Overcoming adversity

TV REVIEW

TO just look at the bones of the made-for-tv film Temple Grandin, you would be forgiven for bypassing it. I mean, a film about a woman who revolutionised the way in which we slaughter our cattle is hardly the most interesting of subjects but when you look beyond her achievements to the woman herself, you realise it is an extraordinary story.
Temple Grandin is autistic, which poses its own problems in today’s world but when she was born, the term autism was only just being used and the most common place for children with autism to be found was in institutions. Starring Claire Danes, Temple Grandin explores the world of this extraordinary woman who looked on life and its opportunities as a series of doors to new worlds, which she opened with her mind and her abilities.
Although she is now considered one of the brightest minds in the world, it was not always that way. She battled hard against the stigma of autism and being a woman in man’s world. When she was diagnosed with autism, it was believed the condition was a form of infantile schizophrenia brought on by a lack of bonding with the mother. Scientists and researchers blamed the children’s mothers, saying they were cold and aloof and gave them the ghastly nickname of ‘refridgerator mothers’. It seems ludicrous nowadays but in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, this was the scientific thinking.
Temple Grandin had classic autism with all the features we associate with people who are high on the spectrum. She had no verbal communication and lack of eye contact but she was exceptionally bright and although it took many years for people to understand, she saw the world through a series of pictures which connected together. She could recall any image she had seen. Her photographic memory made it easy for her to make sense of practical things and her engineering skills were phenomenal because of this. Like many people with autism, she had a literal understanding of things and languages posed problems, as did people.
In the years following her diagnosis, there was no understanding of how children with autism learned, functioned or thought and the prescribed ‘medicine’ was to be placed in an institution. Temple’s mother refused and she was home-schooled for the first years of her life.
Her mother worked extensively with her developing a picture-card word system for her. She also hired a speech and language therapist who worked on developing verbal communication. She was given every opportunity her mother could give her because she believed her child to be ‘different and not less’.
The way in which people with autism learn is not conventional by our normal educational standards but it is us who need to adapt. Nowadays, having autism does still carry a stigma but with the advancement of science, education and understanding, it is thankfully no longer seen as a mental disorder for which people should be institutionalised. Grandin has helped progress this understanding as a spokesperson for autisim in America and internationally. Anyway, off my soap box.
The film centres around the adult life of Temple with flashbacks to her childhood. The whole film centres around the wonderful performance of Claire Danes, who you would struggle to identify. The way in which she walks, speaks and even her facial features seem different. She is very like Grandin in looks and mannerisms.
The film is very well put together and the graphics add to our understanding of how she sees the world. Her life is an emotional rollercoaster with even the smallest sounds an irritation. Clothes, doors, looks all cause her discomfort and manifest in serious tantrums that are calmed by a machine called her squeeze machine. This simulates a hug and calms her down and comforts her without having human contact, which upsets her.
The film is an excellent exploration of not only Temple’s view of the world but how the world sees her. It is done subtly through the looks of people but also through the obvious taunting of her fellow school and college mates. Life was not easy for her but the will and determination given to her by her mother and her own inner strength made it easier. Be sure to catch it on Sky player or on repeat on Sky Atlantic.
While Temple Grandin had the love of her parents, this is not always the case and for thousands of children in the UK and Ireland, neglect is a way of life. Children experience neglect, abuse and horrors everyday leaving them traumatised and damaged. One such child is Maisie. Born into a life of drugs and physical abuse, Maisie and her brothers were taken from their parents and placed into care.
However, due to the horrors she had witnessed, Maisie was not well-adjusted and was extremely violent and prone to tantrums. After a series of adoptions fell through, she was taken on by a couple who had adopted eight other children. Despite the obvious behavioural problems, they were determined to adopt her.
A Home for Maisie, shown on Monday night on BBC 2, takes its title from a series of children’s books. It followed the process of re-homing Maisie and the therapy the family had to undergo to ensure she had a chance of living with a normal family. This documentary was heartbreaking. On the outside, Maisie was like all nine-year-old children – a little precocious but seemingly normal.
However, delving deeper, the damage of years of neglect showed. While the documentary followed just one child, it was obvious that, in many ways, Maisie was lucky. She had escaped the abuse and although she may never fully adjust, she had a new family who cared for her. Others are not so lucky and watching this only made you more acutely aware of this.