Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin—our brief synopsis:
She is widely celebrated as one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to publicly share insights from her personal experience of autism.
Temple Grandin was born August 29, 1947 in Boston Massachusetts to parents Anna Eustacia Purves (now Cutler) and Richard McCurdy Grandin. Temple has three siblings– two sisters and a brother.
Contrary to widely published reports, Grandin was never formally diagnosed with autism in childhood or in her youth. The only formal diagnosis received by Grandin was of ‘brain damage’ at the age of 2.
Temple started kindergarten in Dedham Country Day School. Her teachers and class worked towards adapting an environment easy for her to adjust to.
Temple did not begin speaking until the age of three.
Grandin attended Beaver Country Day School from 7th to 9th grade. Temple describes herself as “a nerdy kid.”
At the age of 15, Temple’s parents divorced; a year later, her mother married Ben Cutler. As the movie, “Temple Grandin,” showed, Temple’s experiences with cattle and machinery on her step-father’s sisters (Ann) ranch in Arizona were pivotal in her life.
Temple’s mother then placed her in Mountain Country School, a private boarding school for teenagers with behavioral problems in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was there that Temple met William Carlock, the science teacher that we see the movie (in the movie, played by veteran actor David Strathairn) who had worked for NASA. He would become her mentor and help significantly towards building her self-confidence.
After she graduated in 1966 from Mountain Country School, Temple went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in human psychology from Franklin Pierce Collage in 1970, a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University in 1975, and a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989.
Temple is a university professor and works widely in the cattle handling industry. She is a prominent and widely-cited proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter. She is also internationally famous as a spokesperson on autism.
For more in-depth information about Temple Grandin, visit her official website and FaceBook page at these links:
Temple Grandin Official Website
"I Am Autistic." "I'm Not." A Diablogue 