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Reflection Paper Temple Grandin

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Temple Grandin Emergence: Labeled Autistic
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Born in 1949, Temple Grandin was first diagnosed with brain damage at the age of three and then, at the age of five, labeled Autistic. Today Temple Grandin, self-labeled as a recovered autistic, is a well-respected doctor in animal science, a professor at Colorado State University, a bestselling author, an autism activist, and a leading consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. While it is easily argued that Temple Grandin’s life does not represent the norm for most children with autism, her autobiography, Emergence: Labeled Autistic (1986) offers a powerful picture of the influences and experiences that steered Temple through her journey ‘emerging’ from …show more content…

72).
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).
Temple’s mother was not her only champion. While at the Mountain Country School, a teacher, Mr. Carlock emerged as an influential mentor for Temple. Like Temple’s mother, Mr. Carlock “didn’t see any labels, just the underlying talents” (p.90). “He didn’t try to draw [Temple] into his world but came instead into [her] world” (p. 90). Through Mr. Carlock, Temple learnt many social skills. “He didn’t preach but showed by his own conduct a social perception that I envied and tried to emulate. From him I was learning humanistic values that I lacked because of my autism” (p.91). Mr. Carlock did not try to

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