Home / Authors / Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin Quotes

Professor

Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science and an autism advocate. Born on August 29, 1947, she has made significant contributions to the understanding of autism and animal welfare through her groundbreaking research. Grandin's innovative designs, such as the 'hug box,' have improved livestock handling practices. She is also an author and speaker, sharing her experiences and insights on autism and animal welfare with the world.

Filter quotes by topic

All Autism People Animal Thinking Autistic Ifs Kids Knows Children Dog Needs Cat Want Way Social Different Problem Kind Behavior Sensory

Famous Temple Grandin Quotes

“Research has shown that a barren environment is much more damaging to baby animals than it is to adult animals. It does not hurt the adult animals the same way it damages babies.”

Way Doe Hurt Animal Environment Baby Research Adults Damage Barren

Author:Temple Grandin

“It's very important for the parents of young autistic children to encourage them to talk, or for those that don't talk, to give them a way of communicating, like a picture board, where they can point to a glass of milk, or a jacket if they're cold, or the bathroom. If they want something, then they need to learn to request that thing.”

Ifs Way Want Needs Giving Children Important Young Parent Cold Glasses Communicate Boards Milk Bathroom Want Something Jackets Request Autistic Autistic Children

Author:Temple Grandin

“I tend to be much more in the present and my emotions are simpler. I can be happy, I can be sad, I can be depressed, but there's a complexity that I don't have. I don't brood the same way. Fear is my main emotion.”

Way I Can Emotion Complexity

Author:Temple Grandin

“Language just gradually came in, one or two stressed words a time. Before then, I would just scream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't get my words out. So the only way I could tell someone what I wanted was to scream. If I didn't want to wear a hat, the only way I knew to communicate was screaming and throwing it on the floor.”

Ifs Way Want Two Wanted Language Communicate Hats Throwing Scream Stressed

Author:Temple Grandin

“When I was younger, I didn't even realize the way I think visually is different.”

Thinking Way Different Realizing

Author:Temple Grandin

“Autism's an important part of who I am, but I'm a college professor and an animal scientist first. And I wouldn't want to change 'cause I like the logical way I think.”

Thinking Way Want Firsts Important Causes Animal College Scientist Who I Am Logical Professors Autism College Professors

Author:Temple Grandin

“here's certain things that are similar to cats and dogs. Dogs are just hyper social and they have a want to please you way more than a cat does.”

Way Want Doe Certain Social Dog Please Cat Hyper Cat And Dog

Author:Temple Grandin

“Well the dog that is the most is the a Labrador retrievers because they tolerate kids tugging on them and things better than other dogs. They are a real good natured. They’re also real calm and sometimes when working with autistic children that’s probably more popular dog breed - now there are different ways to use service animals.”

Way Wells Children Different Real Sometimes Use Kids Animal Dog Calm Different Ways Tolerate Autistic Good Nature Tugging Retrievers Autistic Children Labradors

Author:Temple Grandin

“There are three basic ways [to use a dog to work with autistic children], one is just to be companion person and I'm thinking now more of autistic kids not somebody in a wheelchair or the dog belongs to a therapist and then it's used as an ice breaker to get the kid talking and get the kid interacting.”

Thinking Way Persons Use Kids Used Three Talking Dog Ice Companion Therapists Autistic Interacting Wheelchairs Ice Breaker

Author:Temple Grandin

“Basically when it comes to autistic kids and animals there's kind of three ways that they work, some of them are instant best buddies, they understand a cat, they understand a dog - they're best studies with it, they just know how to communicate with it. Then there's other kids that begin with a little bit of fear of the cat or the dog, but then they begin to like it and then there are other kids where you have a sensory problem - the cat meows and it hurts their ears, so they want to stay away from the cat because you never know when he might meow.”

Knows Way Want Kind Littles Problem Might Kids Three Bits Hurt Animal Know How Study Dog Little Bit Cat Ears Communicate Instant It Hurts Buddy Sensory Autistic Three Ways Best Buddies

Author:Temple Grandin

“There is three different ways that autistic kids will interact with animals.And they also need to make sure that they're not getting too rough with their animals - they need to learn how to pet the dog properly, they can't be pulling its ears and things like that.”

Way Needs Different Kids Three Animal Dog Ears Different Ways Pet Rough Pulling Autistic

Author:Temple Grandin

“One of the ways to reduce that barking would be to have volunteers come in especially for hte for the dogs and take each dog out for 45 minutes each day and spend quality time with the person - that would help reduce the stress and in fact, one of my students did a study on that.”

Way Persons Facts Helping Would Be Quality Study Minutes Dog Students Stress Each Day Volunteer Quality Time

Author:Temple Grandin

“Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are visual thinkers like me. Other kids are pattern thinkers - your mathematicians, your programmers. And there are others, they are word thinkers. Uneven skills. You need to take the thing that they're good at and you need to work on developing it.”

Way Needs Bigs Kids Genius Skills Remains Patterns Like Me Developing Visuals Thinker Valleys Autism Mathematician Programmers Silicon Silicon Valley Continuum Nonverbal

Author:Temple Grandin

“The thing is, autism is a big spectrum. Going from folks who remain nonverbal, all the way up to, ya know, famous scientists and musicians. And we've got to work on strengths. We also have to work on teaching basic manners and skills.”

Knows Way Bigs Teaching Skills Musician Scientist Folks Manners Autism Spectrum Nonverbal

Author:Temple Grandin

“Some autistic people have savant skills. All autistic people do not have savant skills. Autism is a very variable disorder varying all the way from Einstein, emollient scientist, just a little bit of the trait, many scientist and engineers, down to somebody that's going to remain nonverbal.”

People Way Littles Bits Skills Little Bit Scientist Disorder Traits Engineers Autism Variables Autistic Nonverbal Savants Scientists And Engineers

Author:Temple Grandin

“People on the autism spectrum don't think the same way you do. In my life, people who made a difference were those who didn't see labels, who believed in building on what was there. These were people who didn't try to drag me into their world, but came into mine instead.”

People Thinking World Way Trying Made Differences Building Mines Labels Drag Autism Spectrum

Author:Temple Grandin

“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."”

People Thinking Way Needs Wells Kind Doe Book Problem Kids School Asks Parent Class Rocks Emotional Intellectual Satisfaction Ask Me Hitting Rude Pragmatic Specifics

Author:Temple Grandin

“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.”

Source: Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

“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.”

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

“When you're a weird geek, the way to sell yourself is to show your skills.”

Way Shows Skills Sells Geek

Author:Temple Grandin