34 pages • 1 hour read
Sy MontgomeryTemple Grandin
Nonfiction | Biography | Middle Grade | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Appreciating Individuals’ Differences
The story of Temple Grandin is in large part one about living with, accepting, and appreciating differences. It was not long after she was born that her family members and doctors realized that she was not developing as expected, which eventually led to her being diagnosed with autism. At the time, autism was considered a severely debilitating disorder, and people with autism were treated as so abnormal that they either needed to be treated and adjusted or institutionalized if treatment did not work. Though she encountered these perspectives, Grandin was also fortunate to have people around her who supported her, appreciated her differences, and encouraged her to thrive.
The elementary school Grandin attended was small and supportive, full of people who were aware that Grandin’s autism caused her to have special needs. For the most part, her classmates and teacher understood what made Grandin different, and did not discriminate against her because of it. In fact, Grandin made friends and classmates found that “[b]ecause she was so creative, she was fun to be with. It was easy to overlook her oddities when you were busy working on one of Temple’s cool projects” (32). The encouragement of Grandin’s creativity set a pattern that helped fuel her later success.
This is not to say that Grandin has not faced discrimination because of her autism and other factors. Entering high school, for instance, she was bullied and as a result had behavior problems. Later, when Grandin was entering her career as an animal behaviorist and consultant, she was hazed by workers at stockyards, who did not think a woman—and woman with autism at that—had a place in their industry. Grandin’s mother helped her in her school years by persisting and finding an alternative boarding school; later, Grandin relied on her own persistence to push through the discrimination she experienced in her profession. Ultimately, the creativity and insight of Grandin’s designs earned her enormous respect from the animal production industry. Jim Uhl, president of one of the companies Grandin consulted for, noted, “Temple was unique. There is everything right with Temple’s designs and nothing is wrong” (94). People like Uhl appreciated Grandin’s different way of looking at the world as a positive thing.
Most importantly, Grandin herself believed in her differences—that her “cow’s eye view” of the world led her to do useful things for animals and for people. Grandin’s story demonstrates that the differences that all individuals (both people with autism and people without autism) have are worthy of respect and all can succeed if supported. Bill Dickerman, director of the boarding school Grandin attended, compared the school to Hogwarts school for Wizards from the Harry Potter series because it gave people who felt different a place to thrive. He noted that sometimes, “their problems are part of their abilities” (48). Montgomery’s book, like Grandin’s advocacy for people with autism, are part of an effort to make a case for neurodiversity, and to show that people with autism have talents and capabilities.
Overcoming Challenges Through Persistence and Creativity
The belief Grandin’s mother had in her daughter was a powerful influence in Grandin’s early life, helping her succeed in school and learn to handle criticism and discrimination. This approach of using persistence to face challenges grew into a major force in Grandin’s life, something she has turned to again and again while pursuing her passions and working to make a difference in the world.
Strong as an influence as Grandin’s mother was, Grandin early on found ways of her own to cope with autism. Twirling in circles, for instance, helped her tune out the sensory overloads she would experience as a child; “by retreating into her own world, she could screen out the confusion around her” (6). Later, in her school years, she found an outlet for the boredom she often felt, by playing pranks. Sometimes, these pranks were fairly harmless, as when she created a fake UFO to scare her boarding school roommates, but at other times her boredom caused her to act out and even become violent. As Grandin matured, she found healthier ways to deal with her feelings. Her realization that she could use the cattle chute on herself to help decrease the anxiety she felt was a pivotal moment for her life, but also an example of how Grandin was able to use the unique perspectives autism gave her to find creative solutions. Her devotion to her passions—above all, animals—fueled the persistence she needed to continue following her dreams even when she was challenged.
For instance, when one stockyard refused to let her in, early in her career, Grandin creatively found a work-around: requesting that the Arizona Farmer Ranchman journal to hire her so she could get a press pass and freely enter the stockyard. Montgomery notes, “Temple’s commitment is so deep and her devotion so strong that she is willing to face almost anything for animals” (97). This “anything,” has included, aside from the challenges of autism, things as unpleasant as having her car smeared with animal guts by disgruntled stockyard workers. Yet Grandin’s creativity and perseverance won over more open-minded and accepting members of the industry and public. Grandin’s readiness to persist when challenged has earned her great respect for her industrial designs and for her ability to work on “whatever needs doing” (97).
At the close of Temple Grandin, a list of tips from Grandin to encourages children with autism. Acknowledging the support she has received from people like her mother and her high school science teacher, Mr. Carlock, Grandin recommends that kids seek out people who will help them. At the same time, Grandin encourages children with autism to develop a sense of strength within themselves that will help them persevere through challenges: she gives advice like “[f]ocus on your strengths,” “[h]ave faith,” and “[d]on’t give anyone a chance to block that door” (132-133). Grandin’s faith and persistence model what an individual can do when given the support they need to find their inner strength, practice their creativity, and pursue their passions.
Having Empathy for Animals
Temple Grandin has made a career out of being an advocate for people with autism as well as an animal behaviorist and consultant to the animal production industry. But for Grandin, the connections between autism and animal psychology are more than a career coincidence. In fact, Grandin has drawn comparisons between experiencing the world as a person with autism and experiencing the world as an animal. Beginning in her childhood, Grandin gravitated toward animals and in some ways preferred their company to that of people. She turned out to have a deep affinity for animals. Montgomery writes that as a teen, Grandin “loved [horses] and could ride them better than anyone” (54). Later, Grandin developed her love of cows, which has grown to the extent that she says she sees the from a “cow’s eye view” (60).
What Grandin means is that she has empathy for cows, or a caring understanding of how they think and feel. Grandin has noted that animals “think in sensory images, not in ideas or words,” in much the same way as people with autism tend to (17). While Grandin’s explanation of the experience of living as a person with autism has raised awareness of the disorder, her work has also deeply influenced the way that people think about the capability animals must think and feel. Some people in the animal industry, particularly in the past, have thought of animals as primarily as products, incapable of sophisticated thinking or emotions. Grandin has used her deep knowledge of animal psychology to show that systems and facilities can be created for animals that work with their emotions and ways of thinking to make them feel more comfortable.
Chapter 10’s discussion of Grandin’s design for a cattle dip vat is a prime example of how she has used her empathy for animals to develop systems and equipment that treat them humanely. When she was hired to improve the dip vat system, Grandin realized something that other designers had simply overlooked: Cattle were afraid of the steep, slippery, sloping metal ramp that led down to the vat. The cattle thought that they were going to slip and hurt themselves, and panicked when they were forced into the vat. Other designers were thinking about how to efficiently get the animals into the vat and did not consider what the animals thought about the design. Grandin could see from the cattle’s perspective and realized that altering the design to that the ramp was not slippery and had a gentler slope would prevent the cattle from panicking. Thus, Grandin helped the cattle handlers while improving the treatment of the cattle themselves.
Some have raised questions about Grandin’s work with animals, asking, “[h]ow can an animal lover work for an industry that raises animals to be killed for food?” (104). She has responded to these questions by explaining that she does not foresee humans giving up all use of animals for food and other uses anytime soon, and so she instead focuses on improving their conditions. Her career has been devoted to increasing empathy for animals, and her public recognition is due as much to this as to her work raising awareness and understanding of autism.
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