Grandin’s advocacy for cattle has brought her as much acclaim as her advocacy for autism. She was born in 1947, and in 1950 doctors diagnosed her with autism and recommended she be placed in an institution for the rest of her life. Her mother’s determination — and later, her own — flew in the face of that recommendation, to the point where Grandin earned a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s, then a doctorate. She now teaches at Colorado State University.

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