Temple Grandin

Grandin is one of the most famous people with autism, or perhaps it would be better to say that she's one of the people most well-known for having autism. Grandin thinks in pictures, and Visual Thinking draws on her own mind, her experience working with others, and psychological research to talk about three different types of thinking.
• Object visual thinking involves mental images of specific things or scenes. Thinking about airplanes involves recalling mental images of specific show more airplanes the person has seen, in person or in a photograph: perhaps a Boeing 737 or a Cessna 182. Temple Grandin is an object visual thinker, and famously designs livestock handling facilities by visualizing what an animal would see from a particular location.
• Visual-spatial thinking involves thinking in relations, abstractions, and patterns. Thinking about airplanes might involve thinking about the general structure of an airplane—the fuselage connects to wings, the cockpit, tail, etc.—without thinking about any specific plane.
• Verbal thinking involves words and sequences rather than images. Thinking about airplanes might involve the process of flight: boarding, taxiing, acceleration on the runway, liftoff, and so on.

The book's focus is on visual thinkers, people whose main mode of thought is either object-visual thinking or visual-spatial thinking, particularly the former. People on the autism spectrum are often visual thinkers, though not all visual thinkers are autistic or vice versa and neither has a bright-line diagnostic. As an autistic child, Temple Grandin didn't learn to speak until later than many children, and she struggled in many classes in school because the material was presented for verbal thinkers and folks who could do abstract reasoning. She talks about finally connecting with coursework that made sense to her when she got to shop class, which is about working with physical objects. Another key educational experience was going to a boarding school which involved chores like caring for animals; lacking language, animals are naturally visual thinkers.

Grandin talks about the kinds of work that the three types of thinkers do well. You'll often find object visual thinkers in roles that require hands-on work: mechanics, machinists, drafters, builders, equipment operators, repair people. They're excellent at troubleshooting machinery, and they're able to tinker and build things with whatever supplies may be at hand. Visual-spatial thinkers are often drawn to engineering, mathematics, and computers; they design complex systems and find patterns in the world. Verbal thinkers are, naturally, drawn to work that's focused on words or sequential thinking. Lawyers, politicians, authors, and journalists are often verbal thinkers, and project managers can apply sequential thinking to make sure things happen on time. Grandin likes to talk about how the two types of visual thinkers are complimentary when designing something. Abstract visual thinkers can do all the modeling and calculations to ensure a factory building will be sturdy and that the machinery runs reliably. But a factory designed only by abstract thinkers likely won't run very effectively because they tend to overlook problems in the specific details of things work on the factory floor: the awkward movements a worker needs to do at the assembly line, or poor lighting of a workbench because something's blocking the lamps. Visual-spatial thinkers can make great electrical engineers, but you might want an object visualizer as an electrician. In the software space you might want an object visual thinker for a UI designer, a visual-spatial thinker writing code, and a verbal thinker as product manager, figuring out the user journeys the system will support.

A lot of the book talks about how modern American society is letting object visual thinkers down. A lot of schooling is designed for verbal or abstract thinking, and object visualizers struggle. Grandin reports that object visual thinkers often have a very difficult time with algebra, which they find too abstract and this challenge prevents many people from graduating from high school. However, many of these same people excel at geometry and trigonometry because their visual cortex can make sense of the relationships. "Let students take trigonometry if they fail algebra" might sound weird to folks used to the traditional progression of high school, but it might result in having a lot more Americans who are good at math, at least some parts of it. Grandin highlights George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act for making this problem worse: schools are graded and funded based on students' standardized test scores, so the incentive is to focus instruction on what will be tested. There's no standardized test that gives subjects a pile of lumber and a box of tools and asks them to assemble a chair, so when budget cuts come, classes like shop and music get taken away. Colleges and universities tend to make things even more abstract and more verbal, and the availability of trade schools, apprenticeships, and other hands-on education has been dwindling. Companies often have a college degree requirement, not realizing they may be cutting object visualizers out of the employment pool. Grandin decries that the result is an America where we're losing the ability to fix things.

Further personal reflections about the book are on my blog: https://flwyd.dreamwidth.org/413412.html show less

Despite the title, this isn't a book about how to understand animals (or people for that matter.. ). It is a very deep and engaging discussion about the process (and philosophy, art, science and spirit) of understanding across boundaries of cognition, reflection, instinct and sentiment. It is as much about what we don't know as about what we do know (or think we know), and there's never a point where the authors step beyond profoundly good (cautious) observation and research. And yet what show more might be a dry subject to some, is constantly brought alive and immediate by Temple Grandin's extraordinary ability to bring her experience of autism to bear on the subject. I can't say that that my sympathy with her experience doesn't colour my judgement, but to my mind this book is a stand-out in the literature on ethology, worth reading alongside E.O. Wilson's 'Biophilia' and the work of Singer, Sacks, de Waal and others in that field.

