Painting a Portrait of Art Therapy and Autism

Thesis Statement

Autism is indeed a mystery. Heated debates emerge across every single city in this nation and around the world each and every day. Doctors, scientists, researchers, educators, and parents argue ideas about various causes and genetic predispositions. One thing for certain is that nobody has found the proverbial needle in the haystack or missing puzzle piece to cure this enigma. Educators have discovered that certain therapies have been proven immeasurable in success with the treatment of autism. Art therapy is one of the most valuable treatments utilized. In this blog I will explore the various techniques and therapies broadly used with art therapy to awaken and stimulate the importance of communication and expression in children and adults with autism. 

Introduction

Autism is a very mysterious 

neurological disorder which 

generally rears its ugly head in  toddlers at the ages of about 1 ½ to 

2 ½ years of age. This genetic 

disorder most commonly disrupts 

a child’s learning cognition, 

communication skills, social interaction, occupational abilities, gastrointestinal functions, and ability to retain learned information. Many children diagnosed with autism often develop seizure conditions, which in turn, affects the child’s ability to learn and concentrate on activities. Kids will often become intensely frustrated and act out by crying, screaming, throwing themselves on the floor, or even banging their heads off of walls. Many just become completely disheartened, give up, and shut down all together, or resort to becoming anti social and non verbal. 

 

With the rise in autism diagnoses rates, this issue has been brought right to the forefront of American and global consciousness. Almost  everybody these days either has a child or knows of somebody with a child afflicted with this perplexing disorder. The cost of treating children and adults with this condition is continuing to skyrocket every year and therefore cannot be ignored. The current national annual totals for treating autism are estimated at about 90 billion dollars. These numbers are projected to increase as high as 200 to 400 billion in 10 years.  Art therapy is a highly effective and fairly inexpensive avenue for the treatment of autism. With such cost effective treatments as traditional early intervention and art therapy, these staggering projections could be lessened by 2/3 percent (Art-therapy, 2012). This topic is incredibly important to me because, for starters, my love of art, but more importantly I have three children on the autism spectrum, and I am always looking for new therapies and treatments. I feel it is also very important to communicate and share what I know; this knowledge could possibly help somebody in need. I most  definitely feel it is my duty and honor to get the word out.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, is published by the American Psychiatric Association and is essentially the standard “go-to” guide for professionals to make diagnoses and evaluate patient conditions according to strict guidelines and detailed psychiatric behavioral criteria. Under the current guidelines as of the last revision in 1994, a child must display six or more behaviors from three different categories such as: limited social interaction, impairments in conveying one's own feelings such as facial expressions, eye contact, and the body language, inability to share activities and interests or lack of pointing out or presenting objects. Other behaviors which fall under the current guidelines include lack of or delayed communication skills or flat-out refusal, inability to sustain conversation, repetitive or echolalia language or “scripting”, failure to play at a proper developmental age level, lack of imaginative play, repetitive behaviors, preoccupation with restricted activities, adhering to strict routines or ritualistic behavior, repetitive motor behaviors, preoccupation with minute or nondescriptive parts or components of objects (Autreat, 2012).

 

Because of this drastic surge in debilitating and obstructive autistic- like behaviors, many folks wish to add to the specifications of the existing criteria. The autism community has been at odds and embattled in heated argument over the new changes set to occur in the fifth edition of the DSM, scheduled to be published in 2013. It has not been revised in 19 years. Some parents and professionals feel that criteria may not be clear enough and that some children will potentially become overlooked and not receive services. The fifth edition would basically lump many behaviors under one large “umbrella” of autistic spectrum disorders. Personally, I feel that this is an extremely positive proposal. Children with behaviors such as Asperger’s, PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), and the newly created “Social Communication Disorder” will be placed under the new umbrella of diagnoses. The creation of these new categories are important because children diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Not Otherwise Specified); with speech delays and poor communication skills, will more than likely be placed within these guidelines as opposed to potentially falling through the cracks (Brigham, 2012). What I have personally observed is that autistic children are incredibly intelligent and always choose the path of least resistance. Parents more often choose to appease their children to escape or avoid the terrible shrill of what looks to be a torturous tantrum. These kids actually appear as if they are in severe pain. They can also turn it off and on like a light switch. This may sound cruel to an uneducated bystander or onlooker but tough love is one of the only remedies to this sort of situation. 

