There's also a book written by her mother that I'd love to read, but the library hasn't been able to get a copy of it for me yet. Most mothers believed the doctors (gods) when told that they were the cause of their child's strangeness. Or when they were told that "she'll grow out of it in time."
Granted, it has been a little while since I read Grandin's autobiography, but I don't recall this being the case with her. The treatment options were certainly limited because autism spectrum disorders weren't well understood, but that isn't quite the same thing that you are talking about.
Sperran