Palm Springs Speaks presents Temple Grandin

The Friends of the Palm Springs Library are thrilled to announce that the first Palm Springs Speaks speaker for Season Five will feature an appearance by Animal Scientist and Autism Self-Advocate Temple Grandin. Her talk will take place on Friday, November 17, 2023 at 7:30 PM at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Grandin’s talk, titled “The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger's”, Dr. Temple Grandin gets down to the REAL issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple offers helpful dos and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her “insider” perspective and a great deal of research. Her talk is expected to run for an hour and will be followed by a short Q&A session. Her books will be for sale at the event courtesy of Follet Books, and Grandin will sign copies following the talk.

A VIP cocktail reception catered by LULU California Bistro will begin at 6 PM, for a limited number of attendees to have an exclusive photo opportunity with Grandin on the stage and receive a copy of her book “Visual Thinking”.

About Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and she has been a pioneer in improving the handling and welfare of farm animals. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Temple’s achievements are remarkable because she was an autistic child. At age two she had no speech and all the signs of severe autism. Many hours of speech therapy, and intensive teaching enabled Temple to learn speech. As a teenager, life was hard with constant teasing. Inspired by her high school science teacher and her aunt on her ranch in Arizona motivated Temple to study and pursue a career as a scientist and livestock equipment designer.  She has done extensive work on the design of handling facilities. Half the cattle in the U.S. and Canada are handled in equipment Grandin has designed for meat plants. Other professional activities include developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry and consulting with companies on animal welfare.