September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40

TEMPLE GRANDIN
Dr. Temple Grandin is well
known for her work in animal science
and autism. In 2010, actor
Claire Danes portrayed her in the
award-winning HBO biographical
film, Temple Grandin. As a prolific
writer, she has authored numerous
books and articles, sharing
her wealth of knowledge in professional
and mainstream circles.
Recognizing her work as a college
professor at Colorado State
University, CEOWORLD magazine
named her one of the top 10
college professors in the United
States (tinyurl.com/yk6zcpk3).
Having autism herself, Dr.
Grandin is both an advocate and
spokesperson for individuals on
the autism spectrum. Recently,
she has lent her knowledge and
expertise to the park and recreation
world through a unique collaboration
with Play & Park Structures.
She teamed up with the
company to develop the Temple
Trolley, a unique play event that
incorporates spinning, swinging
and gliding into one multisensory
piece of equipment. Activities like
spinning can have a calming effect
on individuals with autism and
can aid in reaching developmental
milestones.
On September 21, during the
2022 NRPA Annual Conference
in Phoenix, Dr. Grandin will present
the session, " Inclusion for All
Types of Minds and Bodies in
Parks and Recreation With Dr.
Temple Grandin, " and speak later
at the Best of the Best awards ceremony
(nrpa.org/Conference).
She will be sharing her research
and insight on how people think
differently. Parks & Recreation
magazine recently caught up with
Dr. Grandin to discuss the importance
of outdoor play and how
neurodiverse individuals can be
included in recreation environments.
Parks
& Recreation: What
impact did time outdoors
have on you as a child?
Dr. Temple Grandin: Outdoor time
was my fun time. Mother used to
say to me, " go out, run the energy
out of you. " We rode our bikes all
over the neighborhood. I would
spend hours working on my different
kite inventions when I was 7
and 8 years old to figure out how
to make them fly better. It was all
done outdoors. I just loved it.
P&R: A recent study stated
that children spend less
than 10 minutes daily in
unstructured outdoor play
in the United States. In
comparison, on average,
children spend seven hours
on a screen daily. What
impacts do you feel this
has on our youth?
Dr. Grandin: I think that's just terrible.
When I was a child, we were
limited to one hour of TV a day
during the week and two hours
on Saturday and Sunday, and my
mother had to approve the shows.
The rest of the time we spent outside,
making up games and playing
with neighborhood friends. Many
kids live in my neighborhood, and
there's a building near where I live
with a very nice playground. I never
see kids on that playground. Free
play is something that they don't
get much of at all today, and I think
that's a problem.
I remember talking to a lady
that ran summer camp at a farm.
In the morning, they had strucChildren
at Signal Centers in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, show Dr. Grandin the
Selfie Swizzler, a playground component
designed to incorporate spinning and
rocking at the same time, which many
children with autism enjoy.
40 Parks & Recreation | SEP T EMBER 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
http://www.tinyurl.com/yk6zcpk3 http://www.nrpa.org/Conference
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2022 - Parks & Recreation
