Celebrated Author Temple Grandin to Appear on Autism-Live.com, 3/4

Temple Grandin, considered one of the most popular and accomplished adults living with autism, will make an appearance on Autism-Live.com Monday, March 4, 2013, at 10:30 am (PST). Grandin will join Autism-Live.com host Shannon Penrod and discuss the latest developments in autism treatment, and share her personal journey overcoming the limitations that were imposed on her as an individual with autism. Grandin will also take viewers' call-in questions on-air.

"We are honored to have her return to Autism-Live.com as our special guest. Our viewers love her and we're giving them more of what they want," says Penrod.

Grandin is a doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, autism activist, and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. She has published her insights on autism and animal rights in books, including Animals in Translation, Animals Make Us Human and a memoir entitled Thinking in Pictures.

To view previous Autism-Live.com shows featuring Grandin, visit: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzpc1lUvttW_tBQV3u_wthGs6MCNgFvov.

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 diagnosed with autism 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 that an autism diagnosis 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" (from Emergence: Labeled Autistic).

Even though she was considered "weird" in her early school years, she eventually found a mentor, who recognized her interests and abilities. Dr. Grandin later developed her talents into a successful career as a livestock-handling equipment designer, one of very few in the world. She has now designed the facilities in which half the cattle are handled in the United States, consulting for firms such as Burger King, McDonald's, Swift, and others.

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