By Tina Fletcher The hallmarks of the holiday season — holiday twinkle lights, carolers, the aroma of a large home-cooked meal — can be an overwhelming experience for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. As families with children on the autism spectrum plan their holidays, here are so…

“As he was telling me how cold and hungry he was, I watched as he was unable to control his hands. It was like he was playing an invisible piano…He kept staring off and would occasionally look in my direction but never at me…” My Broken Heart: The Story of The Bare-Handed Ma…

Update 12/10/2016 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 Sho…

Matt Asner speaks to the Art of Autism about his move from Autism Speaks to Autism Society of America, his family and his vision for the future. By Debra Muzikar You are immersed in autism. How many children do you have and what ages are the ones on the autism spectrum? I have six kids. We are a bl…

By The Silent Wave When searching for traits, characteristics, or symptoms of Asperger’s (and the rest of the autism spectrum, to an extent) online, the first–and the majority of–information you’ll probably find focuses on the negative aspects, at least as perceived by the “official sources” and “ex…

Disability Rights are Human Rights The United Nations has proclaimed December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Today there are over 7 billion people on the planet. 15 percent of those people have a disability which makes over 1 billion people with disabilities. According to t…

There is a stigma associated with the lack of eye contact in communication. We are seen as rude and/or disinterested. I find it incredibly difficult to make eye contact for a few reasons. I’m hypersensitive to sight, sound, taste and touch which affects my communication greatly as I find it very dis…

A Christmas Tale about the gift of music by Lori Jagow From my small apartment, the tune of “Good King Wenceslas” blared from my son’s shiny brass trumpet. My eight year old son, Jimmy, practiced for his first Christmas concert in the school orchestra. Jimmy is autistic and his music teacher recomme…

By Debra Muzikar I write this blog on the eve of my son Kevin’s 22nd birthday. For typical children there are certain ages that are milestones – age 5 – first day of Kindergarten – age 16 – driver’s license – age 18 – graduation from high school. This is no different for childre…

…young children do not necessarily perceive disability in negative terms. Instead they are curious and welcoming of differences. By Dr. Barbara Gibson, University of Toronto A colleague of mine, Crystal Chin, is a young woman with cerebral palsy who now uses a wheelchair for mobility. Crystal …

By Tom Clements As a teen, when most of my schoolmates were out exploring the world of dating and relationships, I remained the inveterate oddball, choosing instead to indulge my special interest in maps and to engage in the sort of activities that had as little to do with physical intimacy as possi…

By Debra Muzikar As I write this blog, there is a video that has gone viral with a hashtag #StoptheBullying showing images of a ten-year old child (who happens to be Donald Trump’s child Barron) making a case that the child is autistic. This last week Rosie O’Donnell added to the specula…

It’s a myth people with autism don’t have a sense of humor. Matt Kaiser proves the stereotype wrong. By Matt Kaiser My name is Matt Kaiser. I am 42 years old and am on the autism spectrum. For the last 10 years, I’ve been a performing stand-up, improvisation, prop routines, clowning and …

Sundays are special at Autistry. The workshop combines older teenagers, generally juniors or seniors in high school, with some of our college age students (Friday guys). When not studying for their college classes, the older students help the others with their projects and often join in LARP (Live…