Traditional Art Therapies

Traditional art therapies are utilized to

help the patient essentially emerge out of their shell. A

qualified art therapist needs to  have extensive

schooling and a post master’s degree and training.

Denise's children at school

Art therapy helps those in need on many different levels such as communication, social skills, developing a sense of self, and

dealing with sensory integration issues (Betts, 2012). Many autistic children have the ability to speak but choose not to due to their lack of, or understanding of communication skills and social nuances. Some simply need therapy to open a pathway to an underdeveloped part of the brain. Art is a wonderful medium to help foster the development of a more direct level of communication and help to organize effective thought processes (Betts, 2012). 

A very popular method in general, when dealing with children or adults on the spectrum is to sort of mimicor mirror their actions or styles of art expression. A therapist can copy the way they finger paint, play with sand, or sculpt with play dough perhaps. When the patient sees that the therapist is copying them, it essentially enables and encourages them to open up and let that person into their world. This is an extremely effective mode of therapy; I have seen it work with my own eyes when utilizing this method with my own children. It’s sort of like a light bulb going off in their heads, or they see it as the therapist speaking their native language. When the child is more comfortable, and develops a stronger attachment to the therapist, there is a much greater chance of effective and more meaningful communication (Henley, 2001). These types of therapies are known for their ability to calm and soothe patients, which in turn facilities communication and social skills. 

Sophie  and Marge K

I recently had an interview with expert Marge K, Certified Special Education Instructor, about the benefits in treating autistic children with art therapy. Mrs. K has had over 17 years in teaching autistic and special needs children at ___ __ _____ in C, Pennsylvania, and now serves as an instructor at M School in B, PA. Marge has used art therapy techniques on a daily basis and feels the correlation between self expression with autistic children is immeasurable. She states that art therapy is indeed invaluable in helping develop self-expression, interpersonal skills, managing behaviors, increased self-esteem, and self awareness which is the cornerstone for relating to others (K, 2012). One classic symptom of autism is difficulty with verbal and social communication. Art therapy helps to improve the ability to imagine and think symbolically, she states. It also improves their ability to recognize and respond to facial expressions, and manage sensory issues and fine motor skills. Since many autistic children show signs of the disorder at age 2 1/2, The Early Learning Institute has children enrolled from the ages of 3 to 5 years. Many five-year-olds continue on to a regular or mainstreamed kindergarten class with the help of an aid. Early intervention is key. 

When giving examples of what Marge has used quite frequently over the years, I will say that painting and sculpting are definitely in the forefront. Finger-painting is a very popular activity. Autistic children will often scream, cry, and the tantrum because they have no other means to communicate their frustration. Fingerpainting can help with that because the children love to get right down into the paint, rub it in, swoosh it around, and let out their frustrations. It is a wonderful medium which helps with sensory issues. Painting with watercolors tends to be an incredibly relaxing activity. Working with clay, putty, or Play-Doh, can also be very relaxing; it can be immensely therapeutic with anger and frustration issues as well. The children love to pound and rip apart the clay and Play-Doh. The children also love to use cookie cutters to make shapes to receive instant gratification; as waiting for anything patiently is often a great challenge in typical children, it is an even greater challenge to children with autism. Drawing with chalk on the outside pavement is always a hit because these children love the feel of chalk in their hand and how it addresses sensory issues by going over bumpy surfaces. She has mentioned how fun and effective the use of puppets has been over the years. She will actually make the puppet teach the children how to paint. This tends to work very well because many autistic children have severe problems with basic human interaction and direct eye contact (K, 2012). Marge K has worked intensively with my children over the years. She has done a phenomenal job. The difference in every single one of them, since they began early intervention, is truly night and day. I can remember several years ago observing some of the activity in those classes and sensing an aura of calm and collectiveness, a stark contrast to a normal or typical day at

home or in public, which would usually consist of chaos and tantrums. Mrs. K also mentions how much fun she has had over the years using shaving cream as an art medium. She says that the children love smooshing around in the texture, drawing little pictures with their fingers, and practicing writing their ABCs and 123's. Shaving cream is great because cleanup is a snap.

