In the inspiring film, "Temple Grandin," we learn the remarkable story of a woman born with autism who, as a young child, communicates through screaming and humming, and is given to fist-pumping outbursts of frustration. But Grandin, played brilliantly in the film by Claire Danes, has a rare affinity with animals and a keen sense of their needs. She ultimately becomes a renowned expert in animal behavior, a university professor and a consultant to major U.S. companies.
Grandin, PhD, one of the world’s most famous people with autism, will visit Stanford's medical school next Wednesday to deliver a talk entitled, "Animals Make us Human." In anticipation of her presentation, we asked her to answer five questions about the link between autism and animals. Her answers - like this one - offer a window into the world of autism, while providing a sense of Grandin's character and thought process:
Animal cognition has similarities to autism cognition. Animals are very aware of small, sensory details in the environment. People on the autism spectrum excel at work involving details. SAP, a large computer company, is hiring people on the mild end of the autism spectrum to debug and correct computer programs.
Concepts are formed from specific examples. To train a dog to always obey the “sit” command, it must be taught in many different locations. If all the dog’s training is done in the living room, the dog may only obey the commands in the living room. To teach a child with autism about road safety, he needs to be taught in many different locations. These similarities between animals and autism apply only to cognition. They do not apply to the emotions. Animals are highly social and emotional creatures.
Her presentation begins at noon in the Clark Center on the medical school campus and will be followed by a book signing at the bookstore at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. The talk, sponsored by Stanford's Department of Comparative Medicine, is free and open to the public. If you're local and able to attend, I would get there early, as I believe this is going to be one very popular event.
Photo by Rosalie Winard
