Respond to Temple Grandin

Post your response to the video on Temple Grandin as comments here.

14 Responses to “Respond to Temple Grandin”

  1. AubronW says:

    I was at Campus Health Services today being treated for some pretty rough headaches. Is there anyway I can find out which of these ( http://www.templegrandin.com/templegrandinbooks.html ) videos this is so that I can find it and watch it on my own time?

  2. dallara says:

    It is truly amazing that Temple Grandin made so much progress in her life. This is especially true since there was less tolerance for people with autism (and disabilities in general) back in the 1950s and 60s. I think that her determination and intelligence as well as the support of a few key people in her life helped her achieve her goals and overcome the intolerance of others. I think that these are assets for the success of almost any young person, but they are even more essential to people with autism and other disabilities.

  3. KristinA says:

    Obviously the story of Temple Grandin is amazing but what I really enjoyed in the movie was the cinematography. The movie was made to make the audience understand and feel what it is like to be autistic. For example, how certain quick images would flash by when a word was mentioned and how little noises were amplified to become an annoyance, how jokes that people say make absolutely no real sense. I was in complete awe the whole movie trying to imagine myself with those handicaps and how would I get through them?Could I have that perserverance that Temple had? Temple proves herself to be an extremely strong woman and I am glad she was brought to my attention through this video. I really admire her.

  4. allenak says:

    I think it is really interesting to see how the perception of autism has changed in the past few decades. When Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism, it seemed like the doctors didn’t really understand the disorder. The doctor called Temple’s illness “autistic scizophrenia”, said it was due to a lack of bonding with the mother, and advised that Temple be institutionalized. I think it is cool to see how much progress has been made regarding autism recently – none of those ideas are acceptable today. I also think that it is people like Temple Grandin who ’s perserverance and drive help show the world the capabilities of people with autism. I really liked how Temple and her high school teacher had the mantra that she was “different but not less”. I think Temple Grandin’s skills for seeing and interpreting the world are completely unique and important and I think it is really cool that her activism is helping the whole world better understand autism.

  5. Philip Brooks says:

    I was pleasantly surprised how good of a movie this actually was. The actress who played Temple Grandin did an amazing job at portraying all the different nuances and actions that you may see in a person with autism, and made the movie all the more realistic and enjoyable. Also the cinematography and the flashes that would zoom in on the objects/pictures that Temple were seeing gave the audience a very interesting/cool view as to what they may actually be seeing. I would definitely recommend this movie to others on a purely movie-enjoyment basis. On top of that it helps to push forward with the cause for autism research and living in a society that incorporates those that live with it. I would really like to view more videos of this nature, as I think I got the most out of learning what they deal with by viewing the life of Temple Grandin.

  6. BethanyB says:

    I was very impressed with the way the film portrayed Temple Grandin and how well the actress put herself into the role. The design of the film and it’s portayal of how Temple’s autism was astounding, especially her reactions to events and stimuli, and the portayal of the working pictures of her brain. It was also interesting to see how peoples’ reaction to Temple and her condition changed from place to place and as time progressed.

  7. LoganG says:

    I found the video to me extremely interesting. The video present an angle on Temple’s life, where you as the viewer can appreciate her intelligence and different way of thinking, yet cannot protect her from the world of ignorance around her; so you feel that society wronging her is an egregious result of insensitivity and selfishness.

    I also liked the ending of the movie, where the mother of the spinning girl with autism asks Temple how she cured herself. Temple quickly acknowledged that she ways by no means cured, but only got to where she did by the devotion of her mother and her science teacher. I found this very encouraging and a testimony mainstream education.

  8. TylerD says:

    I agree that this has been the most interesting and overall best movie that we have watched so far. The actress playing Temple was phenomenal and completely dedicated to showing the effects of autism. What I loved about the movie was the fact that Temple was able to find her niche in cattle machinery and as a result, vastly improve it. It was very inspiring and enlightening to realize that people think in different ways and in doing so, are able to perceive things in a completely new way. Temple’s resilience also surprised me after constantly facing new and more difficult challenges. Also, the movie again showed us the many types of stress the parents of those with autism endure as well. Temple’s mother, a Harvard graduate no less, constantly worked with her daughter throughout her entire life in order to help her gain the necessary skills to succeed and communicate. Overall, I think the movie was very successful in displaying the effects of autism and how someone who has autism may be different, but not incapable.

