Mary Temple Grandin is an autism and animal rights activist. She has earned multiple degrees, including a doctoral degree in animal science in 1989, and has taught the Graduate Animal Behavior and Welfare program at Colorado State University for 25 years. Lack of historical records and terminology of the past make it difficult to say for certain where historical figures fell on the spectrum, and even modern figures’ diagnoses sometimes remain vague due to stigma. However, neurodivergent people have always been around and have contributed much to the world, just like neurotypical people.
April is Autism Acceptance Month, or Neurodiversity Acceptance Month in some contexts. Our society has only recently begun to better understand and give names to neurodiversity - autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are all considered neurodivergent, or different from the neurotypical norm.
