be necessary. Each career is explained through a person who works in that field. I was rather surprised to find that I knew one of the people discussed in that section, and not through my job, but from childhood.

This book seems like it might be useful, especially for kids with a mild autism diagnosis who are in middle school or just entering high school, or for their parents. It raises a lot of good questions to think about when preparing for the wider world, and anyone equipped with this information early on would have a greater shot at success. It discusses a lot of factors I've seen in my capacity as job coach, but it also brings up a lot of things I hadn't thought of. I was glad I read it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good addition to our library at work. I work in a developmentally disabled community. This was big help to one of the mothers of one of our aspergers clients. It helped her understand certain aspects, and be more supportive and understanding of her daughter.

[Sherry Callear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently attended a conference in which Dr. Grandin was the keynote speaker. This, and other of her books, was available. Very easy to read and her down to earth style made it helpful. Will be reading other non-fiction books from Dr. Grandin.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little disappointing to me and the e-book version needs more editing (several sentences repeated). Her biggest piece of advice is to be excellent at your work and sell your skills, not your personality, social skills, etc.
I found her advice about helping a child to connect their special interest to other interests to be less than helpful. Something like: "Your child's special interest is racecars. Now have him think about the racecar driver. Draw a picture of the driver's house. Where does the driver get his food?" This is just too simplistic; the kid would stare blankly, wait a beat, then go back to monologuing about racecars. His concern about the food industry or housing/construction industry wouldn't increase one bit.
Finally, whenever I see a list of likely careers and it includes artist or jewelry maker or craftsperson, I cringe. Yes, I love art. No, I'm not convinced most artists make a living wage.

[Emma R · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very outdated. Without going into length about my problems with the book, I will just say that it was written pre-2008 and updated somewhat soon after the crash, and contains the same old advice that worked for previous generations but is not really relevant to the post-recession job world. There is some good information in there, but I think the bad information does too much harm for the good to hold any value.

[Julia Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems as if this book wasn't written for adults on the spectrum. It seems to be written for parents and educators more. There are some helpful tips and behind the scenes job descriptions. Duffy and Grandin advises people not to major or seek employment in several areas though. That contradicts their advice on using your strengths to progress in your career and educational goals though.

[Shirley Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on helping your adult child prepare for the real world especially if they are attending college or preparing to go to work. Ms. is the best for helping along these lines. Book contains work book for practicing such events such as speaking to coworkers and interviews.

[Sally Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great guide for those struggling with ASD.

Whether a parent of, teen, or adult with ASD, the reader can find many useful tips on how to manage ASD so that it doesn't interrupt your career.

[John Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful in understanding how AS people think and function. How they process information and how to improve their social skills - very informative and helpful!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I've borrowed this from the library about 7 times and then never gotten around to reading it and had to turn it back in. I'm glad I sat down and did it, this time, because it was really very good. More updated/modernized (?) than her seminal Thinking in Pictures, and solid, practical, direct advice to people with ASD and their teachers, mentors, and other helpers. I think it'd be a good resource to have on hand if you work with adolescents or young adults on the spectrum, although I doubt it would jump out at them off the shelf unless you made them read it.

[4th-8th · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many people with learning disabilities have similar concerns when it comes to the work place as the folks on the autism spectrum. I like what she has to say so far...

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and practical advice. I really admire Temple Grandin.

[Doug]

Good book for high school Aspies

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource!

[Chris]

A random book from the library, but an extremely practical guidebook with information that, frankly, is useful for anyone looking for a job.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for helping my son in his job search. Sending him a copy to help him find a career he will find interesting. Hope it works!