Cassie T, Kathy M, Sophie, Graham, and Nate

 Kathy M is a behavioral specialist consultant (BSC) and currently works for S Human Services in Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania.  She has earned an MA in psychology and has worked with autistic children for over 20 years. She undoubtedly feels that art therapy helps autistic children with expressing feelings and coping with sensory integration issues. Kathy has recognized that art therapy for autistic children is an essential, valuable, and an integral part of a client’s treatment plan. She had noted that she worked with a 12-year-old autistic boy whose favorite activity was participating in painting classes. She says he feels like he can truly fit in without actually having to speak to a lot of people. For Kathy, art therapy sessions are a daily refuge in a relaxing, yet educational reprieve from a child's often difficult, frustrating, and demanding school activities. A typical school day can often pose a great challenge for autistic children. Not only do they frequently struggle with academics, but they most certainly stress over awkward and challenging social interaction, changes in routine, communicating on a normal developmental level with peers, or simply retaining focus to stay on task. A typical day at school can be downright draining.  As of right now, my daughter is seven. She will literally run away from children who try to engage her in conversation. I can see the relief come across her face when she enters through the front door after school. Exhausted, she either melts into her surroundings or will often go up to her bedroom to take a nap. We have our work cut out for us, but she has come a long way! I cannot complain. Kathy has a special ability to gather the kids around the dining room table and have them readily participate in an art project. Whether it is painting with watercolors or acrylics on paper or ceramic, cutting out shapes to form collages, using magnetic images to form storytelling scenes, or simply using crayons to color in a picture; the result is usually peace, content and a quiet calm. 

Ken O

It is no secret that it is notoriously difficult and takes a lot of effort, encouragement or simply practice to have an autistic child engage, without disruption in a “non-preferred” activity (Meuller, 2012). Art therapy usually does the trick. My son will attend to such an activity in peace without the need for stimming or making loud verbal repetitive noises. He stims quite frequently as a means of self soothing, and escaping or sometimes taking in and deciphering intense stimuli. Kathy and her team of TSS therapists, Ken O and Cassie T have indeed become an extension of our family. I cannot even begin to measure the love and support we have so gratefully received over the years! 

                                                       New Technology   

The iPad is now being deemed as a miracle therapy for those suffering with autism. This breakthrough treatment was just featured in a recent segment of 60 minutes

(CBS News, 2012). This technology is so incredibly valuable for nonverbal children of all disabilities, especially autism.

Photo courtesy of Blogher.com

The iPad is making it possible for some children to

communicate and express themselves for the very first timeand break through their “wall of silence” (CBS News, 2012). Iknow that my children use the iPad daily in their special-ed classroom. I plan on buying one in the very near future for use at home or out and about; especially after doing this research and finding all of this information on the wealth of apps available! 

Shannon Des Roches Rosa is a contributing editor on a popular site called “Blogher.com”, writes for her own personal blog titled “Squidalicious.com”, and is also a cofounder and editor of the “Thinking Person's Guide to Autism”, which is website containing information on everything autism. In the beginning of the article, “The iPad: a Near Miracle for My Son With Autism”, Shannon states how they came across the iPad completely by accident. She had mentioned that they had already bought their son an iPod Touch, but were blessed enough to have won a brand-new iPad by purchasing a five dollar raffle ticket. 

