Check out HBO’s movie “Temple Grandin” if you haven’t already. It is a really well made film with great acting (Claire Danes….WOW) and great cinematography. We think it portrays some of the characteristics commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a very powerful and unique way. We see this moving further increasing awareness and understanding of ASD and people with ASD, which is very refreshing.

Here are our Temple Grandin Top 10:

1. The Portrayal of Visual Thinking
In the movie, you often hear Temple saying, “I think in pictures, then connect them.” The movie does an incredible job using cinematography to portray how a person that thinks in pictures may experience their thoughts. It is simply incredible and blew us away.

2. Dr. Carlock
Temple’s favorite teacher from boarding school. This man saw Temple’s strengths and potential from the very start. Our favorite Dr. Carlock moment was when he had an epiphany and realized that Temple thinks in pictures. “She thinks in pictures….why she does so well when she can see the things that are being discussed. Biology….or shop…..those are concrete things. But language or algebra….it’s just gibberish to her.” He took this realization and created opportunities to both challenge Temple and use her strength of thinking in pictures to promote dynamic thinking. Dr. Carlock was an important mentor to Temple and encouraged her to go to college because he believed in her from the very start.

3. Portrayal of Sensory Processing and Integration Differences
Wow. Again, the use of cinematography to demonstrate how Temple took in her environment and experienced emotions differently just knocked us over. The movie allowed the viewers to almost feel what Temple’s intense anxiety and panic attacks felt like. It portrayed simple environmental elements that are usually unnoticeable to us (ceiling fan, crystal chandelier, the clicking of a pen, the loudness of a cafeteria, automatic doors ) and how they were distracting, painful, loud or even terrifying to her. Automatic doors reminded her of a guillotine. Sensory differences are difficult to understand if one does not experience them. The movie captured some of these differences in a very powerful way.

4. Portrayal of the Emotional Experiences of Temple’s Mother
First of all Julia Ormond knocked this role out of the park. Amazing. The movie captured the emotions of Temple’s mother throughout the many different phases of Temple’s life including her being diagnosed with Autism in 1951 at the age of four with the recommendation of institutionalization (the doctor also threw out the term “childhood schizophrenia”), the stress of difficult social situations, the fear of big life changes like summers away, boarding school and college, graduation and Temple speaking in front of her first crowd. The movie captured many of the difficult, but also wonderful emotions that a parent of a child with Autism experiences.

5. Temple’s Mother Being an Amazing Mother
Temple’s mother deserves two spots on the top 10. She understood Temple and knew what things helped her (letting Temple take a break in a room alone for calming purposes) but at the same time, continued to challenge Temple as she led the way. For example, Temple’s mother knew that parties were difficult for Temple but she still had Temple attend them, which was personally important to her and to Temple’s socialization and participation. When the party became too much, she took Temple upstairs to take a break and work her through it.

6. The Squeeze Machine
Temple saw a device that was calming for cattle. She ended up hand crafting a similar device that applied whole body deep pressure, which instantly calmed her when a panic attack was on the brink. An unconventional method, but an effective method for her. This awareness of emotional regulation and ability to implement effective sensory strategies for oneself is easy for most but very difficult for people with Autism. Temple had to fight for her “machine” to stay in her dorm room and she fought.

7. Learning Emotions
Temple’s Aunt Ann realized that Temple had a difficult time understanding emotions and facial expressions. Together they took tons of photos of Temple’s different facial expressions and looked at them together and labeled them with the emotion word. The important people in Temple’s life were constantly talking about her emotions, their emotions, how these emotions affected others and how they affected life. They talked about these emotions during difficult times and during happy times while pairing the discussions with visuals.

8. Portrayal of Interpreting Language Literally
We loved how when Temple would hear a person use a common idiom or non-literal language, a flash of the literal image appeared on the screen, as Temple saw in her head. We use non-literal language ALL THE TIME. Non-literal language is very difficult for people with ASD to understand and the movie did a great job of illustrating this. When Temple’s aunt said, “we get up with the rooster around here”, Temple pictured her aunt sitting on the roof top crowing with a rooster. When she heard “it’s a miracle”, Temple yelled “IT’S A MIRACLE” and pictured Jesus walking on water. When she first met Mr. Carlock, he told her, “I used to work for NASA” and Temple saw Mr. Carlock in a full out spacesuit with a rocket ship taking off next to him. When she heard someone in the agriculture field use the term “animal husbandry”, she cracked up laughing and pictured the guy getting married to a farm animal. A great portrayal, again, of thinking in pictures and how difficult non-literal language interpretation can be.

9. Alice
After scaring off her first college roommate with her squeeze machine, Temple later got a new roommate, Alice. Temple and Alice hit it off immediately. Alice didn’t mind Temple’s squeeze machine as long as she didn’t physically move it, so she could know where it was located at all times. This made it easier for Alice to maneuver around their room due to her blindness. Alice and Temple made a unique connection as they appreciated each other for their strengths and could relate to each other’s difficulties. In the movie, Temple said to Alice, “we’re the exact same except you hear sounds and I see pictures”.

10. Temple’s Awareness
Temple’s awareness of who she is as a person, her strengths and her weaknesses is very powerful. She isn’t afraid to tell people about her Autism but also to tell them that due to her Autism, she has visual strengths that most people do not have. She is aware that difficult social interpretations and nonverbal communication may always be a challenge. When Temple is taking a break upstairs from the socially intense Christmas party, her mother tells her with her words and facial expression, “this is me telling you with my eyes that I love you and I respect you.” Temple replies with, “I will never learn to do that.” Although she has social difficulties, she has a confidence and self-understanding that attributes to much of her success and happiness.

Enjoy the movie and coming up with your Temple Grandin Top 10!

~Laura & Amanda
KidSpeak, LLC
www.kidspeakdallas.com