Adults who have characteristics of autism are about three times as likely as their peers to not identify themselves as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, according to a new study1. The study is based on surveys of more than 47,000 adults in Sweden. It shows that about one out of five individuals …

Having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects up to 15 percent of women of childbearing age, increases the risk of having a child with autism by 59 percent1. The risk for obese women with the disorder is higher still — about double that of women who do not have PCOS. The …

By Austin John Jones For me, purpose is subjective; it’s based on how I feel. If I feel like I have a specific purpose in life, that motivates me. But sometimes I think purpose is a human idea someone made up to give me comfort. From what I can tell, people who feel like they have purpose get up eve…

By Austin John Jones Some people say that people on the spectrum are not capable of love. This is not true. People on the spectrum are very capable of love. Even more challenged men and women on the autism spectrum are capable of love and can be very affectionate towards the people they love and car…

Many people on the autism spectrum need a family member or a job coach to help facilitate successful employment. By Janice Killey Entering the workforce can be an exciting, yet challenging time for anyone who hasn’t done it before. However, when you’ve been diagnosed with autism it can be even more …

Debra Hosseini Muzikar is the author of The Art of Autism: Shifting Perceptions and Keri Bowers is the producer of Normal Films. Together they started a collaborative featuring autistic artists, authors, and entertainers from around the world. In the last year, The Art of Autism has produced Autism …

If you’ve wanted to learn sign language, you’ve probably looked at classes at your nearest community college, found an instructor who teaches ASL for a nominal fee or even found some online videos to get you started. Those are all great options to get started but guess what? There’s a ne…

By Kaelynn Partlow Autism advocates talk a lot about how we need to “support” people on the spectrum. But when we say “autistic people need support” what does that actually mean? It means giving someone access to an item/activity/service/modification that eliminates or reduces the challenges that ar…

Being anemic while pregnant may increase a woman’s chance of having a child with intellectual disability, autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Two previous smaller studies hinted at a link between maternal anemia and intellectual disability, but the new work is the first to sho…

By Tom Iland When you have autism, social interactions can be one of the most difficult aspects of life. Uncertainty and an underlying fear of rejection may cause people with autism to avoid interacting with others rather than seizing the opportunity to get to know people. People like me on the au…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted ‘breakthrough device’ designation to a hair-based test designed to aid autism diagnosis. The acknowledgment shifts the test into a fast lane through the agency’s regulatory review process. The test, called StrandDx, analyzes the lev…

The first Australian national guidelines for diagnosing autism were released for public consultation last week. The report by the research group Autism CRC was commissioned and funded by Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in October 2016. The NDIS has taken over the runnin…

By Nils Skudra In studying the lives of Autistic prodigies, I recently learned about Stephen Wiltshire, a British artist of West Indian descent who has earned international renown for his detailed cityscape sketches, drawn entirely from photographic memory. These drawings have become immensely popul…

By Debra Muzikar, Co-Founder The Art of Autism The Art of Autism just received our first check from Facebook for $1,235.53! So many people have created birthday fundraisers for our nonprofit! The Art of Autism would like to thank Keri Bowers, David Weber, Dawn Curtis, Aisha Marie Michael, Hayl Storm…