Temple Grandin... the autistic child

Cattle 

cattle cattle... 

I was not surprised when I pulled into this Sonic for lunch today and saw the car stalls like cattle stalls. We line up for food the same way to be fed. Ha! 
I  had spent too much time thinking about cattle this last week. TheTemple Grandin movie had been so eye-opening and sad that I took this picture, drove away from Sonic and drove to Walmart where I ate in an indoor Subway in mental peace. 

Let me tell you what happened...

I was intrigued and found myself immersed in the life story of Temple Grandin. I had read her self-titled book and had watched her life story. (Actress, Claire Danes had been awarded the Emmy as lead actress for the 2010 HBO movie titled, Temple Grandin.) 

Who was this woman? The first time I heard her speak was for about 17 minutes on TED Talks (Netflix) a couple of weeks ago. On TED, Temple said that she was diagnosed as autistic when she was two years old. She said that her Dad wanted her institutionalized because she would never be “normal.”  Her Mom stood her ground to keep her even though it caused divorce.  Temple's Mom worked diligently to have professional people teach Temple. As a result, Temple learned to speak, went to school for years, and learned to communicate and not to offend the people around her.

Today, at 63, Dr. Temple Grandin is a brilliant scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. The subtitle on her book, Temple Grandin, reads, “How the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world.” As an autistic person, she sees things everything in pictures. Her drawings have revolutionized and encouraged humane treatment of cattle and chickens used for the food industry today. 

Because of Temple, major meat buyers like McDonalds and KFC will only buy meat from slaughterhouses that follow Temple Grandin’s recommended systems. These encompass humane living conditions for chickens and humane slaughter for cattle!

If you get a chance, watch what Temple has to say about schools and autistic children. 
You will be enlightened.