Header image: Adhyayan Trehan, Age 9 – Butterfly

The Art of Autism is thrilled with all the children’s submissions in our 7th Annual Art & Poems for Peace initiative. We will be sharing poetry & art throughout the month of September. Last week we shared teen submissions. This post is children age 12 and under. Viewers can see all the submissions here.

Kabir Vernal, Age 10

Kabir is a primarily non-speaking child on the autism spectrum. Kabir loves to play with sticky textures, colors and the process of creating art. His art is inspired by the many different elements and designs he finds in nature.

Adhyayan Trehan, Age 9

Aryan Salimi, Age 6

Shiva Sanjith Vankamamidi, Age 12

Tiger and me

Shiva Sanjith Vankamamidi is a non-speaking child on the autism spectrum. He is 12 years old. He uses an AAC device to express his thoughts. Without any planning, we just started this whole conversation around his favourite animal. It led to some beautiful insights.

Conversation between mom and Sanjith:

Mom- What is your favourite animal?

Sanjith-Tiger

Mom- How many types of tiger are there?

Sanjith- 9

Mom- Which one is biggest?

Sanjith- Siberian tiger is the biggest.There are white tigers.

Mom- Just like tigers, who else can be different?

Sanjith- People

Mom- Where do tigers live?

Sanjith- Tigers live in forest

Mom- And people?

Sanjith- Home. But people are not nice to each other.

Mom- Do you also love water like tiger?

Sanjith- Yes

Mom- Do you see anything common between yourself and tiger?

Sanjith- Yes…I am a mammal and so is tiger. Tiger lives alone. No friends. It has family. I am alone with family and no friends.

Mom- What makes you different from tiger?

Sanjith- Tiger scares; people feel happy when they see Sanjith. Tiger eats animals; Sanjith eats dosa, rice; Tiger is heavier than Sanjith.

Mom- Do you like things that are common or different between you and tiger?

Sanjith- I like common things;

So let’s discuss what else can be common….

Mom- Which tiger is different?

Sanjith- White tiger is different from other tigers.

Mom- What about you?

Sanjith- I am different from others.

Mom- What about others?

Sanjith- Some are old, young, quiet, rich, bad.

Mom- So do you think everyone are different?

Sanjith- Yes

Mom- Is it ok to be different then?

Sanjith- Yes

Mom- How is the feeling of being different from one another?

Sanjith- Happy and excited