who is Temple Grandin and what is she famous for?

Answer 1

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is inarguably the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. She has been featured on major television programs, such as "ABC's Primetime Live", the "Today Show", "Larry King Live", "48 Hours" and "20/20" and written up in national publications, such as Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, and New York Times. Among numerous other recognitions by media, Bravo Cable did a half-hour show on her life, and she was one of the "challenged" people featured in the best-selling book, Anthropologist from Mars.

Dr. Grandin didn't talk until she was three and a half years old, communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping and humming. In 1950, she was labeled "autistic," and her parents were told she should be institutionalized. She tells her story of "groping her way from the far side of darkness" in her book Emergence: Labeled Autistic, a book which stunned the world because, until its publication, most professionals and parents assumed being diagnosed "autistic" was virtually a death sentence to achievement or productivity in life.

Dr. Grandin has become a prominent author and speaker on the subject of autism because "I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and, yes, professionals, too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic.' This dictum has meant sad and sorry lives for many children diagnosed, as I was in early life, as autistic. To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can." (Taken from Emergence: Labeled Autistic)

Even though she was considered "weird" in her young school years, she eventually found a mentor, who recognized her interests and abilities, which she later expanded into becoming a successful livestock handling equipment designer, one of very few in the world. She has designed the facilities in which half the cattle are handled in the United States, consulting for firms such as Burger King, McDonald's, Swift and others.

She presently works as an Associate Professor at Colorado State University but also speaks around the world on both autism and cattle handling.

Answer 2

Temple Grandin, PhD, (born August 29, 1947) is an associate professor at Colorado State University and famous and successful adult with high-functioning autism. Grandin is also a successful professional designer of humane livestock facilities.Grandin became well-known after being described by Oliver Sacks in the title narrative of his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, the title derived from Grandin's description of how she feels around 'neurotypical' people. Grandin has also been featured on major television programs, such as ABC's Primetime Live, the Today Show, and Larry King Live, and written up in Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, and the New York Times. [1] She was the subject of the Horizon documentary "The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow", first broadcast by the BBC[2] on June 8 2006.

Based on personal experience, she advocates early intervention and supportive teachers who can direct fixations of the autistic child to fruitful directions. She has described her hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli. She is a primarily visual thinker and has said language is her second language. Temple attributes her success as a livestock designer to her ability to recall detail which is a characteristic of her visual memory. Grandin compares her memory to full length movies in her head that can be replayed at will, allowing her to notice small details that would otherwise be overlooked. She is also able to view her memories using slightly different contexts by changing the positions of the lighting and shadows. Her insight into the minds of cattle has taught her to value the changes in details to which animals are particularly sensitive, and to use her visualization skills to design thoughtful and humane animal handling equipment.

Answer 3

Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor working at the Colorado State University. She is a professor of ANIMAL SCIENCE.Facilities designed are found in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.

Answer 4

Temple Grandin is an animal behaviorist, who is best known for being autistic. She has written several books on animal psychology, the best being Animals in Translation.

I highly recommend Animals in Translation -- it is a wide ranging look how animals relate to humans and vice versa; including a fascinating theory on how wolves helped to socialize human beings starting around 130,000 years ago.

Answer 5

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world

Answer 6

Temple Grandin, PhD, (born August 29, 1947) is an associate professor at Colorado State University and famous and successful adult with high-functioning autism. Grandin is also a successful professional designer of humane livestock facilities.

Grandin grew up in a time when very little was known about autism. Having been diagnosed with brain damage at age two, she was placed in a structured nursery school with what she considers to have been good teachers. Several years later her condition was recognized and in adulthood she was diagnosed with autism. She considers herself lucky to have had supporting mentors from primary school onwards. In the 1960s, Grandin attended the Hampshire Country School in Rindge, New Hampshire.

Grandin received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce College in 1970, her master's degree in animal science from Arizona State University in 1975, and her PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989.

Grandin regularly takes anti-depressants and uses a squeeze-box (hug machine) she invented at the age of 18 as a form of personal therapy.
Grandin became well-known after being described by Oliver Sacks in the title narrative of his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, the title derived from Grandin's description of how she feels around 'neurotypical' people. Grandin has also been featured on major television programs, such as ABC's Primetime Live, the Today Show, and Larry King Live, and written up in Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, and the New York Times. [1] She was the subject of the Horizon documentary "The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow", first broadcast by the BBC[2] on June 8 2006.

Based on personal experience, she advocates early intervention and supportive teachers who can direct fixations of the autistic child to fruitful directions. She has described her hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli. She is a primarily visual thinker and has said language is her second language. Temple attributes her success as a livestock designer to her ability to recall detail which is a characteristic of her visual memory. Grandin compares her memory to full length movies in her head that can be replayed at will, allowing her to notice small details that would otherwise be overlooked. She is also able to view her memories using slightly different contexts by changing the positions of the lighting and shadows. Her insight into the minds of cattle has taught her to value the changes in details to which animals are particularly sensitive, and to use her visualization skills to design thoughtful and humane animal handling equipment.


Grandin's interest in animal welfare began with designs for sweeping curved corrals intended to reduce stress in animals being led to slaughter.Grandin is considered a philosophical leader of both the animal welfare and autism advocacy movements. Both movements commonly cite her work regarding animal welfare, neurology, and philosophy. She knows all too well the anxiety of feeling threatened by everything in her surroundings, and of being dismissed and feared, all of which motivates her in her quest to promote humane livestock handling processes. Her business website has entire sections on how to improve standards in slaughter plants and livestock farms. In 2004 she won a "Proggy" award, in the "visionary" category, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [3].

One of her most important essays about animal welfare is 'Animals are not Things', in which she posits animals are technically property in our society, but the law ultimately gives them ethical protections or 'rights'. She uses a 'screwdriver' metaphor by saying a person can legally smash or grind up a screwdriver but a person cannot legally torture an animal.

Answer 7

Here is two sources for info about her life and contributions.