How does it make you feel to know you are different from others? By Austin John Jones You ever feel like a black sheep in a flock of regular sheep? You ever feel like a zebra in a group of horses? You ever feel like you know you are the same as everyone else, but you just still feel different from e…

Into Your (Joe’s) World by Michael C. Kregler As a composer, I’ve always tried to follow this self-imposed advice: in order to create authentic and convincing music, be sure to a) study great composers, and b) write within your own experience. The latter would become especially significant when, in …

Why I paint and share rocks and shells I have hand-painted By Denise Angele Some people think rock painting is silly; some have criticized it as graffiti; some just collect some of the wonderful art of others; some play the game and rehide, some are given as gifts. Rocks are not really damaged, even…

“Maybe if I can skydive, I might someday feel secure enough and steady enough to sit in conversations with people and not play on my phone. “ By Austin John Jones Do you ever get that feeling that you think you might want something, but you aren’t exactly sure? Like you can’t make …

“Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible.  High pitched notes make me feel like I could go  crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” By Jeremy Sicile-Kira Music makes my life feel normal sometimes because…

An interview with Stuart Duncan, creator of the computer game Autcraft, a safe alternative to Minecraft By Stephanie King Stuart Duncan has given the community something to talk about, Autcraft, a Minecraft server with special admins and rules designed with children on the spectrum in mind. I wasn’t…

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The Art of Autism is focusing on blogs of those who have a dual-diagnosis. By Jacqueline Lee At the beginning of January, I started two government internships concurrently. The first internship was a paid one which essentially laid me off once they were done – w…

“Rather than healing our child of his developmental disability, God healed me of my spiritual disability,” Diane Dokko, author of Unbroken Faith: Spiritual Recovery for the Special Needs Parents By Ron Sandison Diane Dokko Kim felt devastated when her son Jeremy at 18 months was diagnos…

By Austin John Jones Last time I talked about an “Over-Fascination with Certain Subjects That Everyone Else Thinks Are Dumb Or Pointless.” Another thing like that is when you do things over and over again. A lot. Getting up in the morning, taking your medication, listening to the same song over and…

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 …

   Tim Cook,  CEO of Apple, had dinner with the President last night. He also had a meeting with the President today. Yet #AutismAcceptance is at the top of his twitter feed! “Think as creatively as possible and then just go for it!” Stunning work, Ronaldo and @ArtAutism! …

Anne Torsiglieri’s "A" Train, at PlayMakers Repertory Company on April 25-29. BOX OFFICE: 919-962-PLAY, prcboxoffice@unc.edu, or https://tickets.playmakersrep.org/ The backdrop to the play was formed of art work of Art of Autism artists – curated by Keri Bowers by Shelly Leachman What a ride f…

Update 4/24/2018 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 Austin John Jones Austin: “Alright everybody, time to feel excited! And I mean, REALLY EXCITED!” Audience: “About what Austin?!” Austin: “About WHAAAALES!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAALES!!!!!” Audience: “Uh…what?” Have you ever been in this situation? Have you ever felt like you were talking an alien lang…