Temple Grandin
World-Renowned Inspirational Autism Activist, Best-Selling Author, Animal Welfare and Behavior Expert
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $6,500–$10,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: Colorado
Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. When she was two and a half years old, she had no speech and all the symptoms of severe autism. Early intensive speech therapy enabled her to speak by age four. Her mother always encouraged her interest in art and urged her to draw many different things. Good teachers and mentors were essential for Temple’s success. Her high school science teacher challenged her with interesting projects where she had to figure out how to make things work. When studying in school became a pathway to becoming a scientist, she was motivated to study.
An HBO movie titled Temple Grandin was made about her life and Temple was inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame and The Academy of Arts and Sciences. Facilities she has designed handle over half the cattle in the U.S. Some of her most important books are New York Times Bestseller Animals in Translation, Thinking in Pictures, The Autistic Brain, and The Way I See It, and her latest book, Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions.
An HBO movie titled Temple Grandin was made about her life and Temple was inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame and The Academy of Arts and Sciences. Facilities she has designed handle over half the cattle in the U.S. Some of her most important books are New York Times Bestseller Animals in Translation, Thinking in Pictures, The Autistic Brain, and The Way I See It, and her latest book, Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions.
Temple Grandin, Ph.D is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled in a center track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants. Curved chute and race systems she has designed for cattle are used worldwide and her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many people to reduce stress on their animals during handling.
She has also developed an objective scoring system for assessing handling of cattle and pigs at meat plants. This scoring system is being used by many large corporations to improve animal welfare. Other areas of research are cattle temperament, environmental enrichment for pigs, reducing dark cutters and bruises, bull fertility, training procedures, and effective stunning methods for cattle and pigs at meat plants.
She obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College and her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University. Dr. Grandin received her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989. Today she teaches courses on livestock behaviour and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare. She has appeared on television shows such as 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, PrimeTime Live, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, and many shows in other countries. She has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times book review, and Discover magazine. In 2010, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people. Interviews with Dr. Grandin have been broadcast on National Public Radio and she has a 2010 TED Lecture titled "The World Needs ALL Kinds of Minds." She has also authored over 400 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare, and facility design. She is the author of “Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions,” as well as "Thinking in Pictures", "Livestock Handling and Transport," "Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals," "Guide to Working with Farm Animals," and "Humane Livestock Handling." Her books "Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make Us Human" were both on the New York Times best seller list. "Animals Make Us Human" was also on the Canadian best seller list. Her book, “Calling All Minds,” was a New York Times best seller for middle school students. Her life story has also been made into an HBO movie titled "Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes," which won seven Emmy awards and a Golden Globe. The movie shows her life as a teenager and how she started her career. In 2017, she was inducted into The Women's Hall of Fame and in 2018 made a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She has also developed an objective scoring system for assessing handling of cattle and pigs at meat plants. This scoring system is being used by many large corporations to improve animal welfare. Other areas of research are cattle temperament, environmental enrichment for pigs, reducing dark cutters and bruises, bull fertility, training procedures, and effective stunning methods for cattle and pigs at meat plants.
She obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College and her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University. Dr. Grandin received her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989. Today she teaches courses on livestock behaviour and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare. She has appeared on television shows such as 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, PrimeTime Live, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, and many shows in other countries. She has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times book review, and Discover magazine. In 2010, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people. Interviews with Dr. Grandin have been broadcast on National Public Radio and she has a 2010 TED Lecture titled "The World Needs ALL Kinds of Minds." She has also authored over 400 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare, and facility design. She is the author of “Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions,” as well as "Thinking in Pictures", "Livestock Handling and Transport," "Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals," "Guide to Working with Farm Animals," and "Humane Livestock Handling." Her books "Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make Us Human" were both on the New York Times best seller list. "Animals Make Us Human" was also on the Canadian best seller list. Her book, “Calling All Minds,” was a New York Times best seller for middle school students. Her life story has also been made into an HBO movie titled "Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes," which won seven Emmy awards and a Golden Globe. The movie shows her life as a teenager and how she started her career. In 2017, she was inducted into The Women's Hall of Fame and in 2018 made a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Great Minds Are Not All the Same
There are three basic ways that people think differently when solving problems. They are photo realistic, visual thinking like me, pattern mathematical, which is the way most engineers think and word verbal thinking. When projects are being designed, people with different ways of thinking have complementary skills.
