Have I ever told you about that time I had dinner with Temple Grandin? If you know me, you’re rolling your eyes right now because I’ve told it to you a hundred times. But Temple is my hero. She ranks up there with the greats.

I was attending an autism conference put on by the Geneva Centre in Toronto over a decade ago.

I was chatting with a friend when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Temple was being nosy and heard me mention the name of her hotel and asked if I was staying there? I said no, but I was parked there.

She said:

“I need someone to have dinner with. Will you meet me at 5:30 at the hotel restaurant?”

Hell YES I will! I spent a small fortune to attend the conference just to hear her speak and now I would get over an hour in a 1:1 conversation.

It was incredible and all that you’d want it to be. I got to pick the brain of a legend. I’ve read all of her many books, I admire her mother SO much (if you’re an autism parent, you’ll be inspired by an original Mama Warrior) and I still obsess over the HBO movie where she is played by Claire Danes. She is one of the first individuals on the Autism Spectrum to document the insights she gained from her personal experience of autism AND she is a brilliant scientist voted in the top 10 of US college professors.

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She wanted every detail about my boys and had an earnest desire to give solid advice to help them with the various challenges I shared.

So what does this have to do with Owen in his fabulous sunnies?

He has been wearing them for the past 5 hours and has never worn them before. And I remembered something Temple recommended.

She told me that people with sensitivities to lighting could benefit with experimenting with different coloured PALE lenses.

It’s taken over 10 years for the lesson to sink in, but I think she was on to something. Owen is a happy guy and it looks like we’ve got to read up on more of Temple’s advice.

If you’d like more information and see Temple’s answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit her site HERE.