Temple Grandin

This page is about the fictionalized version portrayed in the biographical movie Temple Grandin, not the real person. Temple Grandin is the titular character in the biographical drama movie Temple Grandin.

Character creation
The movie is based on the real-life autistic activist and animal welfare scholar Temple Grandin. <!--==Biography== 1966: staying with aunt ann and uncle mike

overlaid schematics snapshots sensitive to sound leg pouncing eats pudding and jello, gets colitis from nervousness eye for detail: sorting spoons visual and literal thinker (get up with the rooster) no hugs from aunt doesn't want to wear summer frock? not looking forward to college "I don't understand people" "you do remember though, something's gonna set her of" - mother going to major science and psych knows about animal behavior fascinated with holding pen for cows pictures of feelings chilling with the cows lmao meltdown when someone has been in her room, runs away to holding pen, calms down

built a system to open the gate

mom comes for visit, summer is almost over worried about holding pen because it looks crude temple wants to stay, not go to college, mother insists

franklin pierce college, room 224, roommate comes in a couple of weeks worried that she doesn't have a roommate yet because all the others already have roommates gets overwhelmed, mother is worried low awareness of other people's needs

boston 1951 doctor: no speech at age 4, loves to rip things "your child is clearly autistic", "infantile schizophrenic", recommends institution, she'll likely never speak perfectly normal baby then later she changed doctor says that it may be due to lack of bonding with the mother "temple rejects me"

mom tries to teach words (dog, cat, mommy) but gets frustrated bc temple always looks away

back in 1966: temple has calmed down

wants to study science, doesn't want to study french reads a page and remembers it all in a couple of seconds class thinks she's weird

overload scene at cafeteria, only eats jello and yoghurt, startled at automatic doors, classmates laugh

starts building hugging machine, roommate arrives and is weirded out

psych asks if it makes her feel like a cow, she says hug feels good but doesn't like to be touched by people. misunderstanding, psych thinks it's a sexual thing and the machine is removed. sneaks out at night to get it back but gets has to get away bc of security guy, who destroys the machine.

spring break: temple doesn't want to go back unless she can get the machine. mom thinks it's a bad idea because she thinks people will think she's weird, aunt just wants to try. aunt explains to psych, school says it's not scientific and they can't handle her needs. temple starts testing it on other people: some indifferent, some claustrophobic, many relaxed.

F in psychology (F for freak). calls back to high school science teacher.

flashback to boarding school new hampshire 1962 amazed at science class ("hello I'm temple it's very nice to meet you") changed schools midterm bc she got expelled (hit another student with a book bc she's been getting bullied) spinning on swing got called a tape recorder because she repeats things mom wonders if autism diagnosis was correct because she's smart school has experience but mom sees other kids mocking temple and is on the verge of pulling her out of school science teacher thinks she's terrific, talks to mom and thinks the school is the right place. mom feels guilty, thinks that "dumping" her at a boarding school is like giving up

temple goes to horses at school, meets wild horse (chestnut) and calms it down she wants to ride it, horse lady says you're can ride but not chestnut

taunted by other kids but spends time with chestnut builds kart. decks other kid when they taunt her. kid will be punished but you can't hit other people, she's not allowed to ride for 2 weeks. horse (chestnut?) dies. she asks where it goes. photographic memory.

dr carlock explains her visual thinking to the other teachers (why she does poorly at french and math). wants to work with her.

science assigment: figure out illusion of room with distorted perspective, extra credit if you build one. she starts researching and measuring in public, much to the dismay of the other students. gets frustrated when it doesn't work, dr carlock encourages her. other students amazed at her illusion. dr carlock celebrates with rocket launch. encourages her to go to college.

1966 temple presents her data to the pysch professor, most people become calm from the machine so she should keep it and get a good grade. teacher is impressed (using control group, etc.)

new roommate (blind) narrates the man from uncle to her she likes star trek too. temple likes spock. "we're the same, only you have sounds and I have pictures"

back in french class, sits next to other kid. "I've always wanted to udnerstand the gentleness that other people feel by being hugged by their mothers. No wI've made a machine that lets me do that. It feels like a wire gets reconnected. Like something gets repaired"

graduation 1970, valedictorian, thanks machine, names autism. -->