Dr. Grandin did not talk until she was three and a half years old. She was fortunate to get early speech therapy. Her teachers also taught her how to wait and take turns when playing board games. She was mainstreamed into a normal kindergarten at age five. Oliver Sacks wrote in the forward of Thinking in Pictures that her first book Emergence: Labeled Autistic was “unprecedented because there had never before been an inside narrative of autism.” Dr. Sacks profiled Dr. Grandin in his best selling book Anthropologist on Mars. Dr. Grandin became a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior. Today she is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. She also has a successful career consulting on both livestock handling equipment design and animal welfare. She has been featured on NPR (National Public Radio) and a BBC Special – "The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow". HBO made an Emmy Award winning movie about her life and she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016. (https://www.templegrandin.com/) She is easily the most famous person with autism.
As part of their Autism Awareness Month, Turtle Wing Foundation will be showing a screening of the Temple Grandin Movie on Saturday, April 10 at the Lyric Theatre in Flatonia. The movie will begin at 1 PM and will be followed by a live Zoom visit with Temple herself! There is no charge to attend but Turtle Wing is requesting those interested in attending RSVP so that they can save them a seat. To be respective of safety in this COVID time, there will be capacity limits set. To RSVP you can email susie@turtlewingfoundation.org or call the office.
Turtle Wing has been providing Early Intervention, Supplemental Services and Community Education & Advocacy programming to children and families from Colorado, Fayette, Lavaca and surrounding counties with academic, social-emotional, behavioral and/or developmental needs since 2012. Their mission is “helping children with learning challenges in rural areas achieve their full potential.” Last year over 300 children received direct services with thousands more benefiting indirectly through education and advocacy work. To learn more about Turtle Wing Foundation visit www.turtlewingfoundation.org or contact Managing Director, Susie Shank, at 979-505-5090.
