The Way Temple Grandin, The Great Scientist, Saw the World

The world can be a very harsh place especially for kids with disabilities. They tend to have a hard time adapting to new people and new things. Usually they require special education along with attentive care at all times. They can become depressed very easily and tend to shut down when this happens. Temple Grandin was born on August 29th, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother, Eustacia Cutler, thought she was a regular baby until she realized something was wrong with Temple. At the age of four Eustacia took Temple to a doctor to find out why she wasn’t talking and why she hated affection. The doctor knew what was wrong with Temple right away. She was diagnosed with autism, which is a “mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.” (dictionary.com) Temple’s mother was confused as to how and why this happened, and she wanted to find a way to fix her daughter. The doctor informed Eustacia that there was an old tale that stated “kids that develop autism is usually a lack in affection from their mothers.” (Temple Grandin film) Temple’s mother was just devastated by the fact that she could have caused Temple’s autism, and she wanted to do anything and everything to help Temple become the best she could be. Eustacia stayed at home with Temple and used flashcards every day until Temple finally spoke. As Temple grew older and older her mother knew it was time that she needed to see the world on her own. Eustacia decided to send Temple to middle school, and she loved it. She became very fond of Science and the genetic makeup of everything.

Although Temple loved school she hated her classmates. They teased and bullied her and she did not take it to kindly. Temple had a huge attitude and did not know how to manage her anger in a nice way. She took her anger out in a mean way by punching, biting, and scratching the people that teased her. As a result of this Temple was suspended from many schools. Eustacia was looking at different schools but she was running out of options until she came upon a boarding school which she wasn’t sure about because she didn’t want to leave Temple. They toured the school and when Temple went into the science lab she absolutely fell in love and she was just so amazed at all the equipment. Temple was not the only one impressed. The science teacher was astonished by Temple’s knowledge about science, and he wanted to find out more about her. Eustacia knew that this place would be a good fit for Temple and it was. After many labs and experiments, Temple’s science teacher was still not certain how Temple was so different from everyone but still so smart. He wanted to know how she understood things so easily and why she was able to overcome any obstacle he threw her way, until one day he asked her what she sees when she thinks. She told him “when i think i see pictures” and that is when he found that Temple was indeed very different from everyone else. She was a visual learner, she saw everything as pictures in her mind, and she could sketch, draw, and memorize things like it was simple. Temple became smarter and smarter each day.

As summer approaches and Temple’s time from a High School student was almost over her science teacher realized she needed to go to college to become successful. He asked her what she wanted to do when she got older and Temple said that she wanted to work with animals. In the meantime Temple went to stay with her aunt and uncle on their small ranch for the summer. Temple did not want to stay at the ranch, but her mother knew that she needed to experience new things. Little did her mother know this would be the best decision she could have made for Temple. Even though the ranch got some getting used too, Temple immediately fell in love with the cattle that was on the ranch. She felt as if she was drawn to the cattle because she was connected to them somehow. Temple helped on the farm each day and while doing, so she studied the cattles habits. One day the ranch hands were giving the cattle vaccines in the squeeze chute and she observed that once the cattle got in the chute they became calmer and steadier. She wanted to test this theory for herself. One day she became very angry at her aunt because her sign on her door that stated “Temples room” fell the only thing to calm her down when she was stressed. As Temple’s summer passed on she headed off to college to get a degree and work with animals. She spent long nights being stressed and working about not only school but her classmates too because they picked on her for being so different. Temple wanted her squeeze chute As Temple was successful getting her degree in psychology and animal science. She knew she wanted to move on to bigger and better things.

As Temple’s college days were over she decided to move back with her aunt to be on the ranch. Once she was on the ranch for a few months she knew she wanted to get a job at the local feedlot where she could be with cattle all day long and study more than what she already knew about them. As she took her first tour through the feedlot and the slaughterhouse she was just devastated by the way they treated the animals. Some cattle died before they even got to the slaughter house because they broke legs, got sick, and even drowned in the water pit where the cows go to be cleaned. She didn’t understand why the cattle were always mooing so loudly and running around frantic. Temple knew she wanted to learn more. So she studied the cattles behavior and that is when she discovered the most bizzare thing, when the cattle were mooing so loudly it was because they were communicating to each other and trying to warn each other what was going to happen. She also discovered that cattle feel calmer if they walk in a counterclockwise rotation, they are afraid of loud noises, and are often distracted by handlers outside of the chute. Something else that she discovered was that cattle have flight zones. Flight zones are the animals “personal space”. (Grandin.com) This means if a handler walks to close near the animal it will frighten it. Temple knew there was some way to help the cattle become less stressed throughout this process, so she went to the drawing board. Temple came up with a more efficient way to handle cattle. She made a design that led cattle around in a circular motion counterclockwise into the chute. Her invention caused less stress to cattle which led to less death rates before being slaughtered for Dr. Grandin is best known today for her speaking on autism and animal behavior studies. Autism is just a label and Dr. Grandin knows that best because she proved to the world that everyone is different in their own way. Only if we all could see the world like Temple Grandin does!