Photo courtesy of Art of Glow

She states how she cannot even begin to explain how her son Leo's life had been transformed shortly thereafter.With the iPad, she specifically says, “Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills!” She also mentions how she's not big on “miracle speak”, but may even, “erect a tiny altar to Steve Jobs in the corner of the living room.” The irony of the whole situation is that Shannon never considered buying her son an iPad due to its perceived awkwardness and fragility. Within 5 minutes she realized the iPad was a tough little device. She states that her son may have had a hard time writing on paper or typing on a computer keyboard, but he has become a “world-class” “swiper and tapper” (Blogher, 2010). Shannon says in only the span of one day Leo had the iPad interface entirely mastered. Leo now feels more free and encouraged to practice drawing like never before on his iPad via apps such as, “Draw Free” and “Magna Doodle” type programs.  

Photo courtesy of Art of Glow

 There are many art therapy apps available on the iPad and Android tablets as well. One app is called, “Art of Glow –Pro” by Natenai Ariyatrakool (Art of Glow, 2012). This particular app is available through iPad and sells for the very affordable price of 99 cents. The app claims to make children feel more relaxed. This app has the ability to save and record all animated texts and artworks for future playback and communication. Some of its features include: colorful animated glow particles, fireworks, twinkle stars, and animated text arts. This may indeed prove to be extremely beneficial, especially in “sensory seeking” children. 

Photo courtesy of Faces iMake!

Another exciting autism app for the iPad is “Faces iMake!” by iMagine machine LLC. This app has actually received the Parents Choice Gold Award for 2010. “Teacherswithapps.com” has labeled the game as today’s modern updated version of Mr. Potato Head by making collages with brightly and beautifully colored images of everyday objects. Faces iMake has been described by users as being incredibly addicting, yet fun, relaxing, creative, and liberating. Apps such as this can indeed prove to be priceless and groundbreaking with helping children and adults with autism recognize facial gestures, feelings, and body language, and more importantly, to use their imaginations (Faces iMake!, 2012).

  Autistic Artists Who Have Transformed Their “Disabilities” into Assets 

                                                  Stephen Wiltshire

Stephen Wiltshire

I watched something on television several years back which totally blew me away! That may even be an understatement! It was a show dedicated to a very special young man named Stephen Wiltshire. He was born in London, England on April 24, 1974. Stephen was officially diagnosed as autistic at the age of 3 after his parents came to the conclusion that he was having serious delays in development. As a child Stephen was entirely mute and had very little means of communication. He seemed only to inhabit his own little world. At the tender age of 5, his teachers discovered pretty much the only thing they could conclude Stephen enjoyed in his pastime was drawing (Wiltshire, 2012). The instructors at the Queensmill School had developed a bartering system for Stephen where they would withhold his drawing supplies in exchange for his use of words. This is actually a very popular method for use with children with autism involving antecedent management. It is so simple, yet works miraculously. The caregiver must determine which object the child holds most dearly and essentially uses it as leverage to encourage them to use their words to ask for it. It worked wonders for my daughter. Every day she gets to take her favorite baby dolls to school. Not too bad! This worked extremely well with Stephen. His first uttered word was “paper”.

Panorama

 Through his art therapy, he was able to fully speak by age nine (Wiltshire, 2012). Steven’s early sketches depicted cars and animals; he still possesses a great deal of passion for cars, especially American ones, and is even said to have and encyclopedic knowledge of them. Stephen has even driven a racing car. He had broken the clutch several times and, needless to say, members of the film crew confessed they had never been so scared in all of their lives! He was blessed enough to have one of his teachers take a special interest in him. This instructor accompanied Stephen on drawing field trips and entered his work in numerous contests. The local press became increasingly skeptical at the legitimacy of young Steven’s masterful drawings. Eventually, word caught on and Stephen was a national overnight success at the age of seven. His first commissioned drawing was requested by the late Prime Minister Edward Heath to compose a commemorative drawing of Salisbury Cathedral.  At age 10, One of Stephen's first ambitious drawing endeavors  was titled “London Alphabet”, featuring all of the famous landmark structures listed in alphabetical order from Albert Hall to the London zoo. Stephen has earned quite a name for himself by sketching elaborately detailed, true to life illustrations of the city of London. 

