An Exciting Story About A Young Woman
Temple Grandin, a movie made by HBO about a person of the same name, is a compelling story about a young woman with high functioning autism and how she not only views the world, but surpasses all expectations of the time for an individual with autism. Like most individuals with autism, Temple struggles to fit into a world not made for those with her unique differences. Though Autism is now known to be a spectrum, and diagnostically we have done away with labels such as “aspergers”, Temple’s abilities given to her by that irregular mind, place her in a position to view the world in a way typically developing individuals cannot.
In her words, Temple “thinks in pictures”, and she connects those pictures to her everyday life. Using that ability, Temple became one of the first people with autism to share insight into her personal experiences, and now proudly serves as a spokesperson for individuals with autism.
Not only has she inspired many others with autism and their families to reach past the preconceived constraints of those with the diagnosis, but she is one of the first adults to ever publicly disclaim that she is autistic.
Temple is not only known for being a proponent for the structuring of livestock designs and an advocate for humane slaughter, but she also serves as a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She has graced the popular TED Talks stage reserved for those with great accomplishments and “ideas worth spreading”, and continues to visit college campuses across the country spreading her message of acceptance and understanding for those with neurological differences.
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“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”
The Autism Society, one of the nation’s largest advocates and resources for those with autism defines the disability as such, “Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability; signs typically appear during early childhood and affect a person’s ability to communicate, and interact with others. ASD is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a “spectrum condition” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees.” (2016). The auto-biographical film “Temple Grandin” released in 2010, but set in 1966, shows Temple and her family as they struggle to accommodate Temple’s needs in a world not designed for those with differences. Temple exhibits many common traits of those with autism. She has reduced and fleeting eye contact, obsessive interests, difficulty with sensory overstimulation and integration, and communication deficits. She struggles to read nonverbal social cues and engages in repetitive behaviors to self soothe. She is unable to benefit from human touch for comfort, and instead shys away from physical affection offered by her family and friends.
Though Temple struggles with many of the typical characteristics known to autism, she also benefits from a unique ability given to her by the disability. Temple sees in pictures. Not only does the verbalization of the word “shoe” bring up an image to her mind’s eye, but Temple has the ability to scroll through every shoe she has seen across her entire lifespan. Though this sounds overwhelming, Temple is able to utilize her picture perfect memory and inclination for mechanics to offer unique perspectives typically developing people cannot. The movie Temple Grandin highlights not only Temple’s struggle with autism, but also the plight of her caregivers. Being set in the 60’s, research was lacking for a cause of autism. At that time, a hypothetical cause for the disorder was thought to be due to “Refrigerator Mother’s”.
This stereotype purports that a lack of parental warmth and attachment to these children who from an early age have difficulty connecting as a cause of autism. This stereotype can be largely debunked by those individuals with autism who have siblings being raised in the same household who are unaffected. In the movie, Temple’s mother suffers the same ridicule and is blamed for Temple’s lack of verbal communication at age 4. One doctor consulted for insight into Temple’s expressive language delay told her mother that Temple in fact suffered from, “Infantile Schizophrenia” and would need to be institutionalized. She consistently pushes her to go into the world and function in any way that she can. Stereotypes about those with autism at the time when Temple was growing up, portrayed these individuals as invalids who were unable to care for themselves let alone integrate into society and contribute in any meaningful way. In an interview with Julia Ormand, the actress who portrays Temple Grandin’s mother, she reflects on the character’s insistence that her daughter be integrated into society. It is that insistence that pushes her to send Temple to a family ranch for the summer.
Temple’s own struggles to fit into a world not designed for those with sensory integration difficulties are highlighted when she spends a summer on her aunt and uncle’s cattle ranch. In a telling scene, Temple is shown approaching her given bedroom and becoming quickly overwhelmed with things not being as she had left them. The paper sign stating “Temple’s Room” has fallen to the ground, and the sound of the air conditioner and overhead fan are magnified to a degree that Temple needs to flee. She runs from the house and to the livestock pen as she experiences a panic attack. An earlier scene showed Temple observing the cattle being placed into a “squeeze machine” to calm them as they’re cared for. Temple runs into this squeeze machine which is essentially two metal grates that sandwich whatever is inside the box of the machine between them and apply pressure. In a panic of tears and frustration begs her aunt to close the shoot so that she too can be comforted by the feeling of pressure that she is unable to withstand from a human hug and it immediately calms her to the point of assuaging her panic attack.
