Temple Grandin, Born: 29 August 1947, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

I have been on the same dose of anti-depressants for 15 years, and my nerves still go up and down in...Show more »

I have been on the same dose of anti-depressants for 15 years, and my nerves still go up and down in cycles; but my nerves are cycling at a lower level than they were before. Show less «

You have got to keep autistic children engaged with the world. You cannot let them tune out.

I'm seeing too many kids on the spectrum who graduate high school, maybe even college, but have neve...Show more »

I'm seeing too many kids on the spectrum who graduate high school, maybe even college, but have never done a single job. Learning work skills needs to start way before they graduate, I'd say by 13. Show less «

Children between the ages of five to ten years are even more variable. They are going to vary from v...Show more »

Children between the ages of five to ten years are even more variable. They are going to vary from very high functioning, capable of doing normal school work, to nonverbal who have all kinds of neurological problems. Show less «

People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is ...Show more »

People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet. Show less «

Now, unfortunately, there are people who think that if somebody who's on the spectrum is really smar...Show more »

Now, unfortunately, there are people who think that if somebody who's on the spectrum is really smart, that collecting shopping carts should be their whole career. No, it should not be a career, but a summer doing that teaches discipline and the responsibility of work. They've got to learn that. Show less «

The head must be dead. I can't stress that enough.

I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to...Show more »

I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to give those animals a decent life, and we've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect. Show less «

Junior high was a real mess for me and then came puberty. My anxiety attacks came during puberty, an...Show more »

Junior high was a real mess for me and then came puberty. My anxiety attacks came during puberty, and then all of my nerves started. Show less «

If you start using a medication in a person with autism, you should see an obvious improvement in be...Show more »

If you start using a medication in a person with autism, you should see an obvious improvement in behavior in a short period of time. If you do not see an obvious improvement, they probably should not be taking the stuff. It is that simple.- Show less «

Some children may need a behavioral approach, whereas other children may need a sensory approach.

"I would not be here now if I did not have anti-depressants.-

Autism is an extremely variable disorder.

I obtain great satisfaction out of using my intellect.

I know a number of autistic adults that are doing extremely well on Prozac.

People with autism tend to be good at one thing and bad at something else. There's too much emphasis...Show more »

People with autism tend to be good at one thing and bad at something else. There's too much emphasis on the deficit, and not enough on building up the thing that a person is good at. For me it was art. That became the basis of the work that I did in cattle-handling facilities. Designing is art. Show less «

You gotta bleed 'em in 60 seconds or less.

If I hadn't had art when I was in elementary school, I would've hated school altogether. That made i...Show more »

If I hadn't had art when I was in elementary school, I would've hated school altogether. That made it worth going to. Art was the basis of my design work in the cattle industry. Show less «

And while we are on the subject of medication you always need to look at risk versus benefit.

I want to reform the meat industry.

One of my sensory problems was hearing sensitivity, where certain loud noises, such as a school bell...Show more »

One of my sensory problems was hearing sensitivity, where certain loud noises, such as a school bell, hurt my ears. It sounded like a dentist drill going through my ears. Show less «

If I did not have my work, I would not have any life.

I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could n...Show more »

I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out, so I would just scream. Show less «

When I was a little child I had problems with eating in the cafeteria. The chairs would be jerking i...Show more »

When I was a little child I had problems with eating in the cafeteria. The chairs would be jerking in and out, and there was a noise overload. Show less «

A treatment method or an educational method that will work for one child may not work for another ch...Show more »

A treatment method or an educational method that will work for one child may not work for another child. The one common denominator for all of the young children is that early intervention does work, and it seems to improve the prognosis. Show less «