Joy's Autism Blog

So I got a call from the nurse yesterday morning. Our test results from Sanura and Adrian’s blood work came back from the Fragile X testing and our kids do not have Fragile X. I am very happy. I cried a lot yesterday, I guess just the relief and emotion from it all and I feel so good now. One less thing to worry about.

Today is Lincoln’s IEP. I’m feeling good about it. His progress has really been amazing. I usually get really stressed and sad about Adrian’s IEP meetings because naturally I’m worried. This one I’m just kind of excited about. I’m looking forward to what his teachers have to say about his progress and what they want his plan to be for the next year.

Adrian drew this picture the other day and I just think it’s adorable so I have to share:

And lastly I just have a link that someone emailed me that I found interesting so just passing it along:

10 Impressive Special College Programs for Students with Autism

I was reading blogs and twitter etc one day and someone who has a son with autism mentioned that their son used whole packs of copy paper in no time. I can’t recall where I read it but it really made me laugh because that is one of those things that I forget that it isn’t normal! Adrian uses whole packs of copy paper and packs of pens like it’s nothing. I recycle but I still cringe at the thought of all that paper being used and Adrian will want to use a piece of paper and only write “Adrian Goes Camping” or “THX” on it and then he wants a new piece. I encourage him to use the whole paper, both sides.

I buy loads of Magna Doodles and white boards which do last for a time but Magna Doodles break after a little while and white board markers dry out. When I was shopping for Adrian’s birthday in March I came across a white board and white board crayons by Crayola. I thought “this is perfect!” Well he did use them for a few days and then he wanted to go back to pen and paper.

Adrian drew a picture the other day that really made me smile.

Adrian informed us that it says “Adrian Goes Camping” there at the top. I thought the radio with the little music note coming out was funny and the expressions on the boys faces are hilarious. These are two boys from school according to Adrian. I think the one in the middle is Adrian.

So even if I have to cringe about paper usage, this is a really great way for Adrian to communicate with us and he really enjoys drawing, a lot!

All of my children are really good at art. They’re creative and always coming up with interesting things. Sanura, Adrian, and Nevaeh are all 3 better drawers then me. Glen is a wonderful artist although he will tell you he isn’t. His drawings are very good. I’m always interested in learning about people with autism and I love to look at art made by people who have autism, I thought you all might enjoy these links too.

Arts Unbound is a non profit organization that helps youth, adults, and seniors with special needs develop art skills through professional classes and gives the artists the opportunity to sell their artwork.
Taylor Crowe is a 29 year old man who has autism. He travels and speaks about autism and was interested in animation but now mostly paints portraits and landscapes.
Stephen Wiltshire draws and paints cities after seeing them only briefly. He’s a very talented and detailed artist.
Jessica Park is a wonderful painter who’s paintings seem to be filled with vibrant colors.
Susan Brown draws and paints and she has been an artist since the 1980′s.
Justin Canha is a 21 year old artist with autism. He likes to draw animals, do computer animations, and paint.
Barry Kahn uses markers to draw his colorful art.
Anie Kipping uses technology to make stunning artwork.
Alex Masket is a 23 year old man with autism who likes to make art work out of duct tape and legos.
Alonzo Clemons is a talented sculptor with autism.
Larry Bissonnette is a painter with autism
George Widener is a working artist who’s artwork is featured in various galleries and museums.
Jonathan Lerman draws amazing charcoal portraits.

I hope you enjoy learning about these talented and diverse artists who just happen to have autism. I know I really enjoyed reading about them and looking through their art.

Adrian has been requesting a show called “Big Chicken Movie” we cannot find anything by that name and the only thing remotely similar that I could think of is the movie “Chicken Little” Adrian has been drawing lots of pictures of chickens and writing “Big Chicken Movie” on them, he’s been talking about this several times a day. I wanted to share some of the pictures of his movie characters, this is a small sampling of all his drawing he’s been doing. The whole time I’ve been writing this he’s been looking over my shoulder and talking about his Big Chicken Movie