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…

Autism self-advocacy is an art form aimed at accentuating the beauty found in our humanity. Autism awareness and acceptance should be about expanding people’s exposure to the life of autistic people. That can’t be done with statistics; it can only be done with stories and story telling is an art. B…

By Keri Bowers and Debra Muzikar As part of the Art of Autism California Road Trip in May, The Art of Autism honored people who are unsung heroes in California. As we traveled up and down the state we had the opportunity to stop at people’s homes and their businesses. This is a five-part blog …

…in our daily communication with patients and families, how often do we, as physicians, inadvertently promote negative stereotypes, diminish our patients’ self-worth, or portray them as broken individuals or burdens to others? Christina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, parent When, at age 3, my son rec…

By Parasuram Ramamoorthi, Ph.D. To understand role play means you know the difference between natural behavior and acting behavior. In the case of young adults with ASD, we teach acting behavior through role playing, and through this we teach what is socially acceptable natural behavior. Western the…

Update 5/25/2016 I’m collecting favorite quotes about autism from some of my favorite people. Please share your own in the comments and if I like it, I may add it to the list. 1. “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” Dr. Stephen Shor…

A tribute to Remo Belli who made the “heart drum.” By James Billington, Hidden Wings The drum is tuned to approximate the frequency of the heart. As you drum closer to the center of these wide circular table drums you come closer to the common frequency of the heartbeat. The note is c#. …

By Debra Muzikar We were honored that people came from miles away for yesterday’s screening of the new film Normal People Scare Me Too a film about autism at Plaza Cinema 14 in Oxnard, California. As people came into the theater, Susan Sheller captured the mood with a Bob Dylan song. She spot…

By Rebecca Burgess *** Rebecca Burgess is a freelance comic artist and illustrator living in the UK. She has an interest in history and folk songs that runs through alot of her work. Her obsession with comics runs into her spare time, where she draws two webcomics! Rebecca also likes to pla…

“I know of nobody who is purely autistic, or purely neurotypical. Even God has some autistic moments, which is why the planets spin,” Jerry Newport, author of Your Life is Not a Label By Ron Sandison Every person experiences fear and anxiety. It’s part what makes us human. Sensory issues…

By Claudia Casser Context I’m not a joiner. People exhaust me. One on one, I enjoy short interactions, but then I need to get away into a book. So I don’t voluntarily join groups unless they are my only way to a goal. On the other hand, I have a compulsion to “help out” when someone brings a problem…

By Ron Sandison Stephen Mark Shore said, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Every person who has autism is unique in his or her own ways. When I was eight years old I was diagnosed with autism. The educational specialists and doctors warned my parents that I w…

by Debra Muzikar Editor’s Note: Normal People Scare Me Too is available for purchase on NormalFilms website. It was released this week. We will be screening this film on the Art of Autism’s California Road Trip in May. James Jagow’s created the musical score for the trailer. It&#…

Suggestions on participation in theater productions By Parasuram Ramamoorthi, Ph.D. Drama therapy can benefit autistic children and adults. Drama helps the individual to realize his/her potential through acting out roles and engaging in creative play. Behavioral issues such as hand flapping, rockin…