Animals in Translation : Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
by Temple Grandin, Catherine Johnson | Pets & Animals |
ISBN: 0743247698 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0743247698 Global Overview for this book
1 journaler for this copy...
From the cover:
Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both.
Autistic people can often think the way animals think - in fact, Grandin & co-author Catherine Johnson see autism as a kind of way station on the road from animals to humans - putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out briliant.
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I could go on and on about how great this book is. The writing style is very economical and accessible to people (such as myself) who haven't taken a science class in the past three decades. But I would just add two things.
One: This book gives a great deal of insight into the way the human mind works as well, because of course, the human mind IS an animal mind with a little bit added on. I would recommend it to people who have pets or work with animals. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of getting a pet (especially a dog) for the first time. I think it might be a great book for parents with autistic children (the co-author has two autistic sons) because Grandin spends a lot of time explaining how she processes the world and what she sees an autistic that non-autistics do not see.
Two: This book made me a little sad. Clearly Grandin is a genius and she has been a powerful advocate for making sure animals, even domestic animals used as food, are treated as kindly as possible (as she puts it, we created them so we are responsible for the way they live AND die). But I can't help but wonder about all the other people like her who didn't reach their potential because people couldn't see past the autism. Thank God her mother insisted on something more for her daughter.
I may have to ring this book.
Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both.
Autistic people can often think the way animals think - in fact, Grandin & co-author Catherine Johnson see autism as a kind of way station on the road from animals to humans - putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out briliant.
*******
I could go on and on about how great this book is. The writing style is very economical and accessible to people (such as myself) who haven't taken a science class in the past three decades. But I would just add two things.
One: This book gives a great deal of insight into the way the human mind works as well, because of course, the human mind IS an animal mind with a little bit added on. I would recommend it to people who have pets or work with animals. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of getting a pet (especially a dog) for the first time. I think it might be a great book for parents with autistic children (the co-author has two autistic sons) because Grandin spends a lot of time explaining how she processes the world and what she sees an autistic that non-autistics do not see.
Two: This book made me a little sad. Clearly Grandin is a genius and she has been a powerful advocate for making sure animals, even domestic animals used as food, are treated as kindly as possible (as she puts it, we created them so we are responsible for the way they live AND die). But I can't help but wonder about all the other people like her who didn't reach their potential because people couldn't see past the autism. Thank God her mother insisted on something more for her daughter.
I may have to ring this book.
