Speakers

Temple Grandin Says ‘Light the Spark’

Temple Grandin talked about thinking styles, motivation and learning, mentors, and manners at TED 2010.

In the July 2009 issue, Executive Editor Chris Durso profiled 62-year-old Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child and credits her thinking style with her success in designing more humane cattle handling systems. Here’s Dr. Grandin’s recently posted talk from the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach. 

 
“The world is going to need all of the different kinds of minds to work together,” Grandin said at TED. One of the things that drive her crazy, as she travels around the country speaking at autism meetings, is that no one seems to know how to engage students with different kinds of thinking styles, she said. “You’ve got to show kids interesting stuff to get them turned on. Light the spark.”
 

Barbara Palmer

Barbara Palmer is senior editor and director of digital content.