Plenty of people seek Grandin for her
wisdom these days. She is a doctor of animal
science and professor at Colorado State
University, a best-selling author, the subject of
an Emmy Award–winning HBO biopic, a
much-in-demand public speaker and a consultant to the livestock industry on farm animal behavior (see “Shaping Costco’s policy,”
page 23). As the most well-known adult with
autism in the United States and perhaps the
world—she regularly makes presentations at
autism and Asperger’s syndrome conferences—she is an inspiration and a role model
for that community and beyond.
“It’s hard to overstate Temple’s impact as a
role model for young adults on the autism
spectrum,” says Amy Harmon, the best-sell-
ing author of Asperger Love and a Pulitzer
Prize–winning reporter for The New York
Times who has written extensively on autism.
“Probably the biggest impact she has had for
the population I’ve reported on, young adults
on the autism spectrum, is in how she turned
her fascination with animals into a rewarding
career. The employment statistics for people
with autism are really dismal: Fewer than one
in 10 hold jobs, even among the group con-
sidered ‘high-functioning.’ Yet many of them
have skills and talents and interests that could
be quite valuable to employers. Temple is a
testament to that and an inspiration to many.”
From isolated to expert
Little was known about autism when
Grandin was a child in the 1950s—she did
not speak until the age of 4—but she benefited from the structure provided by her
mother and school administrators. (Her
father recommended she be institutionalized,
but her mother refused.) Children with
autism, a developmental disorder, have varying degrees of difficulty communicating and
socializing, and often lock onto repetitive
behaviors. It was at an aunt’s cattle ranch in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
Grandin’s lifelong bond with animals
began as a teenager at an aunt’s
cattle ranch in Arizona.
ROSALIE WINARD
