By Taylor Cross Something you should ask yourself before continuing on with the rest of this article is “Why do people in general play video games?”  With that, I would tease “Why do people go the movies?” or “Why do people read horrible gossip magazines?” It’…

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The Art of Autism is posting personal stories of how people on the autism spectrum overcame bullying or abusive situations. By Christian D. Espicha According to the a survey by the National Autistic Society in the U.K. , half of autistic adults are abus…

TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors. by W.E.Powers A seven-year-old girl sits in her tree house mending a Barbie who has just suffered catastrophic injuries. Plastic army men, following the orders of her two young…

By Baylie Nixon Since my first post to “The Art of Autism,” I was requested to write another article about how I was diagnosed and how I found out roughly a decade later of said diagnosis. In my last entry, I mentioned I was diagnosed as a toddler, but found out about my diagnosis when I was a teena…

If you’ve met one person who is a runner, you’ve met one person who is a runner. By Tracey Cohen Without a doubt, running, like autism, can be full of challenge, even painful at times. But the willingness to embrace difficulty is giving oneself the opportunity to flourish, to live a fulf…

By Tom Iland I received some questions this morning from a mother whose son with autism didn’t want to be called “high-functioning” and suggested she use another term. She asked me if I’ve ever felt this way – is it possible many kids feel this way and we don’t know it? and what other terms ca…

By Tracey Cohen I always knew I was different but never understood why.  I aimed to please, but the world was too fast, noisy, unpredictable and innately counter-intuitive. Yet I was told by family and professionals in more ways than one that I was wrong – I was the problem. And I was told that…

“you get line dancing, you get the dance trains going on, you get party circles happening, dance-offs, air guitar  …” By Austin John Jones This blog post is all about fun and releasing excess energy. This time I am going to talk about what I like to call “Random Public Dance P…

By Pamela Urfer As I posted on this blog a few weeks ago, (“I never thought of myself as weird”), I spent my childhood reading every book I could get my hands on. As a result, I became a writer. My books are odd, as I am myself. One woman, reading my short stories, exclaimed, “You have a very strang…

“Tell me I can’t so I can show you that I can,” Armani Williams By Ron Sandison What were your greatest challenges having autism? I feel like my greatest challenges of having autism is the communication and social interaction. All my life I have been dealing with issues growing up but I hav…

Since autism has no physical manifestation it’s hard to know that this child in the middle of a meltdown is autistic. By Tulika Prasad A few days back while I was browsing the aisles of a store my nine-year-old son brushed against another customer. I was hoping it wouldn’t be a big deal but sh…

In 2017, the Social Stories Spectrum Project provided a structured opportunity for high-functioning verbal young adults (ages 18-25) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to meet up with their peers and practice social skills, participate in organized trips to seven museums in Balboa Park, and work…

By Alex Frank My sister Mia, who is now 24 years old, was at a crossroads before being employed at Popcorn for the People. Most people who are autistic or have special needs struggle intensely to find some form of employment. In fact, the unemployment rate for adults with disabilities in America is …

Wendy describes the challenges for someone on the autism spectrum for what many would call a simple outing. By Wendi E. Powers Going out in public is always an adventure for those of us on the autism spectrum.  While I can’t speak for the others, I can share a personal example.  Just…