Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism

Temple Grandin grew up with Asperger's Syndrome before it was understood by anyone but a handful of researchers. She has turned her insights and special interest in animal science into a successful career designing livestock handling systems. She claims that the image-based thinking of the autism spectrum is similar to the language-free thought processes of animals. This insight leads to interesting conclusions about communication. The book weaves together accounts of Grandin's life and the development of knowledge about autism. Its eleven chapters are organized by autism topics and cover visual thinking, diagnosis, sensory problems, emotion, developing talents, treatments, relationships, connecting with animals, animal thinking, autism and genius, and religion. Temple Grandin provides a clear, readable account of scientific findings supplemented by experiences from her life. This expanded version includes updated information about autism spectrum causes, diagnosis, and treatment that have become available since the book was originally published in 1996. The author is candid about her life's hard-won lessons. She also shares the things which bring her the greatest satisfaction and what these insights may mean for others. A sample: - Her innovative design of a "squeeze machine" to restrain cattle is based on how calming she found gentle pressure as a child. - Temple visualized large transitions in her life as stepping through a doorway--and often found an actual doorway to step through and reduce the stress of change. - One way to get a feel for visual, associational thinking is to play with the Google search engine for images. - Autistic fixations are not always a problem; some people are able to channel them into successful careers. - Early in her career, Temple often made business contacts on the phone so she didn't have to interpret and respond to complex social signals. She believes that phone and internet contact can be useful in more gradual development of social skills. Grandin's blend of research reporting and personal reflection works well. Her book covers the basics of autism, grounded in the author's life. It is both a contrast and a complement to another excellent book, Tony Attwood's The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome , which offers a drier and more exhaustive presentation of the same subject. Both are highly recommended for anyone on the autism spectrum or who wants both breadth and depth in their understanding of it.

This book was recommended to me by a friend (Mom of an autistic child) when I asked her for a book that would explain clearly what autism really is, but without the "How-I-cured-my-son-from-autism drama" so often found in books on that subject... My son is autistic and that book really made it all easier to accept and understand. Sure, not every autistic person is gonna be as successful and fullfiled as Temple grandin, (just as not every autistic child is an Einstein in the making !) but seing where Temple started (she was pretty severely handicaped by her autism) and where she is now (leading a life even "normal people" could envy) gives you hope that everything is possible if you work for it and believe in yourself (and in your child)! Temple Grandin writes things just as she feels them. No "novel-lingo", just plain facts, feelings and thoughts. Her approach of the cattle world and animal intelligence is amazing, and the source of info about autism (from the insider point of view) is priceless, especially because she goes right to the point. Having her input about relationships, religion and faith is really interesting, as is the whole chapter about Einstein... All together this book is easy to read and understand, entertaining and inspiring... So if someone asked me "what is the first book to read on the subject ?" I would recommend this one too... I think it is a must-have if someone around you is autistic or PDD, it can help family members too (like grandparents) understand your child better...

This is a very interesting book, an eye opener for me. As I was reading it, I reflected back on my own life, and realized that I am very much like Temple. I am an older woman as well. In my time, instead of being labeled as autistic, I was labeled gifted. In first grade though I did not know how to talk and relate with others and my parents were asked to move me to a school for mute children. At home I talked though and my mother tried to help me learn to relate to others. It took a while, as I related far more to plants and animals than people and still do. Also, I am always the first to notice things which can be good if it's danger. On a test in high school that measured ability to visualize for spacial relations, I scored 99.99% for all women and above 98% of all men. Verbal processing was always a chore, however, and social cues were and continue to be learned by hard experience and in some cases remain a mystery in many cases. A class that teaches social norms would be good for kids now since they are not obvious to us picture thinkers. Thank goodness Temple's mother and my own mother found ways to help us flourish. We all have special gifts and weaknesses. The key is to realize your strengths and find work in that direction, plus find ways to help your weaknesses. I would also recommend another of her books, "The Austistic Brain". At the end, it discussed strengths and what types of jobs might be good for each. This is similar to my high school career test. I would definitely recommend this book. Temple's observations helped cattle be processed more humanely. I admit I was a bit squeamish about that part but hearing that she cared about them and found ways to make their time in processing better softened this topic.

la autora narra en primera persona el mundo de un autista. Es muy interesante conocer su visión de lo que la rodea, sus limitaciones y potencialidades. Y por sobre todo, su gran valor humano. Un libro para recomendar.

Great read. Very informative. She tells the story from her perspective and years of exposure. Its very motivating for parents as it explains many different aspects of Autism. Love her books! Makes understanding children in general so much more.

I admire Temple Grandin's way of thinking - visual thinking, which draws my attention. Although she had a speech delay in her childhood, she can turn every word she heard into pictures, where I believe she can make the gist of the framework. Then she usually turns it into the whole picture. Dr. Grandin does it every day, which has made her an avid thinker and has reinforced her imagination skill. It seems so effective to me because I think she organizes many pictures in her brain to get her message across. Therefore, she understands animals quite well, because autistic people, esp. non-verbal ones and animals basically rely on visions instead of using words. She couldn't become what she is now if she were an NT person, I'd say. I wasn't quite sure if I talked about some scenes of Dr. Grandin's seminar on my review of The Way I See It, but I didn't expect she would make such articulate presentations. Many people with Asperger's/autism are likely to be so nervous in public; I must admit that's a stereotypical idea because she has made a lot of effort to socialize by meeting her mentor, her science teacher at high school. And that motivated her to study animal science and now she teaches that at Colorado State Univ. Also she has made a bunch of presentations on Asperger's/autism. After all this book made me think twice about developmental impairments - Even challenged people can have opportunities to succeed in life. They might be able to make the best use of their potentials NT people have never thought of!

I really enjoyed this book by Temple Grandin and was amazed at the amount of insight she has into her own condition. This has obviously been an ongoing learning curve for her. Her courage and perseverance in an often alien and disturbing world is truly inspirational. More than that, the book excited me, as it gave me insight into my own adult son's autistic behaviours, and how the world appears to him. It explained so much that I hadn't really understood before and enabled me to modify my own expectations or way of thinking about how he reacts to certain things. I had already seen a movie about Grandin's life. This book went into a lot more depth about autism and was well worth the read.

Das ist meiner Meinung nach ihr bestes Buch was den Gehalt an interessanten Informationen in Zusammenhang mit Autismus angeht, auch wenn ich momentan nur die alte und nicht die aktualisierte Version (die liegt bei mir schon griffbereit) gelesen habe. "Emergence" und "Developing Talents" gehen auch noch, die Informationen in "The Autistic Brain" sind nicht wirklich neu, bis auf die Tatsache, das, wenn ich es gerade richtig im Kopf habe, sie da noch eine dritte Kategorie für Musterdenker (Musiker+Mathematiker) auf macht. und "Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships" kann man sich aufgrund der geringen bzw. auch nicht neuen Infos auch sparen. Ja, in den neueren Büchern steht vieles noch einmal.