“Vibrant waves of sequenced patterns emerged in my head whenever I looked at musical notes and scores. Like pieces of a mysterious puzzle solved, it was natural for me to see music and its many facets as pictures in my head. It never occurred to me that others couldn’t see what I saw.” By Stephen S…

Ten tips that can help parents, teachers and caregivers By Samantha Craft Thinking about three autistics, my middle son (age 17), my adult partner, and myself, the following things assist us: 1.Having things out in the open When items are out in the open and I can see them and know there is ‘enoug…

Update 6/16/2016 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…

By Katherine Lockhead That day was overwhelming for me. I woke up that morning, feeling excited and ready for the event that every student looks forward to from Grade 1. I called salons to get my hair and makeup done. It came as a shock to me that most of these places did not have any slots availabl…

“There is this myth that children with autism don’t have empathy. I’ve found the exact opposite to be true: children with autism are instead the most highly sensitive individuals I have ever had the privilege to know,” Elaine Hall When traditional therapies didn’t help my son Neal, who …

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 the second of a t…

“It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of the village” - Coach Elaine Hall. 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…

By Paul Gomez My name is Paul. This is a list of my disabilities with their corresponding percentage issue of said disabilities: 1) – Non-Indepedent 32% 2) – Anti-social 36% 3) – Emotionally Sensitive 78% 4) – Discouraged 69% 5) – Distracted/Zones Out 67% 6) – Tem…

Autism comic strip by autistic artist Carissa P. depicts “Baby Talk” by Debra Muzikar A couple weeks ago my Facebook friend Stefanie shared with me this audio clip she recorded on her I-phone. Stefanie just turned 49. In the audio clip you can hear her neighbor (who has known her since …

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…