Telluride Gets A Glimpse Into the Mind of Temple Grandin
by J James McTigue
Temple Grandin’s accomplishments are well known. Despite being diagnosed with autism at three, she earned a Ph.D. in animal science, holds a professorship at Colorado State University, authored multiple books and speaks about autism around the world. She is the subject of an Emmy Award-winning movie based on her life, aptly titled Temple Grandin, and she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2010.
Yet, as I learned Monday night after hearing her speak in front of a packed house at the Palm Theater, if that is all you know about her, you’ve missed the best. You’ve missed her straightforwardness, her practical advice, her jokes, her determined energy and her no nonsense approach to working with autistic children. Essentially, you’ve missed her.