  9. StephenH says:

    I also agree that this was the most intriguing and best movie that we’ve seen so far in class. The cinematography was really good at portraying Temple’s autism: it highlighted some of the details Temple focused on due to her diagnosis. The audience could easily sympathize with Temple, we could easily understand her thoughts and feelings.

    It was also upsetting to see people’s reaction to Temple. People acted almost disgusted and disturbed, most likely due to the fact that they couldn’t realize Temple’s differences and therefore could not accommodate her in everyday life. Temple’s character was impressive at never giving up and always facing the challenge, even backing up to when she built the illusion house with the two horses of seemingly different size. The actress that played Temple did a fascinating job at highlighting Temple’s character and showing that she was, in fact, “different” yet equal to everyone else.

  10. WilliamL says:

    I agree that the actress did a great job portraying Temple Grandin. The twitch of face when she talks, the facial expression of fear and hysteria and the constant wide-open eyes full of curiosity; I believe her performance is on par with Dustin Hoffman in Rain man. In terms of the biography of Temple, I am awed by her photographic memory; at the same time, I find it funny how she is surprised that other people can’t do it. Her ability to recognize details and to think with pictures are incredible, but without her persistence, or almost stubbornness, all these special qualities would go to waste. If she didn’t insist to do the experiment, she wouldn’t be able to survive in college; if she didn’t fight her way through the slaughterhouse, the revolutionary design of the structure wouldn’t be invented. Temple’s success is mostly contributed by her will to not give up. Maybe her autism causes her to think unlike other people; she doesn’t feel the shame and pain of being rejected. What would be considered illness actually helped her in this case.

  11. MattK says:

    Along with everyone else, I too feel as though this was the most captivating movie we have viewed up to this point. As opposed to the other films, which seem to be made solely for educational and awareness purposes, this movie seemed to be geared as much towards entertainment as it was towards promoting autism awareness. While the other films were appropriate and interesting enough to view in class, Temple Grandin is probably the only one in which I would watch outside of class.
    The cinematography was on a higher level than that of the rest, and as others have mentioned, it has a very interesting way of showing how Temple sees the world. I have done some research to no avail, but I wonder what Temple herself thinks of it? While the cinematography was interesting and entertaining, was it accurate?

  12. hunterC says:

    Out of all “disabilities” or and mental conditions, I find autism the most interesting. It seems that so often those from the autistic community have so much to offer the rest of the world. I think it would be very interesting to one day truly map out how those with autism see the rest of the world. She continually said she could see the world like a cow because she was autistic but I think it would be very interesting to know exactly how that is. Like many others have said, the cinematography in this movie was excellent and it was obvious the producers wanted to entertain as well as educate. I think this was a good strategy because is Temple’s case had been presented in other forms, I don’t think it would have held my attention as well. As Matt said, there’s no telling how accurate the cinematography is but it made the movie more interesting nonetheless.

  13. Erin says:

    I thought the video really made an impact on my perception of people with autism. As I have mentioned before in class, I have a friend who goes to my church back at home who is severely autistic. He is the only person with autism who I have really had the opportunity to know personally. After watching the movie about Temple Grandin, I completely understand the saying, “If you meet one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Although Temple and my friend have many similarities, they are also both very unique people. As I mentioned in class today, my friend absolutely loves giving hugs. Autism is not a personality trait, it is simply a diagnosis that accounts for certain differences in the way that autistic people function. Therefore we can not make generalizations about the way autistic people act or think.

  14. klomax says:

    I really enjoyed watching this movie. Seeing how Temple had to struggle to deal with every day situations most of us don’t even think about really touched me. This movie can show everyone that if you have hardwork and determination you can succeed at anything. I was very impressed by the way she never gave up on any of her projects, even when people made fun of her or acted like it was the worst idea in the entire world. When the men at the farm messed up her dip machine and Temple gave them a piece of her mind, I thought she did it in such a tactful way. She called them ignorant, and that is exactly what they were. They thought they knew more than she did because they had worked there for longer, but Temple had such an amazing eye for how the cattle behaved. I am so proud of Temple for never giving up. At the end of the movie, when she spoke in front of the crowd of people, it really became apparent that she had finally learned how to interact with people and somewhat hide the fact that she was autistic, even though she was not “cured.” I also love her mom’s love and support throughout the entire movie. She never gave up on Temple and I belive that is why Temple never gave up on anything she set out to do.