Temple Grandin on autism and animals
Dr. Temple Grandin has speaking gigs across the country, including two sold-out talks at the Weinberg Center For The Arts today, but there was a time when she could not speak. Grandin needed a speech therapist and other social instruction to be mainstreamed in kindergarten.
Since then, Grandin emerged as an expert on the humane treatment of livestock as well as her own autistic brain. She was the subject of a 2010 HBO film, and her book, “The Autistic Brain,” advocated for treatment of autistic individuals that affirms their strengths, not weaknesses.
Grandin is a true daughter of the Midwest. She frequently wears her trademark western shirt and kerchief known as a wild rag. The time she’s spent around animals, including on her grandfather’s North Dakota farm, has at times been less perplexing than the myriad of social norms that shape human interactions. But Grandin’s autistic perspective can illuminate truths that non-autistic people overlook every day. Grandin shared her view on animals and autism with 72 Hours.
Read the Q&A here.