By Dan L. Edmunds, PH.D. They said to persevere. I began to perseverate. They discouraged me. Be joyful they said. I flapped my hands with a joyful feeling. Not like that they said. They used a lot of words whereas I had not many. They said I needed to speak like them and when I did they said it was…

“Growing up as an autism sibling was not easy and there was a lot of things I never understood, but as an adult I’ve learned how to find gratitude for the journey.” Natalie Castro By Ron Sandison Autism and sensory issues makes living space important to me. Home is a place for me to decompress and r…

By Nils Skudra As a Civil War historian, I have always been fascinated by the various personalities on both sides that played a pivotal role in shaping the course of the conflict. One of the most enigmatic of these figures is Jefferson Davis, who served as the Confederacy’s president throughout the …

“Whether you enjoy the event or not, the social hangover is inevitable” By Catherine Londero I am Autistic, have ADHD, and I enjoy social events. There is a common misconception that Autistic people avoid social events because we don’t enjoy them. What I don’t enjoy is the impact on my mind and body…

This April was the seventh anniversary of my becoming a national speaker and author. For Autism Acceptance Month, I decided to reflect back on my journey with autism and the lessons I’ve learned and the hardship I’ve endured. By Ron Sandison Every milestone and major event in my life took me longer…

Maybe I’m wrong, but I personally don’t think God would’ve made such cool things in life or given us the capacity to think, create and have fun if none of it was allowed. By Miya Sae Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard one of these in church: • “Oh, you’re struggling with X, Y, Z and it’s not going…

The Art of Autism is collecting favorite quotes about autism from some of our favorite bloggers. Please share your own in the comments below. “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” – Dr. Stephen Shore. “What would happen if the…

Yes, a spoonful of sugar does help the medicine go down, but there is a fine line between medicine and a sugar pill. By Anton Spivack When I saw this video on Youtube about how to choose a high school musical, one commenter listed a set of guidelines. One of which rang particularly true: “it has t…

Areva Martin is an award-winning attorney, best-selling author, legal commentator, talk show host, and a critical voice for social justice. By Ron Sandison Areva Martin has a son Marty who has autism. I interviewed Areva Martin for Black History Month because her advocacy for Marty reminded me of m…

I feel tired, numb and tense. My head hurts and everything seems too much. By now I recognise these symptoms: I have stress! But what exactly is stress, how does it differ from healthy excitement and how can you make yourself resilient to stress? In this blog, I explain what I think stress is. I als…

As we close out 2021, The Art of Autism would like to acknowledge our 2021 top blog posts. All of them were older blog posts yet still get a lot of traction because of search engine ranking. We are grateful to the many people who submit to our website. #1 Samantha Crafts: Female and Autism / Asp…

Reflections on my experience with accessibility in an apprenticeship theatre program at Williamstown By Anton Spivack In 2009, one of my writing mentors suggested I apply for a scholarship through VSA, which every year allows two to four disabled actors to attend the Williamstown Theatre Festival Ap…

“Synesthesia is a gift but it is also a beautiful language that needs its own translation.” Jeremy Sicile-Kira The essay below was written by 17-year old Abigail Delizo for a University of Toronto assignment for a course on Creating Community: Art, Identity and Belonging. Communicatio…

By Steve Staniek We had retired from the constant noise of the big city to a quiet place in the country we called High Reach, where we learned that we were to become grandparents for the first time. Our son’s growing family would need more space during weekend visits, and it was time to finish the …