Fallbrook artist Joel Anderson, “The Artist of Smiles,” has his dog portraits on display at TERI Campus of Life in San Marcos through October 2026. By Debra Muzikar Last week I had the pleasure to assist Fallbrook artist Joel Anderson in hanging his dog series art outside Teri’s Co…

This list is meant as a springboard for discussion and more awareness into the female experience with autism. By Samantha Craft Females with Autism: An Unofficial List Section A: Deep Thinkers A deep thinker A prolific writer drawn to poetry *Highly intelligent Sees things at multiple levels, incl…

by Daniel Antonsson As long as I can remember I have always walked around in my own little world thinking about my special interests, but for a long time I did not have a word for it, I was not diagnosed until later in life when I was a full grown adult, I felt different and I remember that i questi…

By Carrie Farrar My mind is moving rapidly My thoughts, a reverie Of frantic worries entertained Despite the calm I see. ___________________________ My pencil hits the paper In a quest to understand The ruminations haunting me Obsessions that command. ___________________________ Unwavering attention…

By Nils Skudra This weekend, I had the opportunity to watch Rescued by Ruby, a heartwarming biographical drama about Daniel O’Neil, a Rhode Island State Trooper who adopts Ruby, a hyperactive half-Border Collie, and trains her to be a K9 search and rescue dog. I felt this film was especially compel…

by Christian Berman I’m going through this right now, so it’s painfully fresh in my head. I happen to be out of the house early 3 weeks ago, which is rare for me. It was because I had an early doctors appointment. One I was procrastinating on because of the elevator. I had to go on to get there, bu…

“We are truly blessed to be James’ parents as we learn more about Autism and focus on his needs every day,” Senator Michael Webber By Ron Sandison Michigan State Senator Michael Webber and I went to high school together at Rochester Adams. We both are advocates for the autism community. While runnin…

By Nils Skudra Recently I had the opportunity to watch The Horse Boy, a deeply intriguing and thought-provoking documentary on a couple’s efforts to find an effective source of therapeutic treatment for their young son on the autism spectrum. This documentary, released in 2009, provides a highly com…

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 Ron Sandison In March, my family was interviewed by Netflix for a new reality show Travel on the Spectrum. The show will feature three families who have a family member with autism as they travel to Myrtle Beach for week vacation. Netflix decided to produce the show when they learned that 80% of …

“The buzz from the show opened doors for me to expand my reach, which is extraordinarily gratifying!” Kaelynn Partlow By Ron Sandison I enjoyed watching the Netflix series, Love On the Spectrum and hearing each participants’ story and the challenges they experienced with dating. The show beautif…

By Anastasia O’Melveny American Abolitionist, Civil Rights and Women’s Rights activist Sojourner Truth was born in slavery in 1797 in rural Ulster County, New York. She died in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1883 at the age of 105. She was first separted from her family and sold as a slave a…

This is a Casting Call for autistic actors The Art of Autism received this week. “I’m working on the second season of Love On The Spectrum US, an Emmy-Award winning documentary series on Netflix about dating and relationships featuring people on the autism spectrum. Our aim with the se…

The Art of Autism mourns the loss of Lois Curtis in November 2022. Lois Curtis was an African American artist with intellectual and developmental disabilities and schizophrenia. Curtis paved the way for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to get out of institutional settings and…