Temple Grandin will present a lecture on “The Boundaries of Humanity” at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, in Graham Chapel as part of the Assembly Series. Her groundbreaking 1986 book, Emergence: Labeled Autistic, provides an “inside narrative” of autism and broke the silence about the issue. Since then, she has become a role model for thousands.
Grandin’s book chronicles the true story of how she overcame autism. Diagnosed at age 3, Grandin struggled through grade school, but eventually became a successful designer of livestock equipment and a leader in her field. A Library Journal review of the book credited Grandin for giving rare insights because “autism by its nature generally precludes such expression and analysis of emotion.”
Grandin has appeared on TV programs, such as ABC’s “Primetime Live,” “The Today Show,” “48 Hours” and “Larry King Live,” and has been featured in national publications such as Time, People, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Discover and The New York Times. She was one of the seven people with neurological conditions featured in Oliver Sacks’ best-selling book An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales.
Grandin also is known for being a passionate and effective animal advocate and for explaining to humans how animals think. Her 2005 book, Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, explores the nature of animal awareness and autism and how humans and animals connect. She spearheaded reform for the quality of life and humaneness of death for farm animals, and has convinced McDonald’s and other companies to use more humane methods in slaughterhouses.
Grandin is an associate professor of animal science at Colorado State University and is a consultant and designer of humane livestock handling facilities. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce College (1970), a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University (1975) and a doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1989).
A panel discussion expanding on the themes in Grandin’s talk will follow from 2-4 p.m. in the Women’s Building Lounge.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4620 or go online to assemblyseries.wustl.edu.