Seeing the World in Pictures

"Oprah," "20/20," "48 Hours" and "CNN’s Larry King Live." People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes and U.S. News and World Report. She has been featured in all of them. No, she’s not a movie star, singer or politician. She is Dr. Temple Grandin, an assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Grandin teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design.

Is this why she is the talk of the town? No. She is a designer of livestock-handling facilities. Approximately half of the cattle in the United States are handled in a center-track restraining system she designed. She has designed facilities in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Is this why Grandin is in the spotlight? We’re getting closer. Yes, she is a teacher. Yes, she is an inventor. Yes, she is autistic.

Grandin was diagnosed with autism at two years of age. She credits this early intervention to helping her overcome her handicap.

Autism is a neurological disorder caused, in most cases, by a complex inheritance of many interacting genetic factors. People with autism have structural abnormalities in the brain. It is a disorder in which some parts of the brain are underdeveloped and other parts may be overdeveloped. This overdevelopment may be why some autistic people have enhanced visual and savant skills, according to the Center for the Study of Autism.

Most autistic people have exceptional visual spatial skills but poor verbal skills. Grandin says she thinks in pictures. This means she has the ability to visualize and see the world in picture-form. She translates both spoken and written words into, "full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape," in her head, according to Grandin’s book, "Thinking in Pictures." Grandin credits her visualization abilities with helping her understand the animals with which she works.

Before attempting any construction of her designs, Grandin can test-run the equipment in her imagination. Grandin’s way of thinking is so accurate that she has had only one design out of the many in her lifetime that did not work exactly the way she had imagined.

"Often, the best ideas for inventing things come just as I am drifting off to sleep," Grandin writes in a recent paper entitled "My Mind is a Web Browser." "The pictures are clearer then. It is as though I can access the most concrete, vivid memory files with the most detailed images." Grandin says the language-part of her brain is completely shut off at night, increasing the clarity of her "pictures."

Grandin is also a specialist in animal behavior. Her disorder gives her a special insight into the mind of the animals. As a child, Grandin craved pressure stimulation at certain points of her body. In attempts to gain this pressure, she would crawl under the sofa cushions or wrap herself in blankets. As a teenager Grandin watched cattle being branded in a squeeze chute at a relative’s farm and noticed the immediate calming effect of the pressure administered to the cattle in the chutes.

After witnessing the effect of the squeeze chute, the 18-year-old Grandin built her own squeeze chute for humans, which is now commonly referred to in the autistic world as the "Hug Machine." This machine provides deep pressure stimulation evenly across the lateral parts of the body. Grandin still uses her "Hug Machine" to give her the pressure needed to cope with her anxiety.

Grandin has made various improvements to existing slaughter plants by simply knowing how cattle think.

"You start by looking for the simple things," Grandin said. She believes a major problem in the feedlot industry is darkness. High contrasts of light and dark frighten cattle. She calls this the "Cave Theory."

"Ninety-nine percent of cattle will go into a shoot without electric prods if it’s done right," Grandin said. Removing the common distractions that scare cattle will change an entire operation. A piece of chain hanging too low in front of cattle will keep an entire group from entering a facility.

"Animals will throw you a curve-ball," Grandin said. "Animals notice the little details."

Grandin says progressive people in the industry — those with a vested interest in the cattle — take notice of the little things. A number of Grandin’s past students sing her praise after using her designs and following her principles.

Grandin, now in her 40s, is a champion for the autistic community. She has authored two books and numerous papers regarding the disorder.

Among the many issues raised by Grandin is the issue of nurturing the talents of autistic children. She says talents need to be fostered and broadened into useful things. As a child Grandin’s artistic ability was encouraged by her mother. She now uses this ability to design her inventions. Developing talents in autistic children will provide an intellectually satisfying career.

Grandin believes her life would not be worth living if she did not have her work. Her career is her life. She says to make up for social deficits, autistic people need to make themselves so good that they are recognized for brilliant work.

Though Hollywood may interview Grandin due to her disorder, the livestock industry respects her for her knowledge. Dr. Temple Grandin, the professor, is working for the industry’s future. Dr. Temple Grandin, the designer of livestock handling facilities and equipment, is changing the way the world’s livestock industry operates. Dr. Temple Grandin, the autistic woman, is thinking in pictures and educating the world.