Temple Grandin

Did anyone else see the HBO premiere of Temple Grandin Saturday

night? Claire Danes stars in the true story of Grandin, an autistic

woman who became a leading scientist in humane livestock handling.

I was a little leery, since Danes is an okay actor, in my opinion, but

not brilliant. But, I'll have to admit, I was totally blown away by her

radiant performance of Temple Grandin. She charmingly captures

Grandin's sense of humor, as well as powerfully portraying her

frustrations and fears. I won't be surprised at all if she wins an

Emmy for her performance, because she deserves it.

This extraordinary film should be seen by anyone raising, working

with, or caring about autistic children. It gives its viewers an inside

look at what it means to live in a world of autism, with a mind that's

"different, but not less". Grandin describes blisteringly vivid images

that pop into her head faster than a Google search, that she describes

in her book as “full-color movies, complete with sound, which run

like a VCR tape in my head”, expertly portrayed in the movie, with

cut away scenes of what Grandin actually sees in her head. It's very

well done; powerful and touching. It gets two woolly socks up from me.

.

Temple Grandin is currently a Doctor of Animal Science at Colorado

State University, bestselling author, and consultant to the livestock

industry in animal behavior. As a person with high-functioning

autism, Grandin is also widely noted for her work in autism advocacy

and is the inventor of the Hug machine designed to calm

hypersensitive persons. Her mind is certainly anything but less.

.

Check HBO's schedule [HERE] for Temple Grandin on demand.