Autism Expert Temple Grandin To Speak In Davenport April 19

Temple Grandin, a prominent author and speaker on the topic of autism, has been featured by TIME magazine as one of 100 people who most affect our world. She has appeared on “60 Minutes” and was the subject of an award-winning HBO movie.

Now she’s coming to Davenport during Autism Awareness Month to share her insights about autism, a challenging communication disorder that impacts thousands of individuals, their families, teachers, classmates and others in the Quad-City region.

Grandin will speak April 19 at The RiverCenter in Davenport from 9-11 a.m. She will describe the challenges she has faced and provide practical ideas on how others living with autism can meet these obstacles and improve the quality of their lives. A free-will offering will be accepted.

Reserve your seat

To make a reservation for Temple Grandin's presentation, go to www.verafrenchmhc.org.

On the website, you will also see a list of other autism awareness activities for the month of April.

Grandin’s talk is part of the Anti- Stigma Speaker Series developed by the Vera French Foundation in 2008.

An estimated 4,000 people in the Quad-City region have autism, says Tom Crane, president of the Autism Society of the Quad Cities and parent of an adult son with autism.

No one is more articulate in explaining some of the mysteries of autism than Grandin, who at age two was unable to speak and showed signs of severe autism. Many hours of speech therapy and intensive teaching enabled her to learn speech. She endured constant teasing as a teenager, but her high school science teacher and an aunt who lived on a ranch motivated her to pursue a career as a scientist and livestock equipment designer.

Awarded a Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989, Grandin serves as a professor at Colorado State University. She conducts research while teaching courses on livestock handling and facility design. Among the popular books she has authored is, “Animals in Translation,” which was a New York Times bestseller.

Grandin has received numerous awards for her work and gives lectures throughout the U.S. on her experiences with autism.

Sponsors of Grandin’s presentation are Genesis Health System, Scott County Regional Authority, Autism Society of the Quad Cities, Quad-City Times, Cumulus Quad Cities, Radish, Vera French Foundation Speakers Committee, and the Putnam Museum.