Temple Grandin Speaks on Her Life and the Importance of Multiple Intelligences

“We need the skills of people who think differently.” Dr. Temple Grandin began her time as the 8th Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Speaker with this simple yet important message. Using real examples from her life, Dr. Grandin spoke to the community at an evening lecture, Morning Ex and a special visit with 3rd grade to emphasize the importance of different type of intelligences or “thinkers.”

As a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, Dr. Grandin is celebrated for her groundbreaking work in humane livestock handling and her unique insights into the autistic mind. As a bestselling author and the subject of a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning film, her perspectives are truly transformative.

As Dr. Grandin described, the first step in transforming views on autism and the importance of all intelligence types, was “learning that different kinds of thinking exist. I was shocked,” she explains, “to learn that other people thought in words and did not think in pictures like me.” For this talk, Dr. Grandin focused on two main types of “thinkers,” the object visualizer thinker and the spatial visualizer thinker. The object visualizer thinks in pictures and primarily can be found in careers like art-graphic design; photography; mechanical equipment inventors; working with animals and highly skilled trades like being a welder, car repair tech or an electrician. While spatial visualizers think in patterns and are often found in careers like computer programming, engineering, chemistry (physics), music and mathematics (data analytics).

To highlight their importance, Dr. Grandin explained how these thinkers are necessary when building large food processing plants. For object visualizers, they focus on designing the plant layout and inventing highly specialized mechanical equipment. And visual spatial thinkers are the engineers, focusing on things like boilers, refrigeration, calculating roof trusses and managing the power and water in the plant. Without any one of these the project falls short. This different approach Dr. Grandin described another way, “object visualizers see risk, verbal thinkers discuss risk and mathematicians calculate risk.”

Throughout this speech, Dr. Grandin interweaved their personal stories of discrimination and hard work caused by her autism and used her experiences to discuss the ways all types of intelligences are needed. Whether it was Dr. Grandin’s observations of her hotel, plane troubles while traveling or an experience of being at NASA and having the elevator break down, Dr. Grandin showed the problems that arise as we have moved away from the importance of object visualizers in America. Or as Dr. Grandin said, “Today we don’t make anymore! Where are the clever engineers? Where is the person in the work shop who can fix any problem?”

Parker is extremely grateful to Dr. Grandin for spending time at Parker to discuss this important topic. Dr. Grandin’s powerful personal story, their charismatic storytelling and real-life advice for families with members who have autism created a terrific presentation that left the audience laughing, moved and contemplative about their own personal biases and the future of education and industry.

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