Features Reporter
Photo by Charlie Blackmer
Nearly 800 people crowded the University Center Ballroom Saturday night to hear from one of the brightest and most unique minds of our time: Dr. Temple Grandin. A world-renowned animal scientist known for her insights into autism and animal behavior, Grandin was herself diagnosed with autism at age 3. Her ability to “think in pictures”, as she puts it, enabled Grandin to both conceptualize complex designs entirely in her mind as well as see the world through an animal’s eyes.
Temple Grandin spoke at CMU Saturday.
A meticulous, sensitive and strong-willed woman, Grandin revolutionized the way in which livestock is handled before slaughter. Roughly one third of all cattle and hogs in the United States are handled in facilities Grandin has designed, using systems and machinery dedicated to the responsible and ethical treatment of animals.
Grandin, who lives in Fort Collins and lectures at Colorado State University, spoke to a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the invitation of Dr. Nancy Hugenberg of the Orchard Mesa Veterinary Hospital.
“Dr. Nancy saw Temple speak at last year’s Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Conference [in Loveland] and decided that she should come speak in Grand Junction,” Andrea Dyer, office assistant at Orchard Mesa Veterinary Hospital, said.
The event, An Evening with Temple Grandin, was a fundraising collaboration between the veterinary hospital and Strive, a local organization that offers services to individuals with developmental disorders.
Ticket sales from the event went directly to the Orchard Mesa Veterinary Hospital and Strive. Half of the proceeds will benefit the Dr. Tom Melzer Animal and Scholarship Fund for Grand Valley students hoping to study veterinary medicine. The other half will contribute to Strive’s newest autism support program, Audyssey.
Audience members–many of whom were standing due to the sold-out nature of the event– took advantage of the opportunity to pose questions to Grandin directly:
What do you think about children and adults with autism who don’t even know about their disabilities?
TG: When I was in my 20s and 30s I didn’t know my thinking was different, I thought everyone thought that way. Now I am seeing too many smart, geeky kids who focus too much on their autism instead of focusing on their skills and developing them. We’ve got to help them build on their strengths.
My name is R.J., I’m nine-years-old and I have autism. I want to know how you deal with being picked on.
TG: The only time I was not picked on was in specialized activities–horseback riding, electronics, sewing– where I had peers with the same interests. I cannot stress enough the importance of developing your strengths and getting out there and doing things.
What do you think of the lack of facilities [for people with developmental disorders] in rural areas?
TG: I don’t think facilities are always the answer. One of the worst things that’s happened in this country was taking skills classes out of schools: sewing, cooking, woodworking. They’ve [autistic children] got to learn these skills. How about running a church website or walking dogs?
What do you think about medication?
TG: I would not be here without a little bit of medication. A little bit of Prozac keeps a lot of people off drugs and alcohol, and that type of “self-medication”. I don’t think five-year-old children should be handed medication like candy, but there is a place for careful and conservative use of medication.
What was harder [when you were designing livestock processing facilities], being an autistic person telling cowboys how to do their jobs or being a woman telling cowboys how to do their jobs?
TG: Back then, I didn’t tell them I was autistic. I had been writing a bunch of articles for different cattle industry magazines, so I had some credibility. Some people were really nice and liked what I had to say about treating cattle more humanely. Others though, some of the ranch hands and cowboys, didn’t like me being there at all. So I’ll say it was definitely harder being a woman.
Grandin was available for book-signing before and after the event and the line of people anxious to get a quick audience with her stretched across the top floor of the University Center. Several signed copies of her books Animals Make Us Human and Animals in Translation are currently available in the campus bookstore.
cblackme@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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