Famous Porcupine: Mary

A "Goof Around Student"

Mary was born in Boston in 1947, and her mother suspected something was different right from the start. As a small child, she was sensitive to touch, didn’t like hugs, and threw destructive tantrums. She was (incorrectly) diagnosed with brain damage at age 2 and didn’t start to speak until 3 ½.

Though she had a supportive environment in elementary school, junior high school and high school were hard. She was bullied and teased a lot including being called a “tape recorder” because she perseverated on things. She also struggled with engagement, especially with subjects that didn’t interest her. She later described herself as a “goof around student who just didn’t care about studying.”

When she was a freshman in high school she was expelled after getting into a fight. Another girl called her a “retard,” and she threw a book at her hitting her in the eye. It was shortly after this that her mother came across a checklist of symptoms of autism and recognized many of them. Mary was later diagnosed as an autistic savant.

Mr. Carlock

She was accepted to a school for gifted students who weren’t being successful in traditional school settings. It was here where she met a science teacher, Mr. Carlock, who nurtured her talents. She sites him as a major influence in her life. As is so often the case, people who struggled in school but went on to be successful had at least one important adult in their life who made a huge difference.

Mr. Carlock especially encouraged a project she worked on involving squeezing cattle to reduce their anxiety when being worked on. This led her into an incredible career in farming and cattle production work.

Her work has revolutionized the cattle industry, helping it be more ethical and humane. She has published dozens of scientific papers. She has written several books, both about livestock and autism. She’s a professor at Colorado State University. She’s done a TED Talk. In 2010, she was named one of TIME Magazines “100 Most Influential People in the World.” She’s been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. I had the pleasure of listening to her as a keynote speaker at a Learning & the Brain conference in Boston one year. She was incredible—insightful, funny, and profound. (She’ll be speaking at the Portsmouth Music Hall on June 12, 2026. My wife, daughter, and I are going. Come join us!)

Though her first name is Mary, her full name is Mary Temple Grandin, and Temple Grandin is the name you may know her by.

Click here to read stories of more famous porcupines. Be sure to check out the book that inspired this series: Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies for Supporting Our Most Challenging Students.

Citations: The information for this story was drawn from several sources:

Author

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond.

As a classroom teacher, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award and was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written ten books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher.

When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, sorting baseball cards and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

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