Temple Grandin: "The Autistic Brain"

Published 2013-11-19
Temple Grandin is one of the world's most iconic scientists. A leading expert on animal behavior, she has even been the subject of a movie, in which Claire Danes played her in an award-winning performance. Her accomplishments are legion, including her creation of livestock-handling facilities based on animals' natural behavior. But her greatest impact might be as one of the most prominent adults with autism. The condition has given Grandin unique insights, orienting her work on animals and allowing her to rethink human nature. The result is a series of best-selling books—"Animals Make Us Human," "Animals in Translation," and "Thinking in Pictures," among many others—as well as the hug (or "squeeze") machine, used for calming hypersensitive patients. More recently, autism itself has become the subject of her research. Her most recent book, "The Autistic Brain," presents the latest physiological research and charts the shift from neurological to genetic approaches to the condition. Grandin shares this new work with her trademark intelligence and accessibility.

This program is generously underwritten by Rose L. Shure.

All Comments (21)
  • @Mindy56743
    I wish she was running schools. We desperately need someone like her to run the department of education.
  • @SA-vi8cj
    As a father of an autistic child, this woman gives me immense hope and makes me proud of my boy.
  • Temple was my graduate instructor. She was the first person to recognize my own autism. She helped me focus my talents. Its nice to listen to her presentations and recall how much we think alike. I struggle in my present work because they prefer to march in a straight line.
  • @lmmaxwell2530
    I am 71 and am hearing this for the first time. It felt like she was talking to me. 😊
  • I am 66 years old and have just discovered this video. Temple Grandin has described Autism so well that I finally feel like I fit in this world. I have Autism and struggled with everything she has described, every last thing. Wow wow and wow again the light switch just went on. I Like every minute of this video. What a relief.
  • She deserves the Nobel Prize or any other equivalent. She has more guts than a room full of prize fighters.
  • @Fiona2254
    It's so sad that it takes this amazing woman to point out that having different ways of looking at things is important. We can not pretend that everyone thinks the same, that only one way of thinking is "correct". We need to accept each other's differences and appreciate them.
  • @vampmilf
    i’m autistic and i’ve been struggling a lot in life because i had an abusive family and did not have support to nurture my unique way of thinking. i’m thankful i am still alive because there have been many times where i have lost hope for myself thinking that i will never able to handle how overwhelming the world is, and it’s doubly hard when you weren’t raised with the support to learn the skills to cope with it. but having watched this video for the first time i can firmly say that this gave me hope that i can change the world. i am so amazed by her enthusiasm and passion and knowledge. this made me realize that i have to accept myself and be unapologetically myself. and the life i want to live is one where i experience all that i can and amass as much knowledge as i can about my interests and create an expansive portfolio of my work. i have so much creativity and ideas inside of me and this reminded me that i need to share them.
  • Temple was discovered by media in the early 2000’s. I couldn’t keep her books on the shelf of the bookstore where I worked. She is a great mentor to us on earth.
  • She was lucky to have the right motivators, mentors and teachers, unfortunately too many don't and fall thru the cracks into oblivion!
  • I worked with a boy who was 5 at the time who is so incredibly smart.I went to put a paper in his backpack and saw he had a periodic table tucked in there. At first I thought it was something that just caught his eye but curiosity got the better of me so I asked him. He not only told me what it was but when I pointed to the symbols he correctly identified each and every one. At six he knew all the planets, could spell them and tell you how many moons they did or did not have. Definitely has a science brain. But socially he struggles. I just find working with autistic kids fascinating, challenging and rewarding.
  • My pet peeve has ALWAYS been that in the USA when there is a budget crunch in the schools - the FIRST things to go are art and music.... it's criminal
  • @callanrose1621
    My 3 year old son is autistic and this video not only gives me skills to nurture him, it gives me hope that he will live a wonderful and fulfilling life.Thank you.
  • Lol! I just loove this lady. In autism we speak so bluntly. Just for the purposes of transfering data. No ulterior motives.
  • @meadowrae1491
    I'm autistic and so is my son. At about 23 minutes I almost cried. People always acted like I was weird for how I spoke to my son, how I taught him things. Every concept needed an example, like when they ask for word origin at a Spelling Bee. It takes longer, and it meant I was having (in my mind) full conversations with him at 3 years old. When he got to school they said he couldn't possibly be autistic; his language skills weren't impaired. The "impairments" didn't show up until 1st grade, when he started having meltdowns and problems socializing with peers.
  • Love TG's comment on letting your work talk for you. A neighbor boy lacked social skills and had a hard finding a job after college. His hobby is electronics and robotics. He landed a job at a robotics firm by showing them his work. Now he makes a good living from his hobby.
  • @gaillewis5472
    Not to take anything away from her brilliant designs and her lecture circuit, but Temple is the undisputed Queen of the Cowgirl Shirt.
  • @sallyforth3225
    This woman does have a beautiful mind. My kiddo was undiagnosed for years, Incorrect medication. Huge IQ.  Huge vocabulary. And knows something about everything. I love my Aspie kid
  • @elenalatici9568
    What a gift she is to all of us whether we're on the spectrum or not. And what she's done for animal welfare is beyond my ability to verbalize. So. many of the most valuable things I've learned in my life I learned from horses. I love the way she talks. No nonsense, just the facts. Brilliant.
  • @PiperStLennon
    adore this lady, for her brain, her thoughts, her work, and her empathy towards animals. Temple, you are a treasure to humankind!