Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism

Temple Grandin’s thinking process differs from those who process though through language, and is representative of many others with autism: As a visual thinker, images guide her thought processing—a difference unknown to her until adulthood. Her visual thinking skills often make verbal expression difficult, but these visual talents come to play an important role in her career as a livestock equipment designer. While designing, Grandin’s mental images aren’t limited to vague concepts. Instead, they include vivid details and an ability to see her designs from multiple perspectives. Visual thinking also allows Grandin to predict problems prior to the actual creation of the design:

When I do an equipment simulation in my imagination or work on an engineering problem, it is like seeing it on a videotape in my mind. I can view it from any angle, placing myself above or below the equipment and rotating it at the same time. I don’t need a fancy graphics program that can produce three-dimensional design simulations. I can do it better and faster in my head (5).

Grandin refers to a video library of images, a dynamic capacity for mental storage that grows as she encounters new information. One application Grandin uses to illustrate her use of a visual library involves the development of a

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