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Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin Quotes

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Famous Temple Grandin Quotes

“Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who is screaming at the baseball game because he can't stand the sensory overload. Or the autistic kid having a meltdown in the school cafeteria because there's too much stimulation.”

PeopleChildrenKidsSchoolGamesToo MuchEmotionalNormalEmpathyBaseballMental HealthIncrediblesAutismSensoryAutisticStimulationBaseball GamesOverloadCafeteriaMeltdownsInformation OverloadLack Of EmpathyNo EmpathySchool Cafeteria
Author:Temple Grandin
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“I want to make sure to fix these obvious things - like keeping the box CLEAN! Another thing that might affect this [cats going outside the litter box] is if you put the litter box in a laundry room where people are walking by there all the time, the cat might feel kinda too exposed. When you gotta poop, you know, it takes a little longer. You want a little more privacy.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWantFeelsLittlesMightRoomsWalkingCatCleanObviousBoxesPrivacyExposedLaundryPoopObvious Things
Author:Temple Grandin
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“I try to return my calls but I get inundated with emails and I can't answer them all. So often, I have to refer to them my webpage and the frequently asked questions or refer them to the books. But if they take the time to call me, I try to call back. You know, I am really busy, but just happened to have an hour in the hotel room and had some time before I have to meet some people about 20 minutes.”

PeopleIfsKnowsTryingI CanBookHoursAnswersRoomsHappenedMinutesReturnBusyHotelCall MeEmailHotel Rooms
Author:Temple Grandin
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“I believe that the place where an animal dies is a sacred one. There is a need to bring ritual into the conventional slaughter plants and use as a means to shape people's behavior. It would help prevent people from becoming numbed, callous, or cruel. The ritual could be something very simple, such as a moment of silence. In addition to developing better designs and making equipment to insure the humane treatments of all animals, that would be my contribution.”

PeopleNeedsBelieveMeanMomentsHelpingUseWould BeDiesI BelieveSimpleAnimalSilenceDesignBecomingShapesBehaviorSacredPlantDevelopingContributionTreatmentRitualConventionalEquipmentHumaneSlaughterCallousMoment Of Silence
Author:Temple Grandin
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“I strongly recommend that students with autism get involved in special interest clubs in some of the areas they naturally excel at. Being with people who share your interests makes socializing easier.”

PeopleInterestShareSpecialStudentsInvolvedEasierAreasClubsAutismGet InvolvedSpecial InterestsSocializing
Book:The Way I See It, Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's
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“Animals are like autistic savants. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that animals might actually be autistic savants. Animals have special talents normal people don't, the same way autistic people have special talents normal people don't; and at least some animals have special forms of genius normal people don't, the same way some autistic savants have special forms of genius. I think most of the time animal genius probably happens for the same reason autistic genius does: a difference in the brain autistic people share with animals.”

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Book:Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
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