Drawing Autism

Drawing Autism is an incredible collection of artwork by people diagnosed with autism, from teenage amateurs to established artists. Unlike many of the books I feature on 50 Watts, this one is in print. You should buy it. [Amazon link to the new reprint which comes out April 2, 2014 from Akashic.]

This post features a small selection of my favorite images from the book, along with some quotes by the artists.

Publisher's description:

Over the last decade autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become an international topic of conversation, knowing no racial, ethnic, or social barriers. Behavior analyst and educator Mullin has assembled a staggering array of work from established artists like Gregory Blackstock and Jessica Park, to the unknown but no less talented. Their creations, coupled with artist interviews, comprise a fascinating and compelling book that serves to educate and inspire anyone who knows someone diagnosed with ASD. Mullin’s introduction and the foreword by best-selling author Temple Grandin provide an overview of autism and advocate for nurturing the talents, artistic and otherwise, of autistic individuals.



Using artwork created by individuals diagnosed with ASD, Drawing Autism celebrates their artistry and self-expression while also serving as an accessible point of entry into understanding how ASD manifests in individuals. Autism is known as a “spectrum disorder” because no two diagnoses are exactly the same; however, there are characteristic traits of ASD. Through their art, the contributors exhibit unique perspectives on how they see the world and their places in it. The book’s seven chapters—Interaction, Individual and Societal; Repetition, Repetition, Repetition; Getting from Here to There; Bird’s Eye View; Another World; It’s All History; Art for Art’s Sake—speak directly to the core characteristics of ASD.



Includes a foreword by TEMPLE GRANDIN, PhD, who is considered the most accomplished adult with autism in the world. She is the author of several books, including the best sellers The Way I See It and Animals in Translation.

Donna Williams, The Outsider

What was the inspiration for this piece?

"The Outsider" is about joining in from the periphery. It's about being able to join because one has retained the right to also leave. It's about treading the boundaries between two worlds. I think it's universal. We have all been the outsider.

An excerpt from the artist's answer to the question, "At what age did the act of creating art enter into your life?

I was deeply mesmerized with all things aesthetic and sensory from at least 6 months of age. Being meaning deaf, I saw musically. Being face blind, I was attuned to movement patterns. Being object blind and context blind, I'd tap everything to make noise, to hear its "voice," flick it to feel its movement, turn it to experience how it caught light, toss and drop and shred and snap and sprinkle grass, sand, twigs, leaves. I'd lick and run my hands and face over surfaces, wrap myself into fabrics. I'd align myself with symmetry and lines, mold myself into forms to feel their shape as them, stare at colors and lights and shapes trying to become one with them.

Felix: Imaginary City Map, Age 11

What was the inspiration for this piece

Generally I start drawing one street on different spots on the edge of my paper. I make the streets grow toward one another.

Who are some artists that you like?

None. I study road maps and atlases in detail and generally I scroll the full track of our trips on Google Earth.

Eleni Michael, Dancing with the Dog, 1995

What was the inspiration for this piece?

This was painted in 1995, not long after I had moved into a housing project for people with special needs. I was euphoric about my new home—a self-contained flat surrounded by a huge garden in a rural setting. (This idyll did not last long.) I brought my dog Jasper with me. He was the only lively animal there and brought great pleasure to me and all of the residents in the project. They loved him too and enjoyed playing with him and petting him. Jasper was a healthy presence and completely indiscriminate with friendships.

Wout Devolder, Werewolf (2008, at age 14)

What was the inspiration for this piece?

On May 8, 2008, my nephew Ben and my niece Sanne died in a fire. I was very sad and desperate. Because I didn't have words to express my despair, I drew this werewolf. I dedicate my drawing to Ben and Sanne.

Charles D. Topping: The Death of Love #373: Desiccated Love, 2009

Josh Peddle, Changing Seasons, 2006 (at age 12)

Do you think your art helps others understand how you view the world?

It feels weird when you have autism. I feel silly. It makes me sad thinking about it. People do not understand. Strangers cannot tell by looking at me that I have autism. If I am having trouble, they often want to tell my mom how I should behave. I wish I had more friends that liked me for who I am.

Jessica Park: The Mark Twain House with the Diamond Eclipse and Venus, 1999

Vehdas Rangan: A. (India)

Shawn Belanger, Stone House, 2007

Shawn's mother: The intensity that Shawn draws with is amazing. There is a look of concentration on his face that is intense, one gets the feeling that for that period of time the world ceases to exist.

David Barth, Vogels ("Birds" in Dutch), 2008 (at age 10)

from an email from David's mother to Jill Mullen:

His drawings often represent his current obsessions. In the attachment I send you, it's not hard to guess what's keeping him busy right now. There are almost 400 birds on it and he knows the names and Latin names of most of them.

D. J. Svoboda, Big Field Friends

How do you choose your subjects?

I always think of each Imagifriend and I write a name and story about each one. It all comes from my imagination.

Emily L. Williams, Leap Years

Emily L. Williams, They Take Away Your Razors, Your Shoelaces, & Your Belt

What was the inspiration for this piece?

This is a small portion of a larger piece that's yet to be completed. The larger piece is one of three in a series, focusing symbolically on psychiatric units, utilizing Hell as an analogy. The demons in the piece were inspired by 12th century works depicting Hell and the Final Judgment. The piece was also inspired by some of my own hospital stays in the past. While I was never a suicide risk, I always found it odd that none of the patients could have any of the items listed in the title of this piece. I understood the logic and the risk to suicidal patients, but nevertheless still found it strange to be walking around in shoes with their tongues hanging out or to have unshaven legs.

Milda Bandzaite, War in Vietnam, 2008

What was the inspiration for this piece?

This was inspired by all wars in the world and people's indifference for all bad things. And also it was inspired by the lyrics of the Project Pitchfork song "Vietnam"

Wil C. Kerner, Pals (collage), age 12

What was the inspiration for this piece? [answered by grandmother]>

The key in understanding Pals is the brown rimmed off-white donkey ear. Four facial expressions depict the bad boys turning into donkeys in the movie Pinocchio: purple-faced Pinocchio is stunned by his new ear and considering what to do; it's too late for the horrified yellow face; the green trapezoid is oblivious to his pending fate; the blue head is looking away hoping he's not included.

Eric Chen, Mirror Mind poster 3, 2005

What was the inspiration for the Mirror Mind posters?

I created these posters to commemorate and promote the launch of my self-published autism book, Mirror Mind. The book aims to convey the inner feelings I feel as a person with autism, and the pictures represent a poem from each book.