Topic > Temple Grandin – a woman with autism who made a change

Autism is something that many people have as a factor in their lives. Whether they have it themselves or someone they know makes a difference. Temple Grandin, a woman who grew up with autism, has used her work to improve animal welfare in the livestock industry through the connection she has created between herself and animals and has made numerous differences for them in the industry. In Boston, Massachusetts, on August 29, 1947, she was born. From a young age he showed signs of disability by refraining from interacting with others and started speaking late. However, she and her family surpassed this goal and thrived with teachers who encouraged her general curiosity and interest in animals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Grandin's autism has allowed her to make unique connections with animals. In an interview, she herself said: “Well, I could really imagine what that equipment would feel like on livestock. You know, what if I had the body of cattle, how would I feel? For me it's very easy." She could very easily visualize the animals' perspective, which gave her a unique vision that most others do not possess. Empathy appears to be an important connection that her autism has helped her achieve with animals. She describes how this works differently for her than others: “Well, you see in livestock design the very first work I ever did with livestock, people thought I was crazy. I would go to the feedlot and go down the chutes to see what the cattle were seeing. I would see that cows rebel against a small shadow, they rebel against a hanging chain, they rebel if there was a hose on the ground and no one noticed these things before." Her autism helped her visualize things that others wouldn't normally see and that she could really experience with animals and what they go through. It allowed her to create a bond with them that no one else really has and allowed her to make a change for animals from the things that most everyone looks at. Thus it has brought many progressive changes for these animals in the livestock industry. One of the most important changes she made was the way cattle were fenced. After taking note of their natural behaviors, he invented a conveyor restraint system that utilized the cattle's “natural tendency to walk in circles and therefore reduced their anxiety level as they proceeded down the ramp to slaughter. This system also allowed us to obtain a higher quality meat product because the release of stress hormones in the moments before the animal's death tends to make its meat tougher." This system is used in all plants and has greatly aided in the reduction of stress, increased meat quality and improved welfare for livestock by creating a curved path through which they can walk. Cattle don't like walking in dead ends or areas they can't see clearly, and corners prevent this. With open curves the route will proceed more smoothly and will experience a considerable amount less stress. Reducing stress is one of the main topics he wanted to address. Grandin, to help reduce livestock stress and welfare, was contracted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to “review a total of 24 federally inspected beef, calf, working and sheep meats.” slaughter plants. They taught her to develop a more method..