When she was 2 years old, doctors diagnosed that she had brain damage! Her father wanted to leave her in some mental institution. But her mother fought and prevailed.

Temple Grandin had autism when it wasn’t very well understood in the world. And she was able to bloom only because of her mothers strength and support. She became the first autistic person to be featured in Times 100 most influential people’s list!

Grandin’s mother was a savior.

She realized that her daughter was not a mental case. Somehow, she just didn’t know how to tune out background noise and clutter. Her mind focused on and intensified every sensory detail, making life overwhelming. Which made development hard. Learning to speak harder. 

So she hired the best speech therapist for Grandin. And hired a nanny who played turn taking games with Grandin when she was three. This gave structure to Grandin and taught her important social skills. These things became the foundation of how others with autism are treated.

Grandin was allowed just one hour per day to engage in her autistic behaviours. When she could spin a bottle constantly. Otherwise, she knew she had to work on her social skills so she could be a part of the society.

By no means was it easy for Grandin.

Especially because she was bullied in school. There was no hiding that she was different. And that she had to spend considerable time and effort to do things that came naturally to others. She would have her episodes where over stimulation would make her break down. 

But she found solace when she grew a bit bigger and started spending her summers in her aunt’s farm. She found that she connected with farm animals. Because they seemed to be facing the same problem as her. They too suffered from heightened sensitivity. Sudden movements, dangling chains, even shadows would overwhelm them. Cause stress and panic.

But people dealt with animals the same way they dealt with autistic individuals.

Without understanding. When animals would panic, their handlers would shout, use ropes on them, and beat them to act straight.

It wasn’t that ranchers didn’t know better actually. It was just that they could not understand the animals. Because actually while giving vaccines to the cows, they would do it in a way where cows would feel relaxed and not panic.

The cows would be put in very narrow metal enclosures. The sides would slide inward, digging into the cow’s ribs to hold it still. The head gate would close around the cow’s neck. 

It looked inhumane. But it calmed the cows down.

Deep pressure can calm over stimulation.

Next time when Grandin felt over-stimulated by her surroundings, she forced her aunt to shut her inside the metal chute as well. And she felt calm.

It was this experience that made Grandin immerse herself in the world of cattle. Because she could identify with them, she began thinking like them. And helped make changes in the farm.

She recommended that the floors should have texture. She helped design a restrainer that put firm even pressure and made the cattle feel secure. She redesigned the metal chutes to have solid walls and curved sides. She recommended that no dangling chains or any sudden sound making instrument be used on farms.

All of her recommendations helped reduce cattle from getting spooked. And drastically reduced the injury rate on farm.

Grandin’s immersion into how farm animals think, led to her earning a Phd.

But that’s not all, learning the lessons from how redesigning the metal chute to be curved could further help cattle avoid overstimulation, she recognized that she could do the same for her.

So she built herself a hug machine. She could sit in it and it would give her deep touch pressure. It would calm her down better than anything else. Grandin’s invention has helped thousands of hypersensitive and autistic kids over the years.

How can you immerse yourself without autism?

Understanding others is the key to prospering. You can make things better for others, and innovate, only if you can understand them. Deep immersion helps you channel empathy.

But how can you deeply immerse yourself in someone else’s life? 

1. You do what Gardner did. Use sensory anchors. Replicate one key sense the other person would feel. Squeeze chutes closing around herself helped Gardner understand how cows felt.

This is what method actors do as well. Pick up a tick or a speech pattern of a thief or a prostitute or a doctor. The sensory anchor helps with immersion. 

2. The second part is constantly asking: “What would they be feeling?”

By alternating between going inside the chute and watching animals inside it, Gardner “became” the cow. She could figure out which shadows and sounds and textures spooked them. And she could then solve for it.

Action Summary:

• Switch your perspective. Think from another person’s point of view. To do that, you need to immerse yourself in their frame of mind. 

• Sensory anchors help in deep immersion. Combine that with reflection and focusing on how the other person would be feeling, and you’ll be able to act like an empath.