Autism In Temple Grandin

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Dr. Temple Grandin once said “I am different, not less.” Throughout all her high school years Temple Grandin was constantly teased just because she had autism. She could not control her autism and had no choice in the matter; but to the outside world, Temple Grandin had autism and thats all that mattered to them. She was labeled as the “autistic girl,” and to her, it seemed like not a single person viewed her in any other way. Temple Grandin was born to Richard Grandin and Eustacia Cutler on August 29, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts. From birth, her parents could tell that there was just something “different” about her. When Temple was two years old, she was diagnosed with “infantile schizophrenia,” also known as autism in today’s terms. Autism affects nearly 5 times more boys than girls. In fact, 1 in 54 boys, and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism. Due to Temple’s autism being very severe, the doctors told her parents that she was a “lost cause” and that she should just be shut up in a mental institution to live out the rest of her years. Temple’s parents would not stand for that. They tried to make the best of the situation by working with Temple each day. Temple was finally able to speak her first words when she was about three and a half years old. Temple’s parents knew that she was smart. Certain subjects in school, such as math were very difficult for Temple, but others, such as art were rather simple. Algebra was nearly impossible for Temple to comprehend. Luckily, at the time, algebra was not a required class to complete in order to graduate high school. If it had been, the world would have never known Temple Grandin as we now know her today. The reason Temple had trouble in math is because she is a visual thinker.... ... middle of paper ... ...ine, the Industry Advancement Award from the American Meat Institute, the Beef Top 40 Industry Leaders Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and many more. She has also received the Meritorious Achievement Award from the Livestock Conservation Institute, been named a Distinguished Alumni at Franklin Pierce College, and received an honorary doctorate from McGill University, University of Illinois, and Duke University. When Temple Grandin first started working in a feedlot, work was extremely difficult for her. The work itself was not difficult, but at the time it was rare to find women working in feedlots. Temple was constantly looked down on because she was a woman working in a feedlot. One day, the other men working at the feedlot even threw some freshly cut bull testicles on her windshield while she was working.

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