Thinking in Pictures
Subtitle
My Life With Autism (expanded edition)
Here, in Temple Grandin's own words, is the story of what it is like to live with autism, to be among the few people who have broken through many of the neurological impairments associated with autism.
Throughout her life, she has developed unique coping strategies, including her famous "squeeze machine," which she modeled after seeing the calming effect of squeeze chutes on cattle. She describes her painful isolation growing up "different" and her discovery of visual symbols to interpret the "ways of the natives."
"Thinking In Pictures" also gives information from the front lines of autism, including treatment, medication and diagnosis, as well as Grandin's insights into genius, savants, sensory phenomena and animal behavior. Ultimately, it is Grandin's unique ability to describe the way her visual mind works and how she first made the connection between her impairment and animal temperament that is the basis of her extraordinary gift and phenomenal success.
Bio
Temple Grandin, author, animal scientist and autism activist, received her master’s degree in animal science from ASU (1975) and PhD from the University of Illinois. She was honored in Time Magazine’s 2010 list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” and the HBO movie based on her life, starring Claire Danes, won seven Emmy Awards. She is a professor at Colorado State University.
Praise for this book
I hardly know what to say about this remarkable book. ... It provides a way to understand the many kinds of sentience, human and animal, that adorn the Earth.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas Author of 'The Hidden Life of Dogs'
A uniquely fascinating view not just of autism but of animal — and human — thinking and feeling, [providing] insights that can only be called wisdom.
Deborah Tannen Author of 'You Just Don’t Understand'