Autism advocate and professor Temple Grandin plans two talks for Clemson family

CLEMSON — Temple Grandin, the world-renowned advocate for people with autism and a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, will give two talks to Clemson audiences on Thursday, March 7.

A morning talk for faculty and students will focus on animal science research. Grandin helped revolutionize how the livestock industry handles animals by providing her unique perspective as a person with autism. That talk will be at 9 a.m. in the McKissick Theatre in the Hendrix Student Center. Grandin will be available at 8:30 and after her talk to sign books. Registration for “Animal Behavior and Wellbeing” is required at clemson.edu/orc.

An evening talk on living with autism is open to the public. It will begin at 7 p.m. in the Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center on the campus of Southern Wesleyan University, 737 Wesleyan Drive, Central. Tickets are required for this event; they are $5 for students and $15 for adults, and can be purchased at swu.edu/boxoffice. At 6:15 p.m., Grandin will begin signing books, which will be available for purchase at this event.

For more information, contact Hope Smith-Sielicki in the Office of Research Compliance at smith@clemson.edu.

Grandin has authored or co-authored almost 20 books about animal science and autism, including “Thinking in Pictures,” “The Autistic Brain” and “Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships.” Actress Claire Danes won a Primetime Emmy Award for portraying Grandin in the 2010 biopic eponymous film.

On March 8, Grandin will speak at the Converge Autism Conference in Greenville sponsored by Springbrook Autism Behavioral Health.

This will be Grandin’s second time at Clemson in less than a year. In April 2018 she spoke to the South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association at the Garrison Livestock Arena about the need to include diverse perspectives and “harnessing neurodiversity.”