I'm not sure how Grandin and Johnson divided up the duties on this book - Grandin's 'left-field' thinking is apparent on every page (and every page is worth reading), but if Johnson did nothing more than craft the story then she deserves surpassing credit for making this the sort of book that you read at one sitting and then wish there was more of it. Oliver Sacks, who wrote one of the most deservedly famous articles about autism ('An Anthropologist on Mars') described this book as "deeply moving and fascinating". In the plethora of favourable reviews of this book - and this one included - nobody has said it better. Hugely recommended if you are interested in ethology, or in just what it is to be human. show less

Just fascinating. The subtitle of this book is "Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior". Temple Grandin, who is autistic, made a career in designing humane systems for handling animals in slaughter houses, poultry farms, breeding stables and kennels, and other situations where the needs of production have often resulted in appalling, frightening conditions for the animals involved. She has also advised the operators of such facilities on behavioral issues because she show more understands the animal mind in a way "neuro-typical" humans do not. In this books she explains the ways in which animals and autistic humans see things similarly, and how this has helped her see the world through animal eyes. There is a lot of brain science, human and animal psychology, common sense and uncommon wisdom, humor and heart in this book. Grandin says people always wonder how she could work for the meat-packing industry when she loves animals. Her answer is that she doesn't see the human race converting to vegetarianism any time soon (and that she herself was highly motivated to do so but found herself physically incapable of sticking to it), that most of the animals we eat "wouldn't exist if human beings hadn't bred them into being"...and that therefore we "owe them a decent life and a decent death, and their lives should be as low-stress as possible. That's my job." "If we're interested in animals, then we need to study animals for their own sake, and on their own terms, to the extent that it's possible. What are they doing? What are they feeling? What are they thinking? What are they saying? Who are they? And: what do we need to do to treat animals fairly, responsibly, and with kindness?" She applies these questions to ALL animals---pets, dairy cows, egg-producing chickens, animals raised for food, animals studied in labs and in the wild, birds, squirrels, elephants, snakes---without limits. A formal review said this is "one of those rare books that elicit a 'wow' on almost every page." Ask my husband how many times I made him "just listen to this!" while reading it. show less

I loved The Way I See It by Temple Grandin. Autistic herself, Dr. Grandin explains in simple terms the experience of those on the spectrum. For many such individuals, because of their sensitivity, sensory and auditory events can disrupt their lives and evoke extreme reactions. For example, fluorescent light flickers that "neurotypicals" don't notice, bells or music for changing classes, the harsh rub of fabric on skin, can be so profoundly and painfully experienced that avoidance seems the show more only recourse. Even if tolerated, learning can be hindered and for some impossible unless sensory conditions are changed or the individual appropriately accommodated.

Dr. Grandin is an engagingly straightforward writer, and extremely knowledgeable in this area. At the same time, much of what she has to say comes across powerfully because it is grounded in her personal experience. She is adamant that those on the spectrum can learn to have satisfying lives, even the severely autistic. Early intervention is critical: "Doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. It will take less practice to change an inappropriate behavior at age two {than the} same behavior at age seven." Furthermore, "Most individuals on the spectrum have areas of strength that can be nurtured and developed into marketable employment skills."

In her case, her youthful interest in cattle chutes eventually developed into expertise in designing livestock environments. That's touched on in this book, but her experiences with animals are discussed more fully elsewhere in her writings. This book instead is a practical resource for those on the spectrum or those responsible for someone who is, and a clear-eyed view into the ASD world for everyone else.

Routine and repetition are important. "Consistency is calming, surprises produce anxiety." She insists that those with ASD need to learn "the rules and {how to} act in socially appropriate ways," even though that often does not come easily. She points out that people like her learn from the bottom up, from specifics to generalities, not the top down, generalities to specifics, as neurotypicals do. An example: if a neurotypical is taught to look both ways before carefully and safely crossing a street, he or she will apply that general idea to all the specific streets out there. It's different, according to Grandin, for someone on the spectrum. If taught near their home to look both ways before carefully and safely crossing the street, those with ASD may well apply it only to that street by their home, and cross dangerously elsewhere. Grandin explains that it will often be necessary to patiently teach them the same lesson at several streets, e.g. the street by their school and the street by grandma's, so that they have multiple specific examples to build on, and then to work patiently with them to generalize the idea.

She also emphasizes the benefits of high functioning autism, and believes many of our great talents and geniuses, like Einstein, are (or were) on the spectrum. As to those with Aspberger's Syndrome, "Aspies have great memories, pay attention to details, are persistent, focused, and love structure." “Preventing severe autism would be a worthy goal, but preventing mild autism and Asperger’s would be a grave mistake… {our} world would lose many creative people who have made the world a much more interesting place.” She is humorously skeptical of neurotypicals who are adept at socializing but little more:

“What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool?

You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done.”

Despite her academic achievements and honors, Dr. Grandin has a practical, common sense point of view, and that, combined with her flashes of humor, makes for exceptionally satisfying reading. The only place where it dragged a bit for me was in the discussion of effective complementary use of drugs, but others no doubt will find that section informative, too, Anyone interested in the workings of the mind and this particular disorder should enjoy this book. In one of her TED talks on Youtube, she's very funny about how Silicon Valley is filled with techies on the spectrum, but at the same time she pushes that we should be grooming many more with ASD for such jobs. This is a remarkable book by an impressive woman. Five stars. show less