Quotessence
Home / Authors / Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin Quotes

Professor

Filter quotes by topic

AllAutismPeopleAnimalThinkingAutisticIfsKidsKnowsChildrenDog

Famous Temple Grandin Quotes

“If you see a child with autistic-like behaviors at age two and three, the worst thing you can do is just let them sit and watch TV all day. That's just the worst thing you can do. You need to have a teacher working with that child, working on teaching language, working on social interaction, working on getting them interested in different things, and keeping their brain connected to the world.”

IfsWorldNeedsChildrenTwoDifferentAgeThreeLanguageSocialCan DoBrainWatchesTeacherTeachingWorstTvsBehaviorConnectedDifferent ThingsInteractionWorst ThingsAutisticSocial Interaction
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“How do you have a think in pictures? Well, you have to sort the pictures into categories. You know, for example, a dog knows that, you know, there's good people and there's bad people. And I talked to a lady the other day where her dog was afraid of people with white beards because she had adopted him from an animal shelter and somebody with a white beard had abused him. And this dog was now afraid of everybody that had a white beard. That was the bad category.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsWellsWhiteAnimalDogExampleCategoriesGood PeopleShelterAdoptedBeardBad PeopleAnimal Shelter
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“I feel very strongly, we've got to give animals a good life. I've worked really hard improving slaughter plants and animal handling and transport. And people have said to me, why don't you work on improving conditions on pig farms? And basically, to be effective on making real change out there on the ground, you can only work on so many things. You know, you get too distributed, you're not effective.”

PeopleKnowsGivingFeelsSaidRealHardAnimalConditionsPlantFarmsGood LifeVery StrongPigsImprovingSlaughterTransportPlants And AnimalsReal Change
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“The thing is, autism is all different, you know, variables. And you start out with a certain amount of, you know, the point where the differences in the brain are going to just be a personality variant and, like, for very mild Asperger's. But you get into more severe kinds of autism where there's obvious speech delay, obvious abnormal behavior in a two and three-year-old child, you know, the initial neurology is different from case to case. But all children with autism are going to do better if they get really good educational intervention.”

IfsKnowsYearsKindChildrenTwoDifferentCertainThreeDifferencesBrainCasesPersonalityAmountSpeechBehaviorObviousEducationalThree YearsAutismSevereDelayInterventionInitialsGet RealAbnormalVariablesGood EducationNeurologyAspergersThree Year OldsChildren With Autism
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“One thing I'd like to just keep on doing is I want to educate people about animal behavior and about autism. I've been doing autism talks for the last 20 years and there still are people out there that do not want to, they can't recognize that these sensory problems are real. That, for some of these kids when that fire alarm goes off, that really hurts the ears, it's a really real thing.”

PeopleWantYearsStillsRealProblemKidsLastsHurtAnimalFireOne ThingBehaviorEarsEducateAutismAlarmsReal ThingsSensoryAnimal Behavior
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“I think the mild Aspergers have always been there. You see, Asperger's diagnosis did not become common in the U.S. until the early '90s. And an Aspergers has more or less normal speech development and they've always been here, that hasn't changed. I can think back to when I was in high school, this is 40 years ago, I could name kids in my high school class and college class that, today, would be diagnosed as Aspergers.”

ThinkingYearsI CanWould BeKidsTodaySchoolNamesCommonClassChangedCollegeDevelopmentSpeechNormalHigh SchoolYears AgoDiagnosisAspergersHigh School Class
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“All children in the '50s were taught manners, they were taught to say please and thank you, they were taught not to be rude. And I'm seeing some problems today where somebody's losing a job because they made fun of a fat lady that couldn't fit in the elevator. I mean that was the sort of thing that, when I was eight years old, my mother made it very clear to me that that was not okay to say that kind of stuff.”

