“Life and death, energy and peace. If I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes that I made and would have unmade if I could. The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it, for having been allowed to walk where I’ve walked, which was to hell on E…

By Leanne Libas There are two different categories that people fall into: those who make New Year’s resolutions and those who don’t. Do I believe in resolutions? Yes, just as long as they are reasonable and attainable. The problem I usually encounter with New Year’s resolutions is how I utterly fail…

By Debra Muzikar 2016 is starting out to be a very good year. Last week I received  the most comprehensive and practical book for those working with young adults with autism or learning differences aged 16 – 26. The book is called “Autism and Learning Differences: An Active Learning Teac…

“There’s this one thing a friend of the Dalai Lama said after being tortured and imprisoned: to solve his imprisonment, he had compassion for his torturers, not anger, but compassion. Replace anger with compassion and you get a happier person,” Ben By Nancy Lea Speer It is said that if a Great B…

Many therapies with the intent to cure are dangerous to our health. We are not science experiments. We are human beings. We are your children. By Jocelyn Eastman Part 3 in a 3-part series Part 1 – I am Standing Right Here – Don’t Speak for Me Part 2 – I am Standing Right Here…

We want to be on the same page because we don’t want your children to be another statistic. By Jocelyn Eastman Part 2 in a 3-Part Series Part 1 – I am standing right here  – Don’ Speak for Me TW/CW: Violence and abuse in multiple forms, murder of disabled and autistic person…

Being autistic is not about living in a vacuum, sucking in everything around you, living in an existence shutout from your environment. If anything, the environment becomes more real, more painful, more evident. By Jocelyn Eastman Part 1 in a 3-Part Series TW/CW: Upsetting dialogue, discussion of p…

Update 1/18/2016 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’ll add it to the list. 1. “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” Dr. Stephen…

By Leanne Libas “If my child was autistic, I would say to them them: ‘Baby, it’s going to be okay. There’s nothing wrong with you,'”Leanne Libas As I look back at the blogs I’ve written for The Art of Autism, I started wondering what should I write for the last month of the year. Then, I…

By Debra Muzikar “The only thing that is constant is change,” a wise man once said. 2015 was a year of intense change. From the book Neurotribes, the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, to the shake-up at Autism Speaks, 2015 has been a wild ride in the autism community. It…

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Clarina. It was Christmas time .She decorated the Christmas tree. So, Clairina thought that Santa Claus will give a present for her. ’’I wish I want a present for me’’ Clairina said. So she took a pencil and paper to write a wonderful letter for Santa. ”I w…

You like to categorize things into ‘it is’ or ‘it is not’. It helps you keep track of the world around you, but I have to tell you are going about it the wrong way. This is not a world of binaries. Certainly some binaries do exist, but this is largely a world of spectra- vibrant, living, breathing, …

Autistic people are chronically targets of bullying, discrimination, ableism, domestic violence and time and time again are being murdered by the people who are supposed to take care of them. If a person has the ability to avoid all of that by hiding what makes them appear to be autistic, I think t…

Jenny Palmiotto writes a letter from her future self to herself in 2015 Dear Jenny of 2015, When letters start off this way, it is usually to reflect on our past selves. These letters are filled with wisdom from the passage of time and the knowledge that ‘everything is going to be okay.’ This is not…