I first became aware of Temple Grandin and her work through Monty Roberts; when I took his Join-up workshop, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism was required reading.
Grandin uses her unique ability as an autistic woman to see things from the perspective of animals. Her humor and knowledge shine through on the page as she talks about how animals learn and what motivates them. Not only does Grandin employ documentable science (the book contains numerous pages of endnotes), but she also shares entertaining anecdotes from her work in agriculture.
I particularly enjoyed the stories of animals who learned things not expected of them, such as Alex the parrot. Alex had an extensive vocabulary, and was being taught the sounds various letters made by his owner. She used magnetic fridge letters in the process and he learned them phonetically. (view spoiler)
Grandin also talks about how animal's different thought processes can apply to people living with autism, such as herself. This book was very insightful on numerous levels and I highly recommend it.
Grandin uses her unique ability as an autistic woman to see things from the perspective of animals. Her humor and knowledge shine through on the page as she talks about how animals learn and what motivates them. Not only does Grandin employ documentable science (the book contains numerous pages of endnotes), but she also shares entertaining anecdotes from her work in agriculture.
I particularly enjoyed the stories of animals who learned things not expected of them, such as Alex the parrot. Alex had an extensive vocabulary, and was being taught the sounds various letters made by his owner. She used magnetic fridge letters in the process and he learned them phonetically. (view spoiler)
Grandin also talks about how animal's different thought processes can apply to people living with autism, such as herself. This book was very insightful on numerous levels and I highly recommend it.
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