February 2015 - Navigating Autism

Autism Art

February 1, 2015February 1, 2015 by Andy Areffi

There is a confirmed link autism and art, so much so that there is actually a subcategory of autism art. We spoke at an autism conference with Temple Grandin recently and she told us how she got jobs as a teenager and a young adult. She liked art and to embroider western shirts. She effectively was wearing a … Read more

About the Areffis

The Areffis are the parents of three children with autism – Kennedy, age 10, Alex, age 9, and Bella, age 7. They wrote “Navigating Autism” because they were not able to find a book to guide them when Kennedy was diagnosed with autism in 2005. They were still struggling to get the assistance she needed when Alex was diagnosed on the spectrum in 2006 and Bella in 2008. They work tirelessly to support parents of autistic children, “We want to help as many people as possible,” says Melissa. “With early intervention, these kids can go on to become anything, and not dependent on disability services their entire lives. As parents, we want our kids to have a shot at happiness, and a ‘normal’ life. We figured we didn’t have any right to complain about how things are unless we did something about it to help.”