Dr. Grandin may be the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. The author of several books, she has been featured on NPR (A Conversation with Temple Grandin), on a number of major television programs, and in numerous publications. On Saturday, February 6, HBO premieres "Temple Grandin: Autism Gave her a Vision, She Gave it a Voice."
According to her website, “Dr. Grandin didn't talk until she was three and a half years old, communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping and humming. In 1950 [at the age of three], she was labeled ‘autistic,’ and her parents were told she should be institutionalized. She tells her story of ‘groping her way from the far side of darkness’ in her book Emergence: Labeled Autistic, a book which stunned the world because, until its publication, most professionals and parents assumed being diagnosed ‘autistic’ was virtually a death sentence to achievement or productivity in life.”
“When I was much younger, I assumed that everybody perceived the world the same way I did, that everybody thought in pictures.”Grandin’s parents chose not to follow the advice to have her institutionalized and instead sent her to private schools. Ultimately she graduated from Franklin Pierce College with a B.A. in psychology and later received both a masters and doctorate degree in animal science. Grandin now works as a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and speaks around the world on both autism and cattle handling.
Grandin's biggest impact has probably come through her work with animals. She believes her autism allows her to empathize with animals, and she has used that special sensibility to design humane procedures and facilities for slaughterhouses. Today, plants audited and designed to her standards handle half of the cattle in the United States. You can read a fascinating account of her work and insight on animal perception and intelligence in What Do Animals Think?, by Verlyn Klinkenborg, in the May 2005 issue of Discover.
Grandin's current bestseller is The Way I See It. On January 26, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism will be released in paperback to coincide with the premiere of "Temple Grandin: Autism Gave her a Vision, She Gave it a Voice", which airs Saturday, February 6th on HBO.
For other books by Temple Grandin, including The Way I See It and Animals in Translation, visit www.templegrandin.com
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