Temple Grandin Analysis

Words: 429
Pages: 2

-Temple Grandin’s memoirs is different from the typical autobiographical accounts, in that it is very personalized, but is using her own life to compare to others. She gives her own personal accounts and at times will compare it, or relate it to all people with autism. She tends to categorizes children with autism into one group. For example, in Grandin’s memoirs from Thinking in Pictures, she says “Like most autistic children, I needed to preserve sadness in my environment and the change from home to a rooming and boarding school disturbed me. Like most autistics I wanted everything the same.” (Grandin, 1995, Pg. 71) . Grandin talks about what she is good at and capable of doing, and also explains her tics and personal behavior. She explains …show more content…
Sue Rubin’s memoir style, is a bit different from Temple Grandin’s and is not your typical autobiography. Her style is more critical, rather than a factual and neutral style of narration. Rubin takes explanations, or stories of autism, from Dr. Leo Kanner’s descriptions of a young boy with autism named Donald, and compares them to herself. Explaining from a first person point of view, Rubin knows what is going on in the inside and can give a clear explanation as to why Donald does the things that he does (outburst, tics, personal behavior, etc.). For example, Dr. Kanner talks about how Donald likes to throw things or watch stuff fall because “he seemed” to like the sound it makes. Kanner is basically guessing that Donald just likes the sound the object makes when it hits the ground. For Rubin, a person with autism, it is the action that is pleasing. She see’s it almost in “slow motion”, and likes the angles and colors that it makes when it is thrown. For people without autism some of the outburst or tics may be difficult to understand. Rubin has a fantastic quote as to why. “Autism is a world so difficult to explain to someone who is not autistic, someone who can easily turn off the peculiar moments and actions that take over our bodies.” (Rubin, page