Analysis Of Temple Grandin, An Autistic Woman

Temple went to her aunts ranch, a place where she would make yet another big step that

Temple was diagnosed with autism in 1950 and her parents were told that she had it bad. Institutionalizing her would be best, but her parents decided not to and instead spent hours on speech therapy with her. Temple first started to talk when she was almost four while the normal age is around two years. She also communicated by screaming, peeping, and humming. After years of being teased, one of her high

The Case of Temple Grandin paints a picture of a young woman’s determination and hard work while struggling with autism during a time when the disorder was unknown. This case discusses Grandin’s challenges, early diagnosis, growth and development in school, and support from her mother. Temple Grandin could not speak like the other children at the age of two, so because doctors could not find any physical issues she had been subsequently labeled as brain-damaged. To communicate with others, she would throw tantrums and scream. She could speak by three and a half years old with the help of speech therapy. A few years later at the age of five, Grandin was diagnosed with autism so her mother worked with her 30

Temple introduced the readers into the discovery of this disorder by recalling the illness that she was misdiagnosed with. Typically, any resistant toward human contact and sudden bursts of tantrums are symptoms present in a child with autism. Additionally, autistic children are extremely sensitive to senses such as touch and sounds. As a child, Temple was not capable of speech or eye contact and spent most of her time lost in daydreams. She showed no attention to individuals around her and even showed signs of being deaf. At the time that she presented those symptoms, the doctors labeled her as being brain-damaged. It was not until many years later that autism received the appropriate attention and Temple was accurately diagnosed as being autistic. Moreover, Temple pointed out that diagnosing autism is not like the process of diagnosing other illnesses; a child’s behavior

      Autism is a disability that can create a barrier between the individual and his or her friends, family, and community. This disability often interferes with an individual’s ability to communicate, interact with others, engage in play or leisure skills, and to relate to the world around them. People with autism may exhibit repetitive movements, have unusual responses to people, be resistant to change and demonstrate aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior.

Many of us have heard about Autism, also knows as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some have a family member, a friend, or know someone who has ASD. Increasingly it is becoming a more common disability. “Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S” (Autism Speaks). Autism has no respect for gender, race, social class and or ethnicity. “Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that involves abnormal development and function of the brain.” (Autism Center of Excellence) People who have autism have a lot of difficulties with social skills, communication and also will develop behavior issues. These behavior problems of an individual with autism can vary at times and can go from mild to severe. According to the Autism Science Foundation it says,” Many people with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, and reacting to different sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASD can vary—from gifted to severely challenged.” The causes and symptoms, as well as the diagnosis, and the treatments of autism vary.

Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.

Temple Grandin provides the information in a very clear and coherent manner, keeping a firm order and not drifting from her specific topic points. The topic of the book is very originally and she makes it even more creative by providing real life situations that she has experienced, not only with her autism, but with her career as well. Grandin avoids the use of colloquial words, contractions, and abbreviations. She uses passive voice when referring to scientific information and uses complex sentences. Grandin makes her points clear with great amounts of confidence

“Temple’s most important innovations in design were accomplished not in spite of but because of her autism”. Says Sy Montgomery, the author of “Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World”. When someone has autism, it doesn’t mean they are dim-witted or different from everyone else. Temple Grandin inherited various special qualities which makes her extremely inspirational.

Many children are diagnosed with Autism every year. Not all parents find out about their child being autistic as soon as they are born. Samantha is 4 years old and her parents are just finding out that she has Autism. They did the right thing by getting her evaluated once they found that something was not right with her. Now her treatment can begin and the parents will feel better knowing that they have help with Samantha.

Throughout Temple’s ‘emergence from autism’, Temple’s mother focused on Temple’s strengths and affirmed Temple’s differences and way of looking at the world. In letters to Temple, Mrs. Grandin wrote, “Be proud you are different. All bright people who have contributed to life have been different and found the path of life lonely. While the joiners and social butterflies flutter about, Temple, you’ll get real things done (p. 124). “You need symbols. You live them. Like a work of art they are a physical expression of what you feel” (p. 125). “Wanting to grow really loves yourself, loving the best part of yourself” (p.148).

Mary Temple Grandin, also known as Temple Grandin was born August 29th, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts. When she was younger she was different from the other children and they made that known. They called her a number of name but some are: "Retard" and "Tape recorder". Temple was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome, where she had a lack of speech and sensitivity to touch. She has made a change not only for the cattle and pigs but for the slaughterhouses and meat processing plants.

Temple Grandin is an inspiration to all. Autism spectrum disorders are caused by abnormalities in the brain that affect the neurodevelopmental system. Temple tells in her interviews that she is an autistic who thinks in pictures. I tried doing this for a couple hours before writing this paper. I am sure that it is not confusing to Temple, but I would invite anyone to try it who is not autistic.

A well-known ASD adult, Temple Grandin suggests caregivers of ASD children that if the environments are organized to the “think in pictures” nature of ASD children, learning will be a lot easier for such children. She explains this nature to the Language-based thinkers as she translates every word that she hears or reads into the pictures and even movies. (Grandin, 1996) According to literature reviews conducted by Dettmer (2000) and Meadan(2011), the researches up to date the papers were published, agreed on the success of using visual supports to aid ASD children to social interactions, sequence and organize their life, transitions between activities, maintain attention, auditory processing, and behavioral challenges (Dettmer et al.,

Temple was born in Boston Massachusetts. When Temple was born her mom knew she was different because she didn’t enjoy or do most things that other babies did. As she grew older everyday things like the bell ringing at school to someone wearing perfume made her cringe with pain, when she was 3 she was diagnosed with autism. Temple started caring for wildlife