YearsKindMeanChildrenMadeProblemTodayJobsMotherFunStuffClearSeeingTaughtFitPleaseLosingOkayEightFatsMade ItMannersRudeElevatorsNot OkayPlease And Thank You
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“If you have a 2-year-old who is non-verbal, don't wait until you get a diagnosis at 4. The child needs one-on-one teaching with an effective teacher now. This can be a grandmother or a teacher or someone from the community. Grandmothers are especially great. There are a lot of grannies around. Go to your church for help.”

IfsNeedsYearsChildrenHelpingWaitingCommunityChurchTeacherTeachingGrandmotherDiagnosisOne On OneGrannyEffective Teacher
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“I don't like the way most people think. It's imprecise. I find that when parents ask me questions, they ask very imprecise questions. They say, "My kid has behavioral problems at school." Well, I have to say, "What kind of problems? Is he hitting? Is he rude? Does he rock in class?" I need to narrow questions to specifics. I am very pragmatic and intellectual, not emotional. I do get great satisfaction when a parent says, "I read your book, and it really helped me."”

PeopleThinkingWayNeedsWellsKindDoeBookProblemKidsSchoolAsksParentClassRocksEmotionalIntellectualSatisfactionAsk MeHittingRudePragmaticSpecifics
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image

“If language naturally evolves to serve the needs of tiny rodents with tiny rodent brains, then what's unique about language isn't the brilliant humans who invented it to communicate high-level abstract thoughts. What's unique about language is that the creatures who develop it are highly vulnerable to being eaten.”

IfsNeedsHumansLanguageAnimalLevelsBrainCreaturesUniqueCommunicateBrilliantTinyVulnerableEvolveAbstractHigh LevelRodents
Book:Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
Create image

“In an ideal world the scientist should find a method to prevent the most severe forms of autism but allow the milder forms to survive. After all, the really social people did not invent the first stone spear. It was probably invented by an Aspie who chipped away at rocks while the other people socialized around the campfire. Without autism traits we might still be living in caves.”

PeopleWorldShouldFirstsStillsMightFormSocialRocksIdealsStonesScientistMethodTraitsAutismSevereCavesSpearsCampfireIdeal World
Book:Thinking in Pictures
Create image

“I believe that the best way to create good living conditions for any animal, whether it's a captive animal living in a zoo, a farm animal or a pet, is to base animal welfare programs on the core emotion systems in the brain. My theory is that the environment animals live in should activate their positive emotions as much as possible, and not activate their negative emotions any more than necessary. If we get the animal's emotions rights, we will have fewer problem behaviors... All animals and people have the same core emotion systems in the brain.”

PeopleIfsWayShouldBelieveProblemI BelieveAnimalEmotionBrainEnvironmentRightsConditionsTheoryBehaviorNegativeProgramCoreBest WayWelfarePetFarmsFewerZoosCaptivesAnimal WelfareActivateNegative EmotionsGood LivingPositive EmotionsWelfare ProgramsLiving Conditions
Book:Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
Create image

“If you have a 2 or 3 year old who is not talking, you must start an early intervention program. The worst thing you can do with an autistic 3 year old is to do nothing.”

ChildrenMotivationalChoicesCan DoChangeDecisionTeachingWorstPositiveProductivityLife ChangingRight ThingDecision MakingProcrastinationAutismWorst ThingsYou Can Do ItThings ChangeDoing NothingWrong ThingsTaking ActionBeing PositiveDoing The Right ThingLife ChoicesIndecisionLeadership TrainingMaking DecisionsMotivational SuccessRight DecisionTeaching ChildrenChoices You MakeRight ChoicesMaking ChoicesBusiness GrowthDecisions MadeDecisions You MakeStop ProcrastinationInspirational ChangeTough DecisionsTime For A ChangeMotivational ActionMake The Right ChoiceMake The Right DecisionTimes Have ChangedCareer ChangeFear Of ChangeWise DecisionChoices And DecisionsMotivational Life ChangingMotivation And ChangeLife Best InspirationalLife And ChoicesTough ChoicesWise ChoicesMaking Tough DecisionsSaying The Wrong ThingChildren With Autism
Author:Temple Grandin
Create image