Art as a Language for Autism: Building Effective Therapeutic Relationships with Children and Adolescents (2023) Jane Ferris Richardson By Connie Gretsch MA Art Therapy, M Ed Art Integration, SLBP Special Education, Expressive Art and Special Educator Jane Ferris Richardson is an art therapist, play…

“Autism has truly become my superpower throughout life.” Britini D’Angelo By Ron Sandison Britini D’Angelo (Niagara Falls, NY), is a teacher, dance instructor, a fourth degree black belt in the Chuck Norris System, and was recently a contestant on Big Brother 23 (CBS). Britini overcame m…

“Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible.  High pitched notes make me feel like I could go  crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” By Jeremy Sicile-Kira Music makes my life feel normal sometimes because…

Kerry Fenster talks about music and his program Songs About Us Music is the ultimate entity in any context. It’s a universal language, like math, or love – understood, beloved, treasured, played, performed, and enjoyed across every piece of this world. People in love have “their song”, armies have…

When we engage in the creation of our own art forms, we receive big benefits to our minds, both physically and mentally. When we produce art with our own hands, there is increased neural connectivity in the area of the brain that deals with introspection, memory, and self-monitoring. by Caileigh Fl…

New treatments, such as art therapy, are emerging to meet the pervasive challenges autism presents. Many parents look to art to help their child with sensory processing disorder (SPD) issues.. by Kate Lacour, ATR-BC In recent years, autism has been featured frequently in the news, and it seems that …

By Leigh Marcos, photos courtesy of Keri Bowers Art projects are recognized as effective forms of therapy to help kids who have a diagnosis of autism or other learning disabilities. The American Art Therapy Association and the British Association for Art Therapists recognize that art therapy fosters…

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…

My hope is that this blog serves as a cautionary tale to other young helping professionals that come in to the autism field. I hope that others may avoid some of these early career inadequacies because they affect real people. By Jenny Palmiotto Everyone has had those moments where they look back …

If all we do is try to shape the child’s behavior “from the outside”, utilizing techniques such as verbal commands, token reinforcements, intellectual validations and extinctions (“do you “understand me?”) and fail to “see” how and where in the psyche and physical body they experience stimuli and ex…

By Leanne Libas There are two different categories that people fall into: those who make New Year’s resolutions and those who don’t. Do I believe in resolutions? Yes, just as long as they are reasonable and attainable. The problem I usually encounter with New Year’s resolutions is how I utterly fail…