This blog post originated from a second reply sent to Myranda Uselton to her Art of Autism post about being a self-diagnosed Autistic. In my first reply to her, I was proud to be self-diagnosed, and in the second, I described why I changed my mind. Debra Muzikar (editor of the Art of Autism blog) as…

Compiled by Art of Autism Board member Keri Bowers “I created this digital piece of Amy Sherald to honor her boldly compelling persona, vision and art. Sherald famously painted Michelle Obama, The Bathers, and Breonna Taylor, among other critical portraits of everyday black identity. I am drawn to h…

“To be loved means first of all to be recognized as existing.” Thich Nhat Hanh By Jill MacCormack What does it mean to love and be loved? I cannot say for certain but I do know that what the great Vietnamese peace activist, poet and mindfulness meditation teacher, the late Thich Nhat Hanh said, th…

Michelle Goering “Let’s just drive over there, okay?” My nineteen-year-old had been trying to find a way to visit his high school. He’d last been there in March of 2020, a senior in his last semester. Looking back at my Google calendar for March 2020, I see nothing special noted on Friday the 13th. …

By Kris McElroy If someone would have asked me to rate my anxiety and excitement on a scale of 1-10 when I found out I was going to be a dad in May of 2020, I would have said, “are you kidding me? I’m like a 25 on excitement and a 50 on anxiety”. Before then I never believed I could be a parent beca…

The Art of Autism kicks off Black History Month 2022 with a poem by Art of Autism board member Angela Weddle. Do you have a poem, art or a blog to share? Email info@artautism.com. My Mother Stands by Angela Weddle My mother stands in front of Robert E. Lee. My mother stands in front of me. My moth…

Spoilers ahead for the Netflix original film Don’t Look Up. by Allison Wall What’s that in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? A planet-destroying comet? Oh. It’s ableism. One of Netflix’s original big movie hits over the 2021 winter holiday season was Don’t Look Up (directed and written by Adam McKay w…

My name is Angel, and this is my autism confession. By Angel Nikki Mann I loved being quarantined. Now before you get upset, please understand that I’m not saying I like Covid. When I first started hearing about “coronavirus,” I, like many people, was alarmed. I had just started working at a child …

The rate of suicide among autistic people is three times higher than the typical population. Autistic females as well as people with additional psychiatric conditions are disproportionately affected. One potential reason for this higher risk may be that autistic females are typically diagnosed and …

“Synesthesia is a gift but it is also a beautiful language that needs its own translation.” Jeremy Sicile-Kira The essay below was written by 17-year old Abigail Delizo for a University of Toronto assignment for a course on Creating Community: Art, Identity and Belonging. Communicatio…

Academy-award nominated My Left Foot (1989) garnered a best actor Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis who portrays author and artist Christy Brown and a best supporting actress Oscar for Brenda Fricker who plays Christy’s mother. By Nils Skudra This week I watched the 1989 film My Left Foot, starring D…

Some things that have helped me with uncertainty and anxiety are below. By Aaron Bouma If you’re like me, an autistic adult that is dealing with anxiety and a strained mind at times, you are far from alone. Does uncertainty give you anxiety? For me, it does. For instance, if there is a militar…

Michael Worthington has over 400 paintings incorporating found heads-up pennies. By Michael Worthington December, 1999. Holiday time in NYC. Unemployed while in the music business, I was walking home one evening when I noticed a fair amount of change on the sidewalks. It caught my attention that in …

Autistic Changeling By Dana Trick Once upon a time, A child was born to a family. At first, they were overjoyed with the child, But when they’d exhibited strange behaviors that don’t belong to other children, When they’d showed passionate interest and knowledge of strange things, When they’d acted …