One of the things that struck me about this piece was Temple Grandin's ability to remove herself from the situation and be completely objective. I have always considered myself a very logical person but my emotional reaction to the idea of working to help ease the process of killing animals is a little sad and morbid. But Temple realizes that everyone is going to die so she wants to try to make the animals the most comfortable they can be durring that process which when phrased that way, makes sense.
Another thing that fascinates me about individuals with autism is the need of concrete examples. Temple talks about growing up and not knowing how to interact with others and advice like "be nice" does her no good. I read A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime which is a book that attempts to tell a story through the eyes of a child with Aspergers and this book also emphasized the need for concrete examples. The child in this book did not like to be told just to be quite but to be told to be quite for a specific amount of time.
Lastly, I think that every exposure to individuals on the autism spectrum is helpful but we also have to realize that individuals on the spectrum vary greatly and each individual we encounter will be different.
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Great reponse! I also really liked the way that she explained her need for concrete examples to understand the relevance of behaving in a specific way. I thought it was interesting that someone with autism, who you would think would have difficulty taking others perspectives, is inspired to minimze the stress and strain that animals go through.
ReplyDeleteInitially, I shared the same feelings about Temple's work in helping design slaughter houses and then I was so suprised by her matter of fact way of thinking about it. It made sense. We just have different ways of thinking about it and luckily she does see that situation in a different light than you and I becuase imagine all of the animals that she helped save from being freightened in their last moments of life. It's an enlightening perspective.
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