The use of an alternative means of comfort is a pivotal moment in the movie. It offers insight into alternative means for self stimulation that may be available for individuals with autism. Temple later states in the movie that the sensation of being hugged helps ground those with autism in the moment and allows them to be more social. That self-stimulating behavior does eventually calm the nervous system and that it can be a way to compensate for not being held. She states that being held by another person is “scary”, but rolling or being held by surfaces produces the calming effect that those without the disability get from a hug.Temple then creates her own “hug box” which carries her through college.
Throughout the movie, Temple’s cognitive and visualization abilities are highlighted in multiple scenes. Temple herself states that she has a visual mind, that she thinks in pictures. When she feels the heat stepping off the plane into the Arizona weather for the first time, she visualizes flames of fire leaping up the sides of the traffic controller station. This visual representation of concepts such as hot is reflected in moments that only Temple finds humorous. When her aunt mentions they are “up with the roosters”, the image conjured in Temple’s mind of her aunt and uncle crowing with the roosters in the morning brings her humor. Temples mind gives her a distinct advantage when tackling the mechanics of projects. She is able to visualize how a gate should swing open, and quickly devise a device that would open it automatically. She brings insight into the way that horses can see from a 360 degree viewpoint, and most pivotal, she can see the fear the cattle experience as they are led to slaughter.
She puts herself on the level of a cow and uses her unique ability to think visually to get into the mind of the cows who also think visually. She is then able to construct an environment that can fool them into thinking they are safe and increase the safety of so many large animals moving together. Relating to the mind of a cow. Temple was able to construct the structures so that they had curved walls, as she figured out cows enjoy walking around curves because it tricks them into believing they are going back somewhere they have been before. Temple herself states, “the normal mind drops out the details, but the autism mind sees all the details. That’s more like the animal mind, because animals are sensory thinkers. They think in pictures, smells, and sounds.” The movie does a great job conveying how visualization skills allow Temple to see things in her mind’s eye and replay them over and over perfecting them before creating them because of her ability to visualize and construct.
Temple sees the amount of cattle injured and lost on the way to slaughter as inhumane. As she pursues a degree in animal husbandry, Temple spends many hours on livestock lots. She has a difficult time being accepted by and connecting with the cowboys that work there. Temple’s lack of social skills and difficulty with social communication (pragmatics) require her to prove herself in a way typically developing individuals don’t have to. She must work harder to prove her worth and the value of her insight to be taken seriously. This is illustrated in a scene where Temple has spent time on hands and knees visualizing the barriers to a safe transfer through the slaughter line and made recommendations to accommodate the cow’s fears. She proposes that sides of the chutes need to be covered, as to not let in sunlight, and hanging shirts and belts, or anything shiny needs to be removed as they are viewed as threatening. Stairs should be made for entry and exit into the flea bath dip the cows must endure.
Though these changes are made initially, the workers fail to see the point to many of the modifications and instead make changes they see as expediting the process leading to the death of a cow. This experience furthers Temple’s passion for humane slaughter, and she takes fights even harder to be taken seriously. Eventually, Temple’s insight is recognized and her unique ability to think and see as the animals do leads to real lasting change. In real life, today over half of the feedlots in America use Temple’s animal welfare designs for productivity and humane slaughter. The real Temple Grandin was an integral part to making the movie. She was present on set and available for interview and insight into how her mind works.