One of Stephen’s most famous feats involved him flying over London in a helicopter and briefly taking mental notes of all points of interest including buildings, landmarks, parks, and street layouts. This observation ended with an amazingly intricately detailed illustration of the city. It is genuinely beyond astonishing; it is indeed breathtakingly extraordinary! He quite  literally has a photographic memory. Experts have examined and critiqued his work and discovered nothing was omitted, even down to the number of windows in a skyscraper (Wiltshire, 2012)! Stephen received his degree from the prestigious City and Guilds of London Art School. He later successfully graduated with an expertise of printmaking. In 1996 Stephen was introduced to Margaret Hewson, a literary agent who helped him field incoming book deals and eventually became a trusted mentor. She helped arrange Stephen's first trip across the globe to New York City. This was the beginning of his never ending trek around the globe drawing, sightseeing, observing, and exhibiting his works and talents. He developed a great love for the city and announced that he knew he was going to live there someday. He even stated that he designed his own penthouse on Park Avenue. While in New York he became acquainted and developed a friendship with author Oliver Saks. This trip was also the basis for his second book called Cities which was published in 1989. Since then, at age 16 he went on a world drawing tour of Moscow, Leningrad, Amsterdam, and Venice.

Regarding Stephan, Saks has stated, “For a child who was once locked within the prison house of his own private world, unable to speak, incapable of responding to others, this thrilling development of language, laughter and art is a miracle (Wiltshire, 2012)!” An interesting footnote to mention is that Stephen exhibits a rare gift of having dual Savant capabilities. 

Along with being an accomplished artist, Stephen also has an extraordinary talent for music. He is said to possess the quality of perfect pitch. Linda Pring, a cognitive neuropsychologist at Goldsmith College in London, concluded that it is incredibly unusual for a Savant to possess more than one talent. She has stated that in all of her scientific historical research she has found only one previous example. 
Stephen's most famous accomplishments are his panoramas. His first work was of the skyline of Tokyo in 2005, he has since drawn Rome, Frankfurt, Madrid, Hong Kong, Dubai, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, and Brisbane. Contrary to popular belief, Stephen prefers to sketch portraits of close friends and celebrities. He keeps these in his private notebook. He started drawing caricatures of his teachers. 

Stephen Wiltshire Gallery, London

Folks closest to Stephen have noted that he has a wonderfully pleasant personality and a very strong sense of humor. He currently lives at home in a West London neighborhood with his mother. In 2006, Stephen received the award of being granted a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the art world by Queen Elizabeth II. Stephen's favorite motto is, “Do the best you can and never stop” He continues to remain a successful, fascinating, active artist. In 2006 he founded his own art gallery in London's Royal Opera arcade, London oldest shopping arcade.

                                            Katie Miller

Katie Miller is an extraordinary artist. Her talents are incredibly rare, as is the fact that she’s among the small group of women diagnosed as autistic. Katie is 27 years old and lives in Parkton, MD, which is 30 miles north of the city of Baltimore. At a much younger age, she was initially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder because of her inflexible obsession with getting every single detail of her paintings perfect or as close to realistic, as humanly possible (Marie Claire, 2012). 

