Autism advocate inspires in SJ

MOUNT LAUREL – Marissa Hacker got to meet her hero Wednesday night at the Enterprise Center at Burlington County College during a meet-and-greet session.

Temple Grandin, one of the world's most accomplished and well-known adults with autism, was there, surrounded by people who wanted advice, to take a picture or to simply say hello.

Grandin, who has a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois and is an autism and animal rights advocate, received the inaugural Dr. Durand Schulmann Award for excellence in the field of autism.

Hacker, 18, is an autism advocate who formed a social group four years ago for youths with special needs. The Eastern High School graduate, whose twin brother Matthew is autistic, was thrilled to meet Grandin.

"She is incredible," said Hacker, a Voorhees resident. "I didn't even know if I was going to get the chance to meet her, but she is amazing. I'm so inspired by her story. Everything that she's saying I'm going to use for my members and for my brother."

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior.

"Autism is a really big spectrum," Grandin said. "It goes from Silicon Valley to somebody that cannot dress themselves. I can't emphasize enough the importance of early intervention, 2- and 3-year-olds when you first see symptoms, that is super-important.

"The other big thing is, develop strengths, develop what they're good at. They've got to learn working skills. I know paper routes don't exist anymore, but we need to find paper route substitutes. Things like walking dogs for the neighbors. When I was 15, I was cleaning horse stalls. When I was 13, I did a little sewing job. I was painting signs and selling them."

Grandin was diagnosed with autism as a young child and was non-verbal until the age of 4. With early intervention and prompting from family members, such as her mother Eustacia Cutler — who has become a well-known autism advocate as well — Grandin blossomed into a success story.

She's a best-selling author, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University who teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design, and she also designs livestock handling facilities.

Yet as a child she was teased and bullied for being different. She said kids would call her "tape recorder" because she always used the same phrases.

Helping the friendless is what prompted Hacker to start a social group called Fantastic Friends four years ago when Matthew came home from summer camp crying because he said no one wanted to be his friend.

"It just really hurt me," said Hacker, a student at Stockton. "As his twin sister, I always could feel his emotions. I wanted to help him in some way, start something for him and other kids he went to school with. It's my passion and I feel so rewarded through helping these kids."

April is Autism Awareness Month and Durand Inc., was able to get Grandin to come to town for the award presentation, a book signing for the latest edition "The Way I see It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's" and a talk that lasted more than an hour.

Durand Inc., which was established in 1972 and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, is a nonprofit, multiservice agency that provides care and educational resources for children and adults with special needs, as well as their families.

"We feel really privileged and appreciative to get her (Grandin)," said Durand CEO Ray Cristofoletti, who said the event was sold out. "She's in such demand. We really feel privileged she came to southern New Jersey."

Grandin, 67, was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time Magazine in 2010 and was the subject of an HBO movie titled "Temple Grandin" that starred Claire Danes.

In her talk, she told listeners they have "to stretch" those with autism beyond their comfort zones and that often there is "way too much coddling," and sometimes not enough expectations.

Grandin spoke about getting those with autism involved in extracurricular activities, such as Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, art, band, cooking, theater, choir, sewing or embroidery.

"This is the stuff that absolutely saved me," she said. "If I didn't have that, I don't know what I would've done. I had to be exposed to cattle to find out I liked it.

"I can think of kids I went to school with that I know would be labeled autistic today and they own businesses because they learned how to work."

Dawn Lynch, a group home manager for Durand in Willingboro, was in attendance with her daughter Aubrey, 14, who is autistic.

Aubrey was diagnosed with Asperger's in the third grade. Lynch says her daughter has hit her stride, excelling in tough courses in school.

"I saw the Temple Grandin movie just after she (Aubrey) was diagnosed," said Lynch, who resides in Levittown, Pennsylvania. "It really motivated me to say this is going to be OK. ... Now, she's preparing to go to college. She's telling me she's going to an Ivy League school and she's going to major in science. She has real goals that are definitely a picture of a prosperous future for her where she's going to be a productive member of the community."

Marissa Hacker has always had a soft spot for people with social skills issues. When Hacker was in the fourth grade, she filled a bag with toys and games and took it to school for recess so children who were outcasts had something to play with.

"There was this one girl who had special needs," she said. "She always sat with me at lunch and I always wanted to help her."

Last year Hacker was selected to be the Youth Ambassador of New Jersey through Youth Service America and the Festival of Children Foundation. She earned a free trip to Washington, D.C., where she received advocacy training and met with people in Congress to discuss social inclusion and more social programming for people with disabilities.

She also won the Young Hero Award through TD Bank and the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia. Her story is in an exhibit at the museum.

Celeste E. Whittaker; 856-486-2437; cwhittaker@courierpostonline.com