Re: Cool book; Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin

[Guest guest]

Hi;

back in january, Kajira recommended the following books;

"Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform". It includes a preface by one of my heroines, Dr. Temple Grandin (i also recommend HER book about animals, "Animals in Translation" ).

A brief description of "Animals in Translation" from Dr Grandin's website;

http://http://templegrandin.com/templegrandinbooks.html"Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation speaks in the clear voice of a woman who emerged from the other side of autism, bringing with her an extraordinary message about how animals think and feel. Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both. "

"Autistic people can often think the way animals think -- in fact, Grandin and co-author see autism as a kind of way station on the road from animals to humans -- putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out brilliant.

The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense, merging an animal scientist's thirty years of study with her keen perceptions as a person with autism -- Temple sees what others cannot. "

My comments;

1. Searching the archives of this forum will find discussions of this and Grandin's other works.

2. I would recommend this book," Animals in Translation", for those who are interested in animal behaviour, and human behaviour, whether that of Aspies or NT's.

3. Some things that struck me as particularly interesting;

a) Animals (and people) tend to learn what to be afraid of from others of their species:

Example monkeys learn to be afraid of snakes from other monkeys: this fills a survival purpose!

(if each monkey had to learn on it's own to fear snakes, this would not help the survival rate of monkeys)

A personal note; my mom was afraid of snakes BUT I am not, even when we were together and she would see a snake cross our path, BUT I am afraid of spiders

it is difficult or impossible for an animal to unlearn a fear, and they may associate the fear with a certain place or item or event

a personal note; if a domestic cat who is kept indoors accidently escapes, if it then becomes frightened, it may hide close to home but be too afraid to go home or respond to it's owners call).

c) humans and domestic dogs seem to have adapted to each other through the millenia.

Many humans can instinctively 'read' dog body language.

a personal note: I don't like dogs, find it difficult to 'read' dog body language just like i do human body language, have been bitten a half dozen times and been 'charged' by snarling barking dogs many more times. (I do know not to run, I face the charging barking dog, and YELL loudly at it. while stepping slowly and firmly forward, thus far this has been successful, The times i was bitten, the dog eaither appeared out of nowhere or was barking and I did not know that it was a hostile bark)

d) animals need the companionship of their own species, beyond reproductive needs

e) birdsong can be very melodic and has inspired composers

f) selective breeding for certain traits can inadvertlently lose important traits

my comment; THIS could have ramifications for eugenics to eliminate things like autism from the human gene pool

g) Dr Grandin writes of how animals and many autistics can see individual separate things, whereas most people see a mass of things: example seeing individual trees versus seeing a forest.

a personal comment: A person I met in southern Ontario described the highway north of Lake Superior as 'monotonous, nothing but rocks and bush. '

My reply was "if someone stopped and looked at the forest, they would see different types of trees and plants.' Years later i had occasion to travel through there, and realized that even the topography was different, different types of rocks, land forms, waterways etc.)

4. Both my parents liked dogs, and birds. I grew up with a dog. My dad used to say that each type of animal has it's own nature and needs to be respected for what it's nature is, that humans need to understand that nature to 'talk' with that type of animal. This seems to be what Dr Grandin is also saying. Personally, I am devoted to domestic cats, my husband introduced me to them. I think they are more similair to my personality that either dogs or humans.

5. reading "Animals in Translation" has inspired me to read more of Dr Grandin's works.

renaissanzelady"My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God."(adapted from a poem by Smart)

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[Guest guest]

" reading " Animals in Translation " has inspired me to read more of Dr Grandin's

works. "

I happen to like the work that Grandin has done for animals. She has helped the

beef and pork industries be a bit more humane towards the animals it slaughters,

for example.

The one think that threw a wrench into the works was when she said that not only

can autism be cured, but she herself has been cured of autism. Not only did this

destroy her credibility with scientists and researchers who study autism, but it

caused folks in the meat industry to say " OH, well we were about to implement

these changes, but now that we know she is a crank, we can just drop it. "

Her heart is in the right place as far as animals are concerned though and she

knows what she is talking about THERE at least.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

I am curious, how exactly does she believe she has been cured of autism - as in

what does she believe cured her?

>

> " reading " Animals in Translation " has inspired me to read more of Dr Grandin's

works. "

>

> I happen to like the work that Grandin has done for animals. She has helped

the beef and pork industries be a bit more humane towards the animals it

slaughters, for example.

>

> The one think that threw a wrench into the works was when she said that not

only can autism be cured, but she herself has been cured of autism. Not only did

this destroy her credibility with scientists and researchers who study autism,

but it caused folks in the meat industry to say " OH, well we were about to

implement these changes, but now that we know she is a crank, we can just drop

it. "

>

> Her heart is in the right place as far as animals are concerned though and she

knows what she is talking about THERE at least.

>

>

> Administrator

>

[Guest guest]

"I am curious, how exactly does she believe she has been cured of autism - as in what does she believe cured her?"

Her website does not exactly say it, but it DOES say this:

http://www.templegrandin.com/templehome.html

Dr. Grandin didn't talk until she was three and a half years old, communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping and humming. In 1950, she was labeled "autistic," and her parents were told she should be institutionalized. She tells her story of "groping her way from the far side of darkness" in her book Emergence: Labeled Autistic, a book which stunned the world because, until its publication, most professionals and parents assumed being diagnosed "autistic" was virtually a death sentence to achievement or productivity in life.

Dr. Grandin has become a prominent author and speaker on the subject of autism because "I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and, yes, professionals, too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic.' This dictum has meant sad and sorry lives for many children diagnosed, as I was in early life, as autistic. To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can." (Taken from Emergence: Labeled Autistic)

Grandin is an avid supporter of Cure Autism Now.

I am hard-pressed to find out the exact quote after all these years, but ever since she has claimed to have been cured, her books tout her as the autistic who overcame autism:

http://www.our-kids.org/Books/autism.htm

Emergence : Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin, Margaret M. Scariano; Warner Books, 1996. A true story that is both uniquely moving and exceptionally inspiring, Emergence is the first-hand account of a courageous autistic woman who beat the odds and cured herself. As a child, Temple Grandin was forced to leave her "normal" school and enroll in a school for autistic children. This searingly honest account captures the isolation and fears suffered by autistics and their families and the quiet strength of one woman who insisted on a miracle.

Thinking in Pictures : And Other Reports from My Life With Autism by Temple Grandin; Vintage Books, 1996. In this unprecedented book, Temple Grandin, a gifted animal scientist who is also autistic, delivers a report on autism, written from her unique perspective. What emerges is the document of an extraordinary human being, one who bridged the gulf between her condition and our own, shedding light on the riddle of our common identity.

She has never corrected the synopses of these books.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

Hi; provided more info on Temple Grandin's alleged 'cure' of autism.Even if she herself did not directly claim to be 'cured', the fact that she does not correct nor challenge the synopses of her books, which claim she is 'cured,' does detract from her credibility. As a Scientist, it is strange that Dr Grandin does not seem to see the logical flaw in allowing herself to be described as 'cured'.(IF a person is truly cured of autism, they would also lose their unique perspective on life, their savant abilities, Dr Grandin does not seem to have lost her unique abilities as part of this cure.)An author can't control what is written about their published works,

BUT they could certainly refute any

inacuracies, or twisting of their words, statements and conclusions. (particularily when such is well publicized)Neither professional reviewers nor journalists are always accurate in quoting or reviewing either written or verbal statements, but it is up to the person being misquoted to correct that when they become aware of it. Temple Grandin does say that she thinks in pictures, rather than in words, so she may not understand the implications of using the word 'cure' for autism, but surely someone else would have pointed out the pitfalls to her?Words have the dictionary meaning and the meaning the ordinary person thinks of.When I read the word 'cure', I thinks of a comeplete total ending of the disease, condition etc, and all it's present and future effects.An online dictionary defines cure excerpted.http://http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/curehttp://cure 

[Guest guest]

The part of my reply that disappeared;(referring to Temple Gradin's alleged cure of Autism.)An online dictionary defines cure excerpted.http://http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/curehttp://cure   /kyʊər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kyoor] –noun 1. a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy. 2. a method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease. 3. successful remedial treatment; restoration to

health. 4. a means of correcting or relieving anything that is troublesome or detrimental: to seek a cure for inflation. The above definition of cure does not explicitly say cure is a total remedy etc, but it may be implicit. example; people refer to there being treatments for diabetes but no cure yet.renaissanzelady"My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God."(adapted from a poem by Smart)

Hi; provided more info on Temple Grandin's alleged 'cure' of autism.Even if she herself did not directly claim to be 'cured', the fact that she does not correct nor challenge the synopses of her books, which claim she is 'cured,' does detract from her credibility. As a Scientist, it is strange that Dr Grandin does not seem to see the logical flaw in allowing herself to be described as 'cured'.(IF a person is truly cured of autism, they would also lose their unique perspective on life, their

savant abilities, Dr Grandin does not seem to have lost her unique abilities as part of this cure.)An author can't control what is written about their published works,

BUT they could certainly refute any

inacuracies, or twisting of their words, statements and conclusions. (particularily when such is well publicized)Neither professional reviewers nor journalists are always accurate in quoting or reviewing either written or verbal statements, but it is up to the person being misquoted to correct that when they become aware of it. Temple Grandin does say that she thinks in pictures, rather than in words, so she may not understand the implications of using the word 'cure' for autism, but surely someone else would have pointed out the pitfalls to her?Words have the dictionary meaning and the meaning the ordinary person thinks of.When I read the word 'cure', I thinks of a comeplete total ending of the disease, condition etc, and all it's present and future effects.An online dictionary defines cure excerpted.http://http: //dictionary. reference. com/browse/ curehttp://cure 

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