Interviewing Temple Grandin is a rare treat. Sitting and chatting with her after an interview is…life changing. I had that opportunity a few weeks ago. The interview portion of our time together went well. She is a consummate professional. She restates your question so the editing job is cleaner and easier, she knows where to clip the mic so her cowboy tie won’t rustle. She’s in the zone and ready when the cameras are on. So when the interview was over I really expected her to be all business and quickly depart. Not Temple. She graciously stayed for pictures and the autographing of plastic cows, during which I asked her if she was still teaching.
Talking with Temple – The Prescription
One of the main things you learn when you talk to Temple Grandin is that she lives to create solutions. Whether it’s finding a humane way to walk cattle through a slaughter house or it’s finding a way to engage a child’s individual imagination, she is excited to brainstorm and find a viable path. As soon as Temple Grandin found out that I was an Autism Mom, she wanted to know all about my son. What were his interests? What was I doing to feed his interests? One of the things Temple seems very sure about is that we shouldn’t allow children on the spectrum to just wither away by themselves playing useless games that don’t teach them anything useful. And let’s face it there are lots of those games out there.