Happy National Autism Month! Autism is a spectrum disorder that is characterized by challenges in speech and communication. Over the past years, there have been many brilliant minds with autism, who have contributed much to our society. One such individual is the esteemed Dr. Temple Grandin.
Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947, into a wealthy family in Boston, Massachusetts, and is the eldest of four. In her early years, she was nonverbal. At that time, it was often suggested that people with mental special needs be placed in mental health institutions. Even though her father was considering sending her to one, her mother refused as she didn’t think that she would be allowed to see Grandin. Instead, her mother took her to see a neurologist who suggested that Dr. Grandin goes to a speech therapist. With the help of her therapist and her nanny, she started to talk at 3 ½ years old. Her elementary school teachers were also extremely supportive throughout and worked to make a friendly environment for Grandin to thrive.
Over time, she grew up to be a student who loved to read. However, unfortunately, she was often bullied for being “nerdy” as her peers called her, and was ridiculed for her habit of repetitive speech throughout junior high school. When she was 14, she was expelled from Beaver Country Day School for throwing a book at a classmate that was bullying her. One year following this, her parents divorced. Her mother remarried a saxophonist in New York named Ben Cutler. The following summer was probably one of the most significant times in her life when she visited her aunt’s (Mr. Cutler’s sister) farm for the first time. In her time here, she got to help out around the guest ranch that her aunt owned by waiting on the children’s table and taking their guests on trail rides. Besides this, she got to spend time with the cattle on the farm which had a huge role in shaping her future career interest in veterinary science.
After being expelled, her mother enrolled her into Mountain Country School (now known as Hampshire County School), which is a school for children with behavior issues. At this school, she met her mentor and science teacher, William Carlock. A former employee at NASA, Mr. Carlock encouraged Dr. Grandin to pursue her interest in working with animals. Looking back, Grandin says that he had a huge role in helping her to build her self-esteem. He was the one who suggested that she build her famous “hug box”, or “squeezer box” as she calls it. The function of this device is to make cattle feel more comfortable during the milking process as they wouldn’t see the human milking them. When she faced ethical criticisms for her product at the age of 18, Mr. Carlock continued to support her and suggested that she perform a series of scientific experiments to show the benefits of this device. She became very well respected for her invention, and half of the cattle farms in the U.S. rely on this today.
In addition to being a prominent advocate for the humane treatment of animals, Dr. Grandin has contributed much to the field of psychology. Through her research, she discovered that there were three types of thinkers: visual, music and math, and verbal logic. With this concept, she explained how people with autism think, highlighting the fact that there is not only one way of thinking. Along with her research on autism, she also shares her own personal experiences to educate others about how to facilitate a positive atmosphere for people with autism.
Dr. Temple Grandin proves that we should never underestimate anyone with autism as they are some of the most brilliant minds we have. Throughout the month of April, let’s celebrate Dr. Grandin along with all the amazing people with autism that we know!
Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/
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