Temple Grandin

Mary Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the eldest of four children, to real estate agent Richard Grandin and writer-singer-actress Eustacia Cutler.

She was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and was marked brain-damaged during that period, and her parents were suggested a long-term care facility for her.

Her mother consulted a neurologist who recommended speech therapy, following which she was enrolled in a structured nursery school while a caregiver was hired at home to keep her engaged with turn-taking games.

She started speaking at the age of four and was fortunate to be guided by supportive and sympathetic staff at school, though she faced difficulties in social interaction with peers.

She completed her schooling from Hampshire Country School in 1966 and graduated from Franklin Pierce College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1970.

She devised a squeeze-box called ‘hug machine’ while studying in high school to relieve herself from stress and tension, which is now used by autistic children as well as adults as a comfort therapy, though in a modified form.

While studying animal science, she worked in the cattle industry and also as a livestock editor at ‘Arizona Farmer Ranchman’ for five years till 1975.

After earning a master’s degree in 1975, she established Grandin Livestock Handling Systems, through which she gained considerable knowledge and experience in handling animals at slaughterhouses.

She conducted several research studies which were subsequently published in different academic journals and industry trade publications, earning her respect and recognition.

In 1986, she published her autobiography ‘Emergence: Labeled Autistic’, which was re-released a decade later when she started gaining popularity for her work.

In order to reduce panic, stress, hesitation and pain experienced by animals upon the sight of a slaughterhouse, she designed a curved corral or circular chute unlike the standard straight chutes, thereby improving plant efficiency.

She advocated the re-location of hogs to less crowded and cooler places to reduce the levels of PSE or ‘pale, soft and exudative’ in pork, eventually lowering the glycogen levels in the muscles and giving a good pH-balanced meat.