There are three different types of thinkers. All are important and all should be recognized for their uniqueness.

That was the underlying message of Temple Grandin鈥檚 presentation Monday to a packed house at North Platte鈥檚 Fox Theater.

Grandin, who is autistic, has made it her mission to try to bridge the gap between individuals with autism, education and industries.

鈥淚 want to help other people like me go out and be successful,鈥� Grandin said.

Success is something she knows quite a bit about. Grandin made an international career out of designing livestock equipment, and her efforts have been credited with revolutionizing the U.S. meat industry. She is widely considered the world鈥檚 leading expert on humane animal handling.

The accomplishments didn鈥檛 come easily. In the early days, Grandin not only battled a stigma surrounding autism, but also surrounding the fact that she is a woman.

鈥淲hat drove me? I wanted to show the world I wasn鈥檛 stupid,鈥� Grandin said.

Now she鈥檚 hoping to do the same for others. Grandin estimates that 20 percent of the people she鈥檚 worked with on projects over the years have been autistic, dyslexic or had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. That didn鈥檛 stop them from doing big things.

鈥淭oo often, the label of 鈥榓utism鈥� holds people back,鈥� Grandin said. 鈥淏ut we need those people. We need different kinds of minds working together with complementary skills to be able to grow and move forward.鈥�

Grandin is of the opinion that thinking can be sorted into visual, spatial and verbal categories. Artists and photographers are examples of visual thinkers, while spatial visualizers think in patterns and often go into the engineering, chemistry, physics and mathematical fields.

Verbal thinkers tend to think in terms of words. They typically end up as writers, lawyers, teachers and marketers.

Grandin falls into the visual thinking category, which is what fueled her work in animal behavior.

鈥淰isual thinkers see the world in images, much like animals do,鈥� Grandin said. 鈥淭hey are very good at seeing things that shouldn鈥檛 be there. They see things that could potentially be a problem. Most people are a mix of the different kinds of thinkers - the so called, 鈥榥ormal people鈥�.鈥�

She鈥檚 concerned that opportunities are being taken away from those that fall into one category or another. She鈥檚 also concerned that many of the industries she works with are seeing a loss of skilled workers.

鈥淲e鈥檙e losing the clever engineering people who work in the shops,鈥� Grandin said. 鈥淧art of the reason for that is we鈥檙e taking the hands-on classes out of the schools, and that鈥檚 where the visual thinkers really thrive. I鈥檓 seeing too many smart, autistic kids in the basement playing video games when they should be doing mechanics - simply because they are being stereotyped by the autism label.鈥�

Grandin thinks recognizing that different minds exist is the first step toward combating the issue. The second is to provide opportunities at home and through the educational system that allow all types of thinkers to be exposed to a variety of experiences that could potentially lead to careers.

鈥淔inding that identity is crucial for individuals with autism,鈥� Grandin said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a prime example of why a career is so important. I am what I do.鈥�

Grandin鈥檚 presentation in North Platte followed a similar talk in Broken Bow Sunday night. That one focused on cattle handling.

The presentations were made possible thanks to 黑料大事记鈥檚 Student Life and Business and Community Education departments, Custer Federal State Bank, Adams Land and Cattle, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and Bruning Bank.