Upon seeing Claire Danes, the actress who portrays her in the film, she states that seeing Claire Danes play her in high school, was surreal. Temple was on set and helped to design the recreation of her dip vats (the structure cows move through to be treated for insects). HBO does a superb job of helping those follow along on Temple’s journey. They allow the observer to see a way to help unlock a door for someone who is closed in. It is easy to see that Temple Grandin was represented accurately in the film. Allowing her to have such a role in the writing and reproduction of her life story, allowed HBO to accurately portray her story in a real meaningful way. In an article for the website DisabilityScoop, a news site dedicated to developmental disability news, Grandin states, “She was brilliant. If you left off the title credits, no one would ever know that was Claire Danes. That’s how much she became me. It was like a weird time machine.” (2010)
The entire movie is a testament to the difficulties and triumphs she goes through in her life living and adapting to a world not designed for those with autism. It drives the plot development throughout, by bringing to the screen real insight into the mind of an individual with autism. The dismissals, the fear, the ridicule, the disbelief that she has anything relevant to contribute, all play a part in her development as a character throughout the movie and make the triumphs much more poignant for it. The dismissals Temple received as an effect of people learning she was autistic or their seeing her display wildly different behaviors than the social norm were pronounced.
The way the students dismissed her as crazy, while benefiting from her work, the stockyard workers treating her as other because of her lack of pragmatic language; their treatment of her reinforces a belief that society doesn’t value those who are different than them in meaningful ways. In one scene, Temple was presenting at a meeting to redesign the Abbot slaughterhouse. She faced a room full of men not willing to believe in anything she was telling them simply because she communicated differently and in a way they were unfamiliar with. Temple was able to overcome this prejudicial attitude by demonstrating that her ideas had merit. She wasn’t believed solely on her qualifications, as most without autism would have been. She had to sell her ideas instead of herself. Regardless of qualifications people seemed to look at her as if she were lesser than, and failed to appreciate the level of passion and dedication she had for her work. Wholly reprehensible in today’s moral climate, this was a common attitude in the time that this movie portrays. Nature was cruel, but we don’t have to be, as Temple would say.
There are a number of online resources available for individuals with autism and their families. In Florida specifically, there are a few that stand above the rest. The Florida Autism Center of Excellence are heavily active within the state and offer a number of different educational programs to help people with autism. They run an educational center and have resources for parents to help their child not only survive but thrive despite their disability. They are located in Tampa, and work with public school systems in all surrounding counties to help support the needs of children with autism. A second resource is the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. CARD offers insight and resources into the process of a secondary transition as they graduate from highschool. Their site boasts a learning academy to help facilitate this transition more easily. They offer a wide array of information on health, research, safety, support groups. Another great resource is Autism Speaks, a coalition that has made extraordinary advancements for the autism community. They strive to increase global awareness, and help individuals gain a better understanding of the spectrum of disorders that is autism.
They offer research and support opportunities for those affected with and affected by autism including parents and educators. The site also offers event pages to connect with those who share similar experiences. The difference between this disability and the stereotype most people assign to it is the functionality most people with autism retain far exceeds what they are assumed to be capable of. They are dismissed as invalid, unintelligent and pitied based solely on their unexpected behaviors and difficulty with social communication. Though an autistic mind can cause difficulty when interacting with the typically developing world, it cannot be denied that seeing the world in a different way can have distinct advantages. Though there are common diagnostic characteristics amongst those with autism, each individual has their own unique neurological wiring, making the possibilities for unique islands of strength endless. Many of those minds have insight just as valuable, if not moreso, to contribute to our world. The movie was responsible in regarding characters with disabilities and providing insight into their positive contributions to society.
Temple Grandin is a success by anyone’s standards, and the world needs all different kinds of minds. A great lesson that the movie teaches those unfamiliar with autism is to help build up each person’s area of strength. Having different types of minds working together is integral to a well rounded world. Not only do we need to put conscious effort into the way our educational systems are designed to support different types of minds, but also mentorship. Mentorship and flexibility for a visual minded person are essential to ensure they aren’t marginalized. Because someone thinks and acts differently than you doesn’t mean they are less than. In the words of Temple’s high school science teacher, Temple was “Different, but not Less”.
An Exciting Story About A Young Woman. (2022, Feb 27). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/an-exciting-story-about-a-young-woman/
