Fort Collins Reads
Welcomes Temple Grandin
 7 p.m. Sept. 20
University Center for the Arts
1400 Remington St.
Free and open to the public
Sponsored by Colorado State University Libraries
Dr. Temple Grandin, a widely-acclaimed animal science expert and CSU professor, will speak Sept. 20 at the University Center for the Arts as part of the 2010 Fort Collins Reads program.
Grandin is an animal science professor known for her perspectives on autism and animal science. The most recent of her five books, “Animals Make Us Human,” is a New York Times bestseller written with Catherine Johnson, who has two sons with autism.
Born in 1947 in Boston, Grandin didn’t communicate through words until she was 3 ½ years old. When she was diagnosed with autism in 1950, her parents were advised to have her institutionalized. She was labeled “weird” and “nerdy” during her school years. Her book, “Emergence: Labeled Autistic,” tells of her journey, “groping her way from the far side of darkness.” Its publication shed new light on the prevailing theory of the times that people with autism could not lead productive or achievement-oriented lives.
 Grandin graduated from a boarding school for gifted children in New Hampshire in 1966. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce College in 1970; a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University in 1975; and a doctorate degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989.
She is one of the world’s few designers of livestock-handling equipment, and half the cattle in the world are handled at facilities she has designed. She is a consultant for companies such as Burger King, McDonalds and Swift.
A full-length film about her life, starring Claire Danes, aired on HBO this winter. Grandin has been interviewed on NPR, The Today Show, Larry King Live, 48 Hours, ABC’s Primetime Live, and 20/20. Her story has been featured in national publications such as Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report and the New York Times.
Success of Grandin Film Stirs Hope
in Autism Community
A raft of Emmys for an HBO movie about Temple Grandin has heartened advocates for autism awareness, who say the CSU professor's example gives parents hope their autistic children won't be condemned to a life in the shadows.
"Temple Grandin," the HBO movie that told the story of Grandin's life, was among the biggest winners at the 2010 Emmy Awards held Sunday night, winning seven awards.
Grandin, who celebrated her 63rd birthday Sunday, appeared on stage at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles as the award for outstanding-made-for-television movie was handed out.
"It makes me very happy. The movie serves as a tool to educate people about autism and shows that autistic children can become something," Grandin said after the film was honored.
Claire Danes, who portrayed Grandin, won the award for best actress in a movie or miniseries. Julia Ormond and David Strathairn won for their supporting roles.
Grandin's time in the spotlight was watched closely by members of the Autism Society of Larimer County, of which she is an honorary board member.
“Just the fact that she is who she is, and that she’s successful — that’s enough,” society President Phyllis Zimmerman said. “That alone, for a parent, says maybe that’s the path their child can take.”
Zimmerman said too many parents aren’t given good, consistent information when their child is diagnosed as autistic. That leaves them feeling hopeless, she said.
“There is no hope given because there is no known cause and no known cure.
Very few people realize that kids can improve … and the general population isn’t hearing that information,” Zimmerman said. Grandin’s success “gives parents, especially new parents, hope upon receiving a diagnosis of autism.”
Mick Jackson won the best director award Sunday for the film, which is now available on DVD.
“I tried to make your movie like you: spunky, smart, honest, vivid, sometimes crazily emotional, never sentimental,” Jackson told Grandin while accepting the award.
The movie depicts Grandin’s life as a child, during her high school years, and follows her during the 1970s as she begins her career in her chosen field of food-animal welfare and as an equipment designer determined to help reduce stress on animals.
A professor in Colorado State University’s Depart-ment of Animal Sciences, Grandin teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design.
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