Interest was high from the very beginning for presentations on autism by someone with autism.

So, to accommodate the large number of people who want to hear Temple Grandin, the UC Davis MIND Institute has moved its Feb. 14 Distinguished Lecturer Series event from the medical center in Sacramento to Freeborn Hall on the main campus in Davis.

Grandin is scheduled to deliver two talks, one described as technical in nature and oriented toward specialists, and the other more general in nature for the entire community. Both talks are free and open to the public, and reservations are not required.

The technical talk is set for 4 p.m. and carries the title, "Exploring the Mind of a Visual Thinker: Thinking in Photo-Realistic Pictures." In this talk, according to the MIND Institute Web site, Grandin will discuss the workings of the mind of a visual thinker like herself.

She is expected to discuss how she uses concrete visual metaphors — including a nonverbal "video library" of particular people, places and associations — to make sense of the world around her.

The general talk, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., is titled "My Experience With Autism." The MIND Institute Web site indicates that Grandin will discuss the value of early intervention in autism, and also will talk about medications. Other topics include her sensory sensitivities and how she manages them, how she and other autistic people think, and social relationships and careers.

Grandin has a career in academia as a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, focusing on animal behavior and livestock handling.

According to her personal Web site, she is the designer of livestock handling facilities that are in use in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. In North America, her Web site states, almost half of all cattle in meat plants go through a center track restrainer system that she designed.

Her Web site also notes her research on grazing animal behavior, and how her findings have contributed to reduced stress on animals during handling.

Grandin is scheduled to meet with faculty in the UC Davis Department of Animal Science the day before her MIND Institute programs.

She is the author of Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism and Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior. The MIND Institute announced that Grandin will be available at Freeborn Hall to sign copies of her books.

For more information, call the MIND Institute, (916) 703-0280.