Katie Miller

As a child, she would consume an entire day sketching or copying pictures or photographs from books. Initially her parents brushed off her obsessive, unusual behaviors and simply concluded these were typical quirky artistic attributes. Katie earned both a bachelor's and an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Forever feeling something was amiss; she began self diagnosing and researching her symptoms on the Internet and concluded that she just may have autism. It wasn’t until the age of 19 that she was officially diagnosed with having Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s falls under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder. This diagnosis is much rarer than PDD or Social Communication Disorder. Asperger children are tremendously academically gifted with an incredible eye for detail and excellent artistic, music, and math capabilities. This type of behavior typically becomes evident by the age of 5 or 6. Repetitive behavior or obsessions may be the key to an AS person’s gift for remembering minute, often overlooked details of objects or favorite topics. They tend to dwell on specific, specialized narrow topics of interest. The difficulties in AS lie in the fact that social interaction, empathy, and judging social or innuendo cues are often very difficult, if not impossible for these folks. From what I know from experience, AS children are actually very kind and social. They do not have the ability though to “shoot the breeze” or engage in our social equivalent of “small talk”. They tend to talk about their fascination du jour.  It is usually a one sided discussion because the AS individual does not realize the other participant’s need to talk, nor do they properly decipher the other person’s body language or facial expressions. As is common among many autistic children, Katie would tantrum or throw a fit if her work was not done to her exact wishes or specifications and expectations. Tantrums, rigidity, and lack of patience are classic symptoms or behaviors in autism. It is not that these children do not wish to socialize; they sadly do not know how, and eventually stop trying to create new friendships due to years of rejection. This is an unfortunate defense mechanism.

"Baby, Baby, Baby", Katie Miller, Oil on Linen.

Approximately 80% of the population diagnosed with autism is male. Females are often misdiagnosed or their symptoms are simply overlooked. My daughter, for instance, is often the only girl in her special education classes or therapeutic and socialization play groups. “Girls are better at overcompensating for their autism, perhaps because they usually have better communication skills or because the drive for social conformity is more pronounced for them,” explains Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University. If the name sounds familiar, yes he is a relation to British comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen of Borat and Bruno fame! Katie is a very beautiful and talented young woman. One would never guess that she is diagnosed with AS. Her looks and funky, cool personal style beg to differ. Due to her psychological condition, the concept of meeting new friends or dating remains an elusive mystery. 

"Naked Babies on a Furry Coat", Katie Miller, Oil on Linen.

Her love of babies and attention to detail to their tiny little bodies pushed her to hound her friends and family to allow her to photograph their newborns so she could create some of her signature lifelike paintings. The attention to detail in these paintings is nothing short of extraordinary. Only after close observation can the onlooker determine that these are indeed paintings and not photographs. 

"Portrait of Duke, Pacifier Punk", Katie Miller, Oil on Panel

Her persistence and dedication to her artwork has led to intense marathon painting sessions which go all throughout the day and night. She stated that she has become so extremely focused that she doesn't realize that she is even hungry. She has resolved to posting notes on the walls to remind herself to grab a bite to eat or go to the bathroom. Katie has become an intensely demonstrative advocate for the “neurodiversity” movement which insists that autism is not a disease to be cured but rather an alternative form of language or a different approach of deciphering things. She believes that autistic-like symptoms should not be “treated” but nurtured and encouraged. I was first introduced to Katie through an article in the February 2012 edition of Marie Claire magazine. I passed through the article several times and admired her artwork without ever realizing that these extraordinary pieces of edgy pop art were paintings, much less rendered by an autistic artist. At first glance I was convinced that the paintings were actually photographs. Katie states that she definitely owes her expertise in painting to a lifetime of focus and acknowledges that she notices unusual things about shape, color, and pattern that most people would not. After reading the article I was shocked to see such style and exuberance exhibited by a person with Asperger’s! At first glance of Katie and her amazing, hip, and whimsical style, one would assume that this girl would be a darling among fashionable art circles with an abundance of friends and a thriving active social life. 

"Kitty Lil's Fresh Catch", Katie Miller, Oil on Panel

She admits that meeting people, something that is second nature to most people, is a mystery and seems like “magic” to her. She feels that many people would not be able to understand her idiosyncrasies. She is undoubtedly sensitive to overstimulation, which will often trigger a stimming effect. ”Stimming” is short terminology for “self stimulation”. Autistic folks will often stim when they feel over stimulated. Katie's stimming, for example, consists of humming or rocking back and forth. Crowds, loud music, even unappealing smells can induce crying, anxiety, or even vomiting. She will often preemptively dodge such scenarios by sporting large construction worker type headphones. She frequently has in her possession a piece of blue heavily jasmine scented or perfumed fabric to combat pungent odors. Even prolonged eye contact will make Katie feel incredibly uncomfortable; therefore she keeps a soft plastic dinosaur on hand and several other “stim toys” so she can retain focus by actively squeezing on them (Marie Claire, 2012). Katie has now seemed to graduate on to toddlers rather than infant subjects. These toddler images, innocent, defenseless, and young, oddly are depicted with alluring adult characteristics. After an observation of one of her creations, Katie ultimately came to the realization, that there is a convincingly direct correlation between herself and the beautiful little children in her paintings. 

