Temple Grandin

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You know what I truly disliked about Temple Grandin's movie?

That everything seems to gravitate around the fact that she is autistic AND successful (at the end they even mention that 50% of cattle systems used in the US were designed by her).

In one scene Temple's mother says that she respects her because of how far she got in her life. And then I wondered if Temple had not been a HFA, if she had a more severe biological dysfunction, then her mother would not respect her? She would not see her as her equal?

It's just so linked to the personal success (as a designer, as a spokeperson, as an academic), and honestly I was expecting a movie from a different angle.

I don't think her mother mean't she would respect her less. I think she meant Temple's achievements, despite her autism, are worthy of her (Temple's mothers) respect. As her mother she probably wanted Temple to acheive her potential and respected her for achieving it. I don't think that's any different to any other parent.

There is an interesting commentary on the DVD that includes Dr. Grandin, as well as the screenwriter & director. She mentions, and I heavily paraphrase, that for one week at a time, she would only eat jello & yogurt due to colitis. It had nothing to do with being a vegetarian or not. She said she had a more regular diet at other times. I wish the movie would have portrayed this accurately, because every time that came up I thought there is no way she should be in such good physical & intellectual condition without having any food other than jello & yogurt!! !

As per the question:

She is one of my heroes. I am not a visual thinker. I have no spatial reasoning skills whatsoever. I'm no genius. But, I cannot help but love, admire & respect genius- especially scientific genius- when I see it. Her problem-solving skills are especially noteworthy. I believe she has been a brilliant ambassador for both women & people with autism, and I am grateful to her. It may be arguable about whether she was a brilliant ambassador for cows, too. I think, yes, because even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have single-handedly just stopped people from eating meat. But, she did make the difference she could make, and she did it against overwhelming odds.

I got the DVD from Netflix. Whenever I tried to watch it with the commentary enabled, it would lock up. I really wanted to hear Dr. Grandin's commentary, too.

This is the ethical conundrum, she should be applauded for overcoming considerable obstacles, but I wonder whether (given her portrayal for caring for the welfare of the cattle) she really had to really facilitate the whole killing process?

One other aspect the movie clearly glossed over was Temple's dependency on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs.

Temple Grandin... I like her... I do not like the NT reaction to her. Her work is insightful and witty... but NTs Latch onto her name like she is the only Aspie to EVER do anything with their lives...

There are many other Aspies in the public eye... I don't understand why they are never cited...
* Adam Young, multi-instrumentalist, producer and the founder of the electronic project Owl City.
* Carl Soderholm, speaker in neuropsychiatric disorders
* Clay Marzo, American professional surfer
* Craig Nicholls, frontman of the Australian garage rock band, The Vines
* Daniel Tammet, British autistic savant, believed to have Asperger Syndrome
* Daryl Hannah, actress
* Dawn Prince-Hughes, PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation
* Gary Numan, British singer and songwriter
* Heather Kuzmich, fashion model and reality show contestant on America's Next Top Model
* James Durbin, finalist on the tenth season of American Idol
* Jerry Newport, American author and mathematical savant, basis of the film Mozart and the Whale
* John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye
* Judy Singer, Australian disability rights activist
* Liane Holliday Willey, author of Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in the Family; Asperger syndrome advocate; education professor; and adult diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age 35
* Lizzy Clark, actress and campaigner
* Luke Jackson, author
* Michael Burry, US investment fund manager
* Paddy Considine, actor
* Peter Howson, Scottish painter
* Phillipa "Pip" Brown (aka Ladyhawke), indie rock musician
* Raymond Thompson, New Zealand scriptwriter and TV producer
* Richard Borcherds, mathematician specializing in group theory and Lie algebras
* Satoshi Tajiri, creator and designer of Pokemon
* Tim Ellis, Australian magician and author
* Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author
* Travis Meeks, lead singer, guitarist and song writer for acoustic rock band Days of the New.
* Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economics

Eventually I am going to be on this list...

But over all... I like her work... it is with broad brush strokes, but that can be forgiven