TempleEssay_S

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Feb 20, 2024

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Running head: AN ESSAY ON TEMPLE GRANDIN 1 An Essay on Temple Grandin Sumi Foley Penn State University

AN ESSAY ON TEMPLE GRANDIN 2 After watching “Temple Grandin” (2010) what sticks the most, is her mother. Historically women are second-class citizens, all women have had to fight for recognition in this world, and Temple Grandin, her mother, and her ASD diagnosis are no exception. According to the lesson commentary, it was in 1943 that Leo Kanner documented 11 case studies (Hunter, 2023) on children who displayed “autism-like behaviors” (Hunter, 2023), Temple Grandin was diagnosed just 7 years later. In 1950 autism was still being referred to as early infantile schizophrenia, and hyperkinetic disease, associating it with cold, and emotionless mothering, known as “refrigerator mothers” (Hunter, 2023). 1950 was also a time when women represented roughly 20% of all college students (Geographic, 2022), a mere drop in the proverbial bucket, and a time when women were to be seen and not heard, much like children. This is incredibly telling of the time in history when Temple and her mother had to fight for a place in this world, a world in which women could not even own property or possess a will, let alone persevere through an unknown disorder and the persecution that accompanied it, all while conquering higher education. This is shown poignantly as the doctor tells Temple’s mother that he should speak with him and not her. Therefore, Temple’s mother was a driving factor in Temple's success. Eustacia Cutler, a playwright and Harvard graduate who would not accept the physician's prognosis of her daughter's condition. Instead, Miss Cutler set out to tackle what she called a “thorn in my pocket” when referring to the emotional part of the disorder as the hardest part (NYU, 2019). Cutler looked at her daughter’s disorder as tiers of a garden to walk up, disassembly of Temple’s actions and thoughts became a section of a book to dive into, understand, and work with not around. Miss Cutler's perspective was educated, caring, and unwavering, the antithesis of a refrigerator mother. It is emboldening to watch Cutler’s movie portrayal, of a tired yet perseverant parent who, in the end, prevails against all odds. The beauty with which the world now embraces Temple Grandin is a testament to the endurance and education of her mother, without her schooling she may not have had the

AN ESSAY ON TEMPLE GRANDIN 3 foresight to question the “science” and methods of treatment at that time. It is plausible to assume that Temple and her mother paved the way for a new worldview of women with autism, autism in general, and women in education. Had they both been starting the journey now, things would be much different, Temple would likely be enrolled at a regular public school, integrated and working occasionally with a behavioral health technician, certainly, her mother would not have been accused of poor parenting. The DSM-5 lists criteria for an autism diagnosis, however, numerous subsections detail the criteria in depth, as well as a slew of branches enveloped by what we now call ASD along with their criteria. When looking at the DSM-5, an individual must present early on in childhood development with difficulties in social interactions, physical interaction, language, sensory, and communication deficits, as well as restricted and repetitive behavior patterns, activities, and interests. Temple, although high- functioning exhibits behavior in all of these required criteria. For example, Temple barges in on one of her professors to show him her finished study, almost yelling at him she begins to explain the reason she does not deserve an F and is on a mission to explain herself without pause. Temple is also seen arriving unannounced at her high school teacher's home in what appears to be the middle of the night, her inability to assess an acceptable time frame or be conscientious of the time of day and wait until the next is non- existent, just two of the situations shown in the film in which Temple is unable to discern or control her communications and impulses with her educators, and can be attributed as well, to Theory of Mind as she cannot place herself in another's position. This is also apparent when her new roommate arrives and is horrified by Temple’s machine, while Temple offers for her new roommate to try the machine, unaware of the oddness of the situation. Yet another criterium met is that Temple shows an extreme fascination with the cattle, she is intent on understanding them and their behavior as she seems to internalize it as her behavior, or when she lays in wait for her roommate to sleep so she can go retrieve her machine from the dumpster. These can be seen as fixed interests, her obsession with the mooing of the cows, and their distress can be considered abnormal. In one scene, she and her mother are on the stairs, Temple is staring off at the chandelier,

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