Parents often ask with concern why when their child has made a gain of some kind in development do they seem to reverse in others? As an Autistic I can tell you that many times when reaching a new milestone, we may revert to a previous special interest or sensory seeking behaviour for comfort and re…

The Va-J-J House, a Tapestry of Life Written from the Heart of Aunt Lea Lance As a friend of The Art of Autism, Aunt Lea has shared in blogs and discussions on this forum. This time, to protect the privacy of fictionalized characters in her novel, she is using her pseudonym: Aunt Lea Lance –…

Sounds, smells and social encounters are just a few of the challenges that Leironica Hawkins, an artist on the spectrum, faces every day. Here, Hawkins uses comics to illuminate what she calls her “invisible disability.” Andrea wants to relax, but her roommate has sprayed the apartment with a disinf…

The Art of Autism is taking nominations for informative blogs. Here are our nominations so far for favorite all around blog – magazine style. Vote for Best Female Autistic Blogger here. To vote click on who you want to vote for and hit the vote button at the bottom. Disclaimer: This is an info…

Bathrooms can be very dangerous, both to the disabled and the elderly. The smooth surfaces, awkward movements, and generally solitary usage of the bathroom makes it one of the most common areas for accidental falls and injuries to occur, both for the elderly and the disabled. However, given the prev…

Although autism is a behavioral diagnosis, many children with the condition share a physical trait: obesity. For years, the link between autism and obesity was anecdotal. But over the past five years or so, researchers have begun to take a more objective look. A study published 2 November in Pediatr…

The latest study to show that autistic children tend to be overweight suggests that the risk is greatest for those at the severe end of the spectrum1. Autistic children are about 1.6 times as likely as their typical peers to be overweight or obese, the study shows. And autistic children with severe …

In the last few years, we have read quite a bit about how technology has allowed our brain to control devices or objects around us without the use of limbs. (If you haven’t, you can read about some examples here, here, and here). Futurism.com, a great website that posts about how human potenti…

Many women with traits of autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) report having been sexually abused as a child, according to a study of 4,500 people1. It’s unclear why girls with these conditions are at heightened risk of sexual abuse. It may be because girls on the spectrum have …

By Ron Sandison Last week at the Milestones 15th Annual Autism Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, my wife Kristen and I were on a panel with three other couples, discussing, “Love and Marriage on the Spectrum.” During this event, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Fred Volkmar, Professor of Child Psychi…

The announcement this week that the U.S. federal government is changing its policy on the use of human fetal tissue in medical research is designed to please anti-abortion groups that have strongly supported President Donald Trump. But it could jeopardize promising medical research and set back atte…

Brian Be, movement addict / dancer Spoke N Motion Dance.org features him in his solo during their spring show at the Colorado Ballet. Watch “Loss & Joy … a father’s story.” *** FB: BrianBeArts Twitter: BeArtsWellness Email: BeArtsWellness@gmail.com SpecialAcademy.org/…

I became aware today that at Steve’s memorial on August 19, 2017 his family played a video he created on spirituality and special needs. The Art of Autism wanted to share this important video. Steve was a great friend of the Art of Autism. Narrating the video is Steve’s daughter Lizzy …

As parents, we want our kids to want to have good behavior. They should want to behave because it’s the right thing to do, right? Yeah right. This is why all parents should use token economies. Have you met a 3 year old with an innate desire to good for this world? It’s in there somewhere but at age…