Resources and Links
Here I have compiled resources from various fields that all contribute to our understanding of the relationship between autism and art-making. They are organized according to their field/discipline. If you know of a reference that is not listed here, please email me at arttherapyandautism@yahoo.com with the proper citation information. Books, dissertations, theses, articles (scholarly or popular press), websites, conferences, etc. are all welcome and will be posted.
To avoid confusion, references on disorders now considered to be within an even broader ASD continuum (ex: obsessive-compulsive disorder, dyslexia, seizure disorder, fragile X syndrome, and communication disorders such as apraxia, aphasia, receptive and/or expressive language disorder) are not included. Also, other creative arts therapies (music, dance/movement, and psychodrama) and play therapy are not included.
Art Therapy
Aach-Feldman, S., & Kunkle-Miller, C. (2001). Developmental art therapy. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.),
Approaches to art therapy: Theory and technique (2nd ed.) (pp. 226-240). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Anderson, F. (1992). Art for all the children: Approaches to art therapy for children with disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Banks, S., Davis, P., Howard, V., & McLaughlin, T