Temple Grandin, a Short Bio

By Anne Sparks

If you subscribe to HBO’s streaming services, or if you’ve ever researched the history of innovation in the livestock industry, you may have heard of Temple Grandin. If you opened the Time’s 2010 issue of the 100 Most Influential People in the World her name would have been there in bold. She is world renowned as a professor, writer, and inventor, who used her experiences as an autistic individual to raise awareness for recognizing and appreciating different ways of looking at the world [1].

Dr. Grandin was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder through an early screening at around 3 years old. This was in the 1950’s, when autistic children were often sent to institutes or kept at home, and there was little advocacy for better treatment . Mothers were often told that their parenting style had resulted in their child’s ASD, which in turn created an atmosphere of shame around the disorder [2]. Temple’s mother did not believe this narrative, instead she chose to enroll Temple in speech therapy, and taught her how to read at home. Through determination and perseverance, Temple received her B.A. in Psychology and both a Masters and Ph.D. in Animal Science. These degrees would not have surprised anyone close to her. From a very young age, Temple had shown a predilection for invention and a curiosity for how things worked and how to make them better. But the real catalyst for her success happened when she went to spend a summer on her aunt’s ranch at 18 years old [3]. 

While observing the cattle proceed through chutes on her aunt’s ranch, Temple noticed that the chutes seemed to calm the animals as they passed through them. This inspired her to create her own version, to alleviate her own hypersensitivity symptoms. The result was what she called a “squeeze machine” (also known as “hug machines”, or “squeeze boxes”). The machine was essentially a metal chute that she covered in padding to create a comforting “squeezing” sensation. This was only the beginning of Temple’s animal-inspired innovation. She credits her own autism for her success, saying: “I’m an extreme visual thinker, and that helped me in my work with animals. Animals live in a sensory based world. It helped me in my design work because the visual thinkers like me see the world in photorealistic pictures”[3]. She used her degrees to find ways to make the meat industry more humane. In her words, “nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be” [4]. Her system revolutionized the industry, and it eventually became the typical model seen in both the United States and Canada. When asked how she understood what could make the process less daunting for the animals, she noted that both she and animals were highly affected by sensory changes [4]. By looking at the process through a different lens, Temple Grandin saw what generations of farmers and ranchers had been missing. 

Dr. Grandin went on to become a professor at Colorado State University, teaching Animal Science. Her journey of standing in the face of uneducated opposition to become a successful scientist and writer is an inspiration to many. After people started recognizing her work, she used her newfound notoriety to spread awareness for how parents can best equip themselves and their children for ASD in the educational sphere. She has fought tirelessly to change the education system in a way that will adapt to teach children that learn in different ways [4]. Dr. Grandin refuses to accept that there is only one way to teach, saying: “there is scientific research that shows different kinds of thinkers really do exist, and a lot of people are mixtures of different kinds” [3].

Even though doctors gave up on Temple Grandin as a child, telling her mother to send her to an institution, she proved them all wrong by becoming a doctor herself. Now Dr. Grandin  has changed the animal industry forever and continues to educate both her students and anyone willing to listen. She is a testament to the power of hard work and a supportive educational system, and she will continue to inspire the next generation of innovators and free-thinkers. 

Sources:

[1] Heslin, Rachel. “Integrative-Med.” Dr. Temple Grandin, an Interview, Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Apr. 2024, https://integrative-med.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EricksonNews-44-1WebFinal.pdf

[2] “Historical Perspective.” National Autism Center. https://nationalautismcenter.org/autism/historical-perspective/

[3] Keltner , Dacher. “Temple Grandin Shares Her Journey with Autism.” Greater Good, 3 Apr. 2023, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/temple_grandin_shares_her_journey_with_autism.

[4] O’Hara, Delia. Temple Grandin: A Heroine to the Autism Community, Brings Humanity to Animal Science | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), https://www.aaas.org/membership/member-spotlight/temple-grandin-heroine-autism-community-brings-humanity-animal-science

[5] Hobbs, Jessica. “Temple Grandin - Western Woman of the Month.” Western Women, 29 Aug. 2024, https://westernwomen.com/temple-grandin-wwotm/.

[6] “Temple Grandin: Inside ASD.” Autism Research Institute, 27 June 2023, https://autism.org/temple-grandin-inside-asd/