                                                      Donna Williams

Donna Williams is a world renowned autistic artist, author, composer and screenwriter. Born in 1960, to a wayward, broken, unstable family in Australia, at a time when autistic

Donna Williams

diagnoses were 1 in 10,000. As most of us know nowadays,the statistics are generally around 1 in 150. Donna was diagnosed with “childhood psychosis” at the age of two. Sadly, she had no real structure in her life; she described her childhood growing up as a “feral” existence. Up until around the age of nine she was believed to be deaf. She was then diagnosed with a language processing disorder. The folks around her actually believed that she was emotionally disturbed by the way she reacted to general stimuli. Her ability to understand the true meaning of things was incredibly delayed due to her thought patterns constantly shifting and fragmenting.  She describes herself as living in perpetual chaos and emotional frustration. Even though she had difficulties making sense of everyday occurrences; she had an incredible sort of sixth sense. She could truly feel if somebody was genuine, if a fight was about to brew, or if somebody was planning on invading her personal space or world. She eventually learned how to communicate with others through self reliance and perseverance. She had no other choice, as she had no real support system to turn to and had been on her own essentially since she was a teenager. 

"Painting", Donna Williams, Acrylic on Canvas

She had to learn how to effectively navigate through both, the world of autism and the brutal world of the streets. At the age of 18 a trusted

psychiatrist and social worker assisted her in going back to school. She went from being illiterate to a college graduate with a degree in linguistics, an honors degree in sociology, and earning a post graduate diploma of education as a certified teacher. At the age of 24 she wrote her first book titled Nobody Nowhere. This was the first of her 10 published books. In this internationally best-selling book , Donna comes to describe a confused life growing up with autism. She states, “The manuscript was the one place where my utterly

patchwork sense of self, my jumbled jigsaw mind, my straight jacketed emotions, my mosaic roller coaster life came together as one tangible whole embodied in a collection of paper”. She questions the point of living in a shallow world where most people are obsessed with appearances and would expect her to be an empty puppet or a façade of herself, and strives to find a deeper meaning in life. Many of her paintings mirror the feelings depicted in this book, featuring faceless, lost, innocent children. 

"The Wall", Donna Williams, Acrylic on Paper

As a child Donna loved to paint and was inflicted with what she called “exposure anxiety”, where she was much too nervous to show anybody her talents. She did not want anybody to know what it was like inhabiting her world. It wasn't until her 30s that her painting really took off. Painting and sculpting really has given her the freedom to express herself and experience true peace and spirituality. Donna has also written four autobiographies and four textbooks. In 1996 she became an autism consultant. Over the years she has worked one-on-one with over 1000 families and adults. (Williams, 2012).

                                                                Conclusion

I had always suspected that art therapy played an integral part in my own children's quest in adapting within the ”normal” world. After performing this research, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that art therapy is truly essential in aiding an autistic child or adult to break out of their shell. I am not so sure that any other mode of therapy is actually quite as effective. I have observed when children realize that they have no other option than to rely solely upon the aid of others, they must look within themselves. This is the greatest gift a caretaker can give to a child with autism. The results of these epiphanies of self-reliance are often incredibly extraordinary!  I shudder to think where such folks as Stephen, Katie, and Donna would be at this very moment now in their lives if art was never introduced; quite frankly, anyone of them could have been institutionalized for all of their lives and locked within themselves forever. We may have never been granted the opportunity to enjoy these special gifts they have so generously chosen to share with all of us.

                                                                         References

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