Temple Grandin draws from her own experience with autism spectrum disorders and her professional career. She speaks on how to nurture and turn talents and special interests into paid work, jobs that are particularly suited to individuals on the autism spectrum, and those with other disabilities, and much more. She provides first-hand accounts of job experiences and advice from individuals representing a broad range of careers particularly suited for high-functioning individuals on the autism spectrum.
Humane Livestock Handling
To understand animals, you have to get away from words. The animal world is a sensory based world. Their memories are detailed pictures, sounds, smell, and other sensory impressions. This talk will help you understand animals but it will also give you insights into solving problems.
“Dr. Grandin was absolutely phenomenal! The feedback from the audience was exceptional! She spent the morning from 7:00 am – 10 am in the foyer talking with families and taking pictures. I have served in this organization for 8 years and she is the only presenter to spend so much time interacting with conference attendees. We expected she would attend the conference a few minutes before 10 am, present, and spend 30 minutes afterward taking pics and signing books. This is our experience with all former presenters. However, not Dr. Grandin! She was there at 7 am setting up right beside us and was there greeting attendees as they entered the foyer to register until she presented. Dr. Grandin exceeded our expectations! I am already looking forward to the next time I have an opportunity to hear Dr. Grandin present”
-President, Virginia Council for Exceptional Children
“Thanks for being such a pleasure to work with as we planned for Dr. Grandin at our Special Education Conference. Her community event was incredibly well-attended. She was a hoot and we thoroughly enjoyed having her with us. She spent the afternoon with us in our pre-conference on Wednesday, and stayed with us the following day until it was time for her to leave. She came to sessions, and sat and chatted with our attendees. I hope she enjoyed her time with us.”
-Washington Association of School Administrators
“She was wonderful! We had close to 400 students at the 2:00 p.m. lecture and approx. 750 for the evening lecture. They sold almost all of their books, she gave great interviews to the media and our community and students loved her. Thank you so much for all of your help!”
-Director of Development, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
“So delightful, energic she was wonderful!! Such a good draw great response! Want her back!! Ran out of books! Will want Grandin back in 2 years, looking at dates convention center is available and will get back to us.”
-Executive Director, The Matthew Reardon Center for Autism, Inc.
“WE LOVE HER! She was amazing. Nothing less than a perfect fit!! Our community is better because of her visit.”
-Disabilities Specialist, Adrian College
“Dr. Grandin and Brad were both a delight. We found them easy to work with, and the events were a great success.”
-Director, Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning; University of Wisconsin, Superior
“I’ve gotten a TON of messages from people who attended the call and everyone absolutely loved Dr. Grandin's talk. We’ll definitely be buying some books, and I hope we can bring her back again. She’s the most popular speaker we’ve had this year!”
-Employee Experience Coordinator, Columbia Bank
-President, Virginia Council for Exceptional Children
“Thanks for being such a pleasure to work with as we planned for Dr. Grandin at our Special Education Conference. Her community event was incredibly well-attended. She was a hoot and we thoroughly enjoyed having her with us. She spent the afternoon with us in our pre-conference on Wednesday, and stayed with us the following day until it was time for her to leave. She came to sessions, and sat and chatted with our attendees. I hope she enjoyed her time with us.”
-Washington Association of School Administrators
“She was wonderful! We had close to 400 students at the 2:00 p.m. lecture and approx. 750 for the evening lecture. They sold almost all of their books, she gave great interviews to the media and our community and students loved her. Thank you so much for all of your help!”
-Director of Development, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
“So delightful, energic she was wonderful!! Such a good draw great response! Want her back!! Ran out of books! Will want Grandin back in 2 years, looking at dates convention center is available and will get back to us.”
-Executive Director, The Matthew Reardon Center for Autism, Inc.
“WE LOVE HER! She was amazing. Nothing less than a perfect fit!! Our community is better because of her visit.”
-Disabilities Specialist, Adrian College
“Dr. Grandin and Brad were both a delight. We found them easy to work with, and the events were a great success.”
-Director, Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning; University of Wisconsin, Superior
“I’ve gotten a TON of messages from people who attended the call and everyone absolutely loved Dr. Grandin's talk. We’ll definitely be buying some books, and I hope we can bring her back again. She’s the most popular speaker we’ve had this year!”
-Employee Experience Coordinator, Columbia Bank
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