Talks & Entertainment

When Temple Grandin was born in 1947 with autism, it had only just been named. Today, one in 88 children are diagnosed on the spectrum. In Grandin’s lifetime, our understanding of autism has transformed, thanks to groundbreaking new research into causes, symptoms, and treatments.

In The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum, the best-selling author and inventor of the “hug machine” (a device to calm autistic children) offers a cutting-edge account of the latest science of autism.

Grandin illuminates autism’s overlooked strengths and explains how the world can embrace the unique advantages of people on the spectrum. She also highlights long-ignored sensory problems and the transformative effects of treating autism symptom by symptom, rather than with an umbrella diagnosis.

Grandin is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University; her insights into animal behavior and her innovations in livestock handling have revolutionized food-animal welfare. TIME magazine named Grandin one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2010. The HBO movie based on her life, starring Claire Danes, received seven Emmy Awards.