Temple Grandin's Influence On Education

“Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.

Grandin points out the important of autism, a different way of thinking. She thinks that people should get away from verbal and pay more attention on details. She demonstrates that a normal brain tends to ignore details. Grandin also observes that people are getting too abstract, and forget about hands-on things that would help a lot in cognitive thinking. She claims that kids during her time had a great opportunity to express their creativity in a variety of ways.

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 Grandin’s autobiographical book, Thinking in Pictures, opened the door that revealed the true aspects of autism. The author, who is an autistic woman, portrayed autism not as a complicated developmental disorder but as a unique characteristic that is a compliment to society. To break apart from society’s stereotype on autistic individuals, Temple focused her book on issues such as how her disorder was initially misdiagnosed, her issues with learning acceptable behavior and social cues, her connection with animal minds, sensory sensitivities, and explored the possible treatments with medication.

According to Barnes “Autism is found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds.”(Barnes 2015). Grandin also explains her experiences living with autism in her novel Thinking in Pictures. Grandin acquired her the ability to create and imagine through her visual thinking. In contrast, one barrier that hindered her was her inability to comprehend or associate social cues and emotion to a picture. With this in mind, Grandin using her natural talents to learn enabled her to push through what most people consider an accessibility issue.

In the Movie, Temple Grandin, Temple is portrayed as a very sensitive girl, even though she does not comprehend emotions she feels them. Christopher on the other hand is not as sensitive as Temple he is a much more rational kind of person. When Temple first graduated from high school she spent the summer with her aunt at a farm, while she was at the farm she had a very strong connection with the animals. When Temple would see the animals felt pain she would feel pain and unlike most people she actually felt she had to make a change, after that point she dedicated her intellect to animals and improving their living standards. Temple went through a lot of fighting with her professors in order to major in animal husbandry. Temple believed that “Nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be” Temple Grandin. Temple acknowledged the problems in the world and decided to solve them and that takes someone not only who preservers but someone who is conscious of their emotions and listens to them. Christopher is not at all like Temple in this sense,

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.

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

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.

Before watching the movie, I have never heard of it before. I never knew it existed. Temple Grandin is another inspiring movie that I have been glad to have watched. It deals with the autism of a woman and tells the inspiration true story of her.

This article discusses whether or not special education teachers, as well as general education teachers, are prepared to teach students with autism. According to the article, autism is ranks at the sixth most commonly classified disability in the United States. There is a very wide spectrum for autism which include disorders like Asperger’s and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). 1 out of 150 American children will be born with autism (Autism Society of America, NDb).

Temple Grandin is an autistic woman who has an amazing mind. Grandin can see the world like no others. She can be taking snapshots of the world and recalling them without thought. Her peculiar communication skills and intelligence sheds new light on pre-conceived norms of autism. Grandin was good in all levels of school, went to college and reached a doctorate. She teaches to professors and family new lessons in life. She created her own ‘squeze’ machine that hugs her giving her comfort that she is incapable to receiving from human contact. Also, she substitutes human contact for a life of caring for animals, developing humane methods of taking care of livestock destined for the slaughterhouse. She goes on to change an industry fighting the man’s world of the cattle industry as she creates new and humane ways for dealing with cattle, treating them with respect and even saving the cattle industry money.

This film was based on a real person, Temple Grandin, who be diagnosed with autism when she was four years old. Temple’s mom worked very hard to teach her language, basic living and social skills; and she be sent to schools to receive an education like other children. One of her high school teachers, Dr. Carlock, not only taught Temple science knowledge, but also guided Temple to view herself more positively. He taught Temple to view changes in her life as different doors, and all she needs to do is go through. Temple kept using that measure when she faced challenges. Before she went to university, Temple found out she like to work with animals in her aunt’s farm. She also tried to use a machine, which farmers used to calm cows, to help herself relax. Later, when she felt stressful in university, she built a similar machine to calm herself. In order to keep and use that machine in her room, Temple created her own science experiment which proved that her machine could benefit other people. She also made friend with her roommate. After graduated from university, Temple continued to engage in animal research. She completed her master degree, and designed facilities for feedlots and slaughterhouses. When she visited national meeting with her mom in 1981, Temple made public speech and shared her personal experiences with others.