Dr. Temple Grandin

Autism Light #38 is Dr. Temple Grandin.

Dr. Temple Grandin is probably the most famous person in the world who has autism. Dr. Temple Grandin is an Autism Light because she is an autism advocate through her speaking and writing, and the development of a movie that was created on her life with autism. She is also renowned in the field of Animal Science and sets an example for what can be accomplished by people with autism.

Awards:

• In 2010 Time Magazine ranked her in the Top 100 People in the heroes category.  
• There is a Temple Grandin School in Colorado named after her. 
• In 2011 she was named for the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (Source).

The following YouTube video is a personal conversation with Temple Grandin done by Penn State University.

Animal Science: Temple Grandin has earned her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989. She is currently a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Also, her livestock handling systems are renowned in the industry.  Temple Grandin's Livestock Website is very informative about this part of her life.

Speaker: Temple Grandin is a prolific speaker at conferences and educational programs. The following is from Temple Grandin giving a presentation on autism at a TED Conference in 2010.

Author: Temple Grandin has written books both on Autism and Animal Science. The lists of books that Temple Grandin wrote include the following.

1. The Way I See It
2. Animals Make Us Human
3. Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships
4. Animals in Translation
5. Developing Talents
6. Emergence
7. Thinking in Pictures

The best place to purchase any of these books is from the Book Section of Temple Grandin's Website.

Movie: The movie on Temple Grandin was widely acclaimed. Clair Danes played Temple Grandin in this HBO made for television movie that won 7 Emmy Awards in 2010.

Quote from Temple Grandin:  Dr. Temple Grandin said these insightful quotable thoughts about autism that have made it to the Autism Light Quote Page.

• "The worse thing you can do is nothing." 
• "Autism is an extremely variable disorder (Source)."
• "If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not-because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am."

For more information on Temple Grandin visit the following Websites:

• Colorado State University Article on Temple Grandin
• Education-Portal.com Article by Megan Driscoll
• Temple Grandin's Official Autism Webpage
• Temple Grandin's Livestock Website
• Temple Grandin's Wikipedia Page
• Temple Grandin's Facebook Page (Over 95,000 likes)

Temple Grandin's contribution to the autism community can not be overstated. She is truly an Autism Light and inspiration to many.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.