The only thing I wish would stop (besides misdiagnosis and stigma) is speculative diagnosis. Like posthumously diagnosing famous people is obnoxious because you really can't know for sure so knock it off.
omfg this is almost as bad as 13 year old kids wanting attention and self diagnosis on deviantart... guh
I think comparisons aren't necessary, no matter what the condition is. Whether it's because someone has Asperger's, deaf-blindness, being of a different race, etc. It just stands out among the crowd when someone overcomes a world of people that aren't like that and makes something more of things despite odds being against them, but when it all comes down to it, we're all human beings.
Basically, I wouldn't compare someone with autism to Temple Grandin and expect everyone with autism to be like her, but I wouldn't look past her accomplishments. Those accomplishments are her's, and they're something inspiring to people, autistic or not. But it doesn't mean everyone with autism is gonna do the same. If they do, that's great. If they don't, that's great. As long as you're you, what's wrong with that?
Did I make an ounce of sense? :( I feel like I got off track, haha.
I'm gonna seriously disagree with you here, just because I think the problem with people like Grandin (with absolutely no fault to herself) is that people who don't suffer from her end up turning to people like her to figure out WTF IS WRONG WITH MY KID?!1 (which, again, I've seen happen and it's pretty terrible and disgusting). I honestly have no problem with having an idol but nobody should act like, well, just because Grandin was successful you should look to her for success. It's like blindies and Stevie Wonder. Gonna say this the nicest way possible but I do not know a single blindie that likes Stevie Wonder at all (and I know quite the handful), but the general public looks up to him like he should be the blind messiah or something. Sure, both overcame their challenges but our challenges and theirs are completely different - everyone lives an independent, unique situation, moreso with Autism than even blindness.
I'm an admittedly peculiar example. I don't really fit the archetype of a "typical autistic person" people, but when it's there, it's THERE. I'm one of those autistics that has very well developed traits in one area while others may be absent. For example, I don't have problems with speech (although I was a little slow), but I have extreme difficulty holding a conversation with most people. I don't have a problem with facial expressions but faces simply do not register with me. Unlike Grandin, who has openly stated that she doesn't seek companionship, I do, and this gives me challenges that Grandin would never face. Most autistics (including myself) shy away from others but I've met people who have tried to be social (and failed miserably), which presents challenges that I will never understand, since I don't really like to hang out with people socially. All in all, it's such a mixed bag that one can't say, oh because this one person managed to do it you can to!... because they might not in that way.
All in all, life is all about figuring out your own path. Everyone, autistic, blind, wheel-chair bound or none of these has their own challenges that they must face. Nobody can just say, oh well Grandin/Wonder/Whoever did it, it's about YOU doing it. And when I learned that I realized how powerful I was and how wonderful I was and how wonderful everyone else is, and how people simply need to tap into their own hidden talent. If anything, these role models are simply examples of people who managed to figure it out as opposed to the many who haven't.