Catching the symptoms of autism early could help the child lead a more productive life.

It's a packed house at Augustana's auditorium as teachers, parents and counselors welcome Temple Grandin.  Diagnosed with autism when she was two and a half years old, Grandin's speaking to this crowd not only about her experiences growing up...

"My mother hired a nanny who spent hours doing time-taking games with me and my sister," Grandin said.

...but also about early intervention.

"If you have a child two to three years old and has no speech, no social contact, just sits and rocks, the worst thing you can do is nothing," Grandin said.

Learning that child's interests is key.

"Autism comes in all different severities from very severe where even with intervention a child may remain nonverbal but can still dress themselves and then all the way to genesis like Einstein," Grandin said.

Some would say Albert Einstein suffered from a type of autism but he, along with others, beat the odds. 

"Autistic kids will be good at one thing and bad at something else," Grandin said.

Grandin says focusing on an autistic child's strength will help them in the future.

"If the child is good at art work, develop art. If he's good in math, work on developing math, good at writing, work on that," Grandin said.

Grandin is the author of two autism books. She is also a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.