An Irish girl on the autism spectrum has given the world a gift with her version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Kayleigh Rodgers, a 10-year-old, who gave this knockout performance at Killard House School, a special needs school, in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland. Leonard Cohen died in November.…

“My autism inspires me to see Beauty and gives me the will to Dream,” Anthony LaRocca By Debra Muzikar Anthony LaRocca, 29, started drawing dinosaurs when he was only 4 years old. Anthony still loves dinosaurs and art has become one of his lifelong passions. He paints every day often working o…

Interviews with Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke of Social Thinking® for the upcoming film, A Sound Paradigm By Keri Bowers “Based on how we process the world ~ is how we relate to the world,”  Michelle Garcia Winner Last May during our Art of Autism Hearts & Arts journey up the C…

In his December 13, 2016 Forbes blog post Michael Bernick, former California labor department director gives a good overview of the employment situation for those on the autism spectrum. At Autistry we have been working on employment for our students for many years and know how difficult it is to fi…

Update 12/12/2016 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…

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…

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…

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…