By Ron Sandison I felt a sense of nostalgia watching the video of Joey Hicks, a thirty-year-old, nonspeaking adult with autism, soothing to the music of the Grateful Dead at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington. In the TikTok video that went viral, Joey is rocking-back-and-forth absorbed in the mus…

by Joel Ashton-Fogle Waiting Room 1 Arriving in a state. Heart racing. Bracing self and pacing, chasing, facing wait with weight Afraid of light. Afraid of sound. Each breath exploding, foreboding Eroding ground Concrete ejection seat Might hurl me into obsolete. Confiscation, condemnation, Where is…

Last year, jazz composer and musician Justin Morell contacted the Art of Autism about his project All Without Words. Justin had composed jazz music that was inspired by his autistic son Loren. He wanted some artists to listen to the music and create a piece of art based on their experience of his …

Is it break-up, make-up or wake-up? by Joel Ashton-Fogle Love is confusing at the best of times. This accounts for the huge industry of self-help books, relationship counsellors and literature written over the centuries. Love seems to be an enigma to even the most typical neurotypical. How do we fin…

By Joel Ashton-Fogle Duel Diagnosis No, this is not a miss-spelling! For every day is a battle; a combat between symptoms, treatments for them, side-effects of the treatments and subsequent treatments to alleviate the side-effects, leading to more side-effects and more treatments. And so it goes o…

Leaders spoke who listened to their hearts, their intuition, and to the children. These bold parents and professionals radically and gently attuned to the truth of the children and saw them differently. By Marisa Leon I arrived an hour early both days to the Mozart and the Mind symposium in San Dieg…

Practice makes perfect. This adage applies to artist Joel Anderson.A highlight of the Mozart & The Mind Symposium June 1 in San Diego was seeing Temple Grandin emerge on canvas before our eyes. It looks effortless but Joel Anderson has been honing his Temple Grandin portrait skills for months …

Greetings everyone! My name is Stephen Gaiber. Today I am going to talk about autism and employment. Let me first introduce myself. I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when I was 3 years old. Despite my autism, I have maintained independence by graduating college, working for over 12 years, l…

Cash prizes are provided by the Joe Mantegna Family The Art of Autism is seeking art with the themes of Inclusion, Disability, Education, and Acceptance for display at the 43rd Annual Disability Rights Legal Center FDR Dinner September 15, 2018. Submissions are to be sent to info@artautism.com by Au…

Normal People Scare Me is playing on Netflix and available for purchase on the Normal Films website By Nils Skudra On a recent occasion I had the opportunity to watch the 2006 documentary “Normal People Scare Me,” directed by teenage filmmaker Taylor Cross and his mother Keri Bowers (who happens to …

An interview with Joe Biel, founder of Microcosm Publishing, and author of “Good Trouble: Building a Successful Life & Business with Asperger’s” What age were you when you were diagnosed with Aspergers? I was 32 when I was ​first ​diagnosed​ with 99% certainty and I was 37 whe…

“Food and art brings us together,” Covina Mayor Jorge Marquez By Debra Muzikar Covina Councilman John King and Mayor Marquez The Art of Autism is honored to be a participating group in an exhibit titled Essence: An Exhibit by Exceptional Artists held at the H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Cu…

This next art challenge needs no introduction – artist+ mentor Joel Anderson shows kids everything they need to know in his AWESOME stop animation video. Love his work and the way he communicates. If you haven’t yet signed your kids up for the Mentorship Project, not worry! You can still sign…

by Debra Muzikar Editor’s Note: Normal People Scare Me Too is available for purchase on the NormalFilms website. The next screening of Normal People Scare Me Too will be on August 13 in Los Angeles. View the Channel 17 news (NBC) in Bakersfield for the screening at Inclusion Films.   It’…