Pioneering Animal Scientist and Autism Self-Advocate to Talk About Her Personal Journey with Autism, Sharing Strategies and Helpful Tips for all.
Palm Springs, CA (September 15, 2023): 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 (Historic Camelot Theatre) located at 2300 East Baristo Road, Palm Springs.
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.
“We are delighted to present such an important pioneer in both the animal welfare and autism advocacy to our roster of speakers,” said Jeannie Kays, Director of Library Services. “This talk will be an opportunity for people to hear her speak about autism to help us all better understand those living life on the spectrum. Our presenting sponsor, The Friends of Palm Springs Public Library, enables us to bring a truly dynamic line up of thought-provoking speakers to the Coachella Valley. We thank our additional sponsors, The City of Palm Springs, LULU American Bistro, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, and The Palm Springs Cultural Center for their ongoing support.”
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”.
Tickets are $125 (VIP), $75 (premium reserved), $50 (general admission), and $35 (rear reserved). ADA spaces are available. To purchase tickets or for more information about the speaker series, visit palmspringsspeaks.org.
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.
Her book, Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum, presents nine strengths-based mindsets necessary to successfully work with young people on the autism spectrum. Examples and stories bring the approaches to life, and detailed suggestions and checklists help readers put them to practical use. Her book, Animals in Translation was a New York Times best seller and her book Livestock Handling and Transport, now has a fourth edition which was published in 2014. Other popular books authored by Dr. Grandin are Thinking in Pictures, Emergence Labeled Autistic, Animals Make us Human, Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach, The Way I See It, and The Autistic Brain and her book Visual Thinking has recently been updated and released as a paperback. She also has a popular TED Talk.
About The Friends of the Palm Springs Library
The mission of The Friends of the Palm Springs Library is to support the Library in providing world-class service to the community through the purchase of books, movies, music, the visual arts, furnishings & electronic equipment and by advocating for funding, gifts and memorials. The Friends of the Palm Springs Library, Inc., acts as the link between the Library, the community, and its elected officials. It supports programs that encourage reading, culture, and the arts as well as volunteer-based activities to support the greater community. The Friends present the Palm Springs Speaks speaker series as a fundraising vehicle benefiting the Palm Springs Public Library.
About Palm Springs Speaks
Palm Springs Speaks is an annual speaker series presenting distinguished speakers from the worlds of art and culture, politics, wellness, and entertainment to the Coachella Valley. The series was first organized in 2017 by the Palm Springs Cultural Center and the Friends of the Palm Springs Public Library but has evolved with the Friends of the Palm Springs Library as sole presenting sponsor.