Known for movies

Short Info

FactWith a Ph.D. in animal science and decades of experimenting and publishing her revolutionary designs of livestock-handling equipment and systems, Grandin has campaigned throughout the United States and internationally for the humane treatment of beef cattle, hogs, and sheep up to the moment the animals are killed in the slaughterhouse. She was diagnosed as autistic before the age of three, and required special tutors and much care to become as high-functioning as she is. She has been written about by Oliver Sacks.


Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Eustacia, a homemaker, and Richard Grandin, a businessman. She has two sisters, Kate and Elizabeth. Grandin was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. She attended a special education class in a mainstream school for first grade. In fourth grade, she was mainstreamed into a regular classroom. She went on to attend the Franklin School for the Performing Arts in New York City. After graduating from high school, she attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University in 1975. She received her master’s degree in animal science from Colorado State University in 1978. She received her doctorate in animal science from the University of California at Davis in 1989.

Grandin is a world-renowned expert on autism and animal behavior. She is the author of several books, including “Thinking in Pictures” and “The Autistic Brain.” She is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She is also the founder of the Autism & Animal Behavior Clinic at Colorado State University.

Grandin has been featured on several television programs, including “60 Minutes” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She has also been the subject of two documentaries: “Temple Grandin” (2010) and “The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow” (2006).

Grandin is married to Mark Deesing. They have one son, John, who is also on the autism spectrum.

General Info

Full NameTemple Grandin
ProfessionProfessor, Consultant, Scientist, Screenwriter, Memoirist, Activist
EducationArizona State University, Hampshire Country School, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Franklin Pierce University
NationalityAmerican

Family

ParentsEustacia Cutler, Richard Grandin

Accomplishments

AwardsJames Beard Foundation Award for Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Nonfiction
NominationsGolden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

Social profile links

Quotes

#Quote
1People with autism tend to be good at one thing and bad at something else. There's too much emphasis on the deficit, and not enough on building up the thing that a person is good at. For me it was art. That became the basis of the work that I did in cattle-handling facilities. Designing is art.
2If I hadn't had art when I was in elementary school, I would've hated school altogether. That made it worth going to. Art was the basis of my design work in the cattle industry.
3Now, unfortunately, there are people who think that if somebody who's on the spectrum is really smart, that collecting shopping carts should be their whole career. No, it should not be a career, but a summer doing that teaches discipline and the responsibility of work. They've got to learn that.
4I'm seeing too many kids on the spectrum who graduate high school, maybe even college, but have never done a single job. Learning work skills needs to start way before they graduate, I'd say by 13.
5I have been on the same dose of anti-depressants for 15 years, and my nerves still go up and down in cycles; but my nerves are cycling at a lower level than they were before.
6I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out, so I would just scream.
7Children between the ages of five to ten years are even more variable. They are going to vary from very high functioning, capable of doing normal school work, to nonverbal who have all kinds of neurological problems.
8And while we are on the subject of medication you always need to look at risk versus benefit.
9When I was a little child I had problems with eating in the cafeteria. The chairs would be jerking in and out, and there was a noise overload.
10Some children may need a behavioral approach, whereas other children may need a sensory approach.
11If you start using a medication in a person with autism, you should see an obvious improvement in behavior in a short period of time. If you do not see an obvious improvement, they probably should not be taking the stuff. It is that simple.-
12If I did not have my work, I would not have any life.
13"I would not be here now if I did not have anti-depressants.-
14I obtain great satisfaction out of using my intellect.
15I know a number of autistic adults that are doing extremely well on Prozac.
16You have got to keep autistic children engaged with the world. You cannot let them tune out.
17Junior high was a real mess for me and then came puberty. My anxiety attacks came during puberty, and then all of my nerves started.
18Autism is an extremely variable disorder.
19The head must be dead. I can't stress that enough.
20I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to give those animals a decent life, and we've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.
21You gotta bleed 'em in 60 seconds or less.
22A treatment method or an educational method that will work for one child may not work for another child. The one common denominator for all of the young children is that early intervention does work, and it seems to improve the prognosis.
23One of my sensory problems was hearing sensitivity, where certain loud noises, such as a school bell, hurt my ears. It sounded like a dentist drill going through my ears.
24People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.
25I want to reform the meat industry.

Facts

#Fact
1Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University (2012).
2Helped Dustin Hoffman prepare for his role as an autistic man in the film Rain Man (1988).
3With a Ph.D. in animal science and decades of experimenting and publishing her revolutionary designs of livestock-handling equipment and systems, Grandin has campaigned throughout the United States and internationally for the humane treatment of beef cattle, hogs, and sheep up to the moment the animals are killed in the slaughterhouse. She was diagnosed as autistic before the age of three, and required special tutors and much care to become as high-functioning as she is. She has been written about by Oliver Sacks.

Pictures

Movies

Writer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Temple Grandin2010TV Movie based on the book: "Emergence" / based on the book: "Thinking in Pictures"

Actress

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Being Experience2013/I

Thanks

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Henry: One Man's Way1996Documentary thanks

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Temple Grandin & Friends: Autism Works Now Concert LA2015Documentary short completed
Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the Arts2015TV Movie documentaryTemple Grandin
Hold Me Steady: A Story of Autism Service Dogs2015DocumentaryHerself
Speciesism: The Movie2013DocumentaryHerself
Tavis Smiley2013TV SeriesHerself - Guest
Home & Family2013TV SeriesHerself - Guest
The Ghosts in Our Machine2013DocumentaryHerself - Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University Designer of Livestock Handling Equipment (voice)
Nature2012TV Series documentaryHerself
The Weatherwax Legacy2011Video documentary short
When Animals Adopt2011TV Movie documentaryHerself
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition2011TV SeriesHerself
60 Minutes2011TV Series documentaryHerself - Professor of Animal Science (segment "Apps for Autism")
Natural Heroes2011TV Series documentaryHerself
Ingenious Minds2011TV SeriesHerself
The Hour2010-2011TV SeriesHerself
Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education2010TV MovieHerself
The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards2010TV SpecialHerself
Arts: A Film About Possibilities, Disabilities and the Arts2009Video documentaryHerself
A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism2009DocumentaryHerself - Interviewee
The Horse Boy2009DocumentaryHerself (as Dr. Temple Grandin)
The View2007TV SeriesHerself
The Boy Inside2006DocumentaryHerself
Horizon2006TV Series documentaryHerself
Expedition ins Gehirn2006TV Series documentaryHerself - Viehzucht-Expertin aus Colorado
First Person2001TV Series documentaryHerself
A Is for Autism1992Documentary shortHerself (voice)

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Jeopardy!2014TV SeriesHerself

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

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