Temple Grandin Theme

Temple Grandin was able to do amazing things for agriculture even though she struggled with severe autism. She also changed many things in the way animals were handled and treated. Temple was able to set standards higher not only for those who had autism to lead better lives, but also for animals to getter the treatment and care they deserve.

Autism, a developmental disorder is becoming widely diagnosed here in the U.S. and throughout the world affecting children in all different types of backgrounds. From children living in rural or urban, rich or poor. Currently there are many speculations and superstitions as to the causes for developing autism but science has no clear evidence as to why autism affects certain people and not others, autism can greatly affect the families and its patients for their entire lives. Most of you do not know that I have twin younger brothers with Autism. Before this speech, I had no clue what autism really was. Through my research I am now able to relay this information to you. Today I want to talk about Autism. The three things I will be speaking about is what is Autism? How does autism affect the family and how does autism affect people who have it?

Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.

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 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

Ms. Diaz-Harrison has a daughter and she chose to put her in a charter school that specialized in the arts because that fit her daughter’s needs. For her son, who has autism she had no idea where she was going to put him at for school. Ms. Diaz-Harrison decided to open her on charter school in Phoenix. This school was named Arizona Autism Charter School. Her exact words when opening the school was, “we didn’t have a school like that-now we do!”

“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.

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).

Autism can be a very challenging experience for any family. Beginning at the diagnosis process, up until adult life, this mental inception is an experience that will break you emotionally and physically at some point. Completely disregarding the things that these families go through would be an atrocity to human compassion. By obeying the “Golden Rule” that we are taught as children will show us that autistic people have a potentially unprecedented level of intelligence. In order to observe this, one needs to push past the mental barriers that are instilled due to their perception of the world.

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain. Waiting for the tests results, I find myself flushed; perhaps my blood pressure is rising. Sitting in a small windowless office set off from the main waiting room my knee begins to bounce in anxiety. This was the moment of truth. I’m awaiting the results to find out if Lillianna tested positive for Autism. I stand up and begin to pace hoping the colorful pictures on walls that were designed to relax and entertain kids will have the same affect on me. My mind begins to relive this epic battle I have found myself on; the battle of strength and acceptance of my daughter Lillianna, as I become her voice in the face of this disorder.

Autism has affected a lot of people and their families. Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be seen as a negative condition to have, it can serve as something good for other things. One person who took advantage of her condition and experience is Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado University. She is a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior and an autism spokesperson. Temple Grandin has contributed to the autism community by inventing the squeeze machine for people with autism. That machine provides deep pressure stimulation to calm people with autism since it reduces tension and anxiety. She used the machine herself for many years. Temple Grandin has also worked as a consultant

The book, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, written by Dr. Temple Grandlin, is the story of her life as she struggled to succeed in the world as an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In the book, she focuses on major issues that she was faced with from when she was young all the way till her current age. These issues include her early school experiences, dating, religion, college life, and her career. Dr. Grandlin also puts much emphasis on the medical aspects of Autism and her perspective of how the world works according to an autistic brain.

Every single day is a struggle for an autistic child and his or her family. Autism affects all aspects of a child’s life from their ability to show affection to their family to being able to do simple tasks such as communicating and thinking in ways that we take for granted. Autism is defined as a developmental disability in which children experience abnormalities in social functioning, language, often act in puzzling ways, and usually appears before the age of three (Mash &Wolfe, 2010). Although the exact causes of autism are unknown there does seem to be a strong genetic component. Having a child or family member with autism is a constant battle of emotion and frustration. Everyone wants to help the people they love when they have

Financial burdens are an obvious upset to families with autistic children, on top of the already heavy expense of having a child there is now medical costs and often counselling. Sen and Yurtsever (2007) reported that families often feel “shock, denial, suffering, depression, guilt, indecision, anger, shame, bargaining, acceptance and adaptation” upon discovering they have a child who suffers from ASD. This disorder has effects on their daily “lifestyles, social relationships, economic situation, health, and goals or expectations for the future” (Norton & Drew, 1994; Sen & Yurtsever, 2007). “Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now

While a mother was escaping an abusive relationship in search of welfare assistance, she took her thirteen-year-old daughter along with her. “Genie,” as she was called, intrigued the social worker in the welfare office. She was mesmerized by Genie’s posture, size, and stance. Curiously enough, the worker thought Genie might have been a case of unreported autism in a possible six- to seven-year-old (Rymer 1993). As a result, the worker notified her supervisor, who contacted the police.