Dr. Temple Grandin wants to open your mind to a whole new way of thinking.
Dr. Temple Grandin wants to open your mind to a whole new way of thinking.
Growing up with Autism meant Grandin saw the world in a very different way, and through that lens, she found ways to change the agriculture industry that would become revolutionary.
On March 13 and 14, Grandin will be presenting at the Bonnyville C2, after years of hard work by Rednecks with a Cause.
"The exciting thing for us, is Dr. Grandin is the biggest personality in the Autism world," expressed Gary Mostert, president of Rednecks with a Cause. "Because Dr. Grandin is on the spectrum herself, and has a PhD, it proves to us that it's possible for these children to excel in life."
Although she is now known around the world for her lectures on education and agriculture, Grandin didn't talk until she was three and a half years old, and was bullied most of her life.
"Typically, children on the spectrum are not very social. It's almost unheard of that they become public speakers. Obviously, through Dr. Grandin's life, she has learned and equipped herself to be able to do this," Mostert noted. "I think that gives a parent of a child newly diagnosed hope that there is hope and opportunity, we just have to channel this challenge in the right direction."
Grandin has a PhD in animal science, and has designed livestock handling facilities that are utilized around the world.
Her Autism allowed her to see details in animal behaviour that had gone unnoticed for years. She has developed an objective scoring system for assessing handling of cattle and pigs at meat plants, and has spent a great deal of time researching cattle temperament, environmental enrichment for pigs, reducing dark cutters and bruises, and bull fertility, among others.
These will be some of the topics she highlights during her first day of lectures.
"The exciting thing about the agriculture day, is she will talk about if you employ a child with disabilities, how to manage that, how to challenge the child, and how to mitigate the challenges that comes with that," Mostert said.
She will also touch on how genetics and experience influence animal behaviour.
Day two will be focused on education.
As someone who thinks in pictures, Grandin understands the importance of allowing children to grow, learn, and develop in a way that suits their needs.
"One of the things I will be talking about, is how kids have different kinds of minds. Some are visual thinkers; they're artistic, they think in pictures. Others are more mathematical thinkers, or word thinkers," Grandin explained. "Different students are good at different things. There's not enough emphasis on building on the strengths."
She continued, "I'm seeing a lot of kids who are different being left behind. I want to ask, what would happen to Thomas Edison today? What would happen to Steve Jobs or Albert Einstein? These are all kids that today would get a special label. Where would they be in today's school? I want people to think about that."
According to Grandin, all of these men were labelled in one way or another because of their behaviour.
"I want to see these kids who are different succeed," she added.
Bringing Grandin to Bonnyville has been a dream for Mostert and Rednecks with a Cause.
He said when the organization was founded, it was their goal to build a centre for children on the spectrum and children with disabilities.
"The sustainability of that is very tough for a small organization, just because of the sustainability in funding, staffing, and stuff like that. That's still our ultimate dream, but our focus went towards all of our schools being mini-centres that have to deal with children on the spectrum and children with disabilities," he said. "We decided to start creating learning opportunities within the learning network here in Alberta."
Having a speaker with Autism, will give a different viewpoint to everyday topics.
"I think hearing it from a very high-quality speaker that is on the spectrum, she obviously sees it from another side," Mostert noted.
For more info visit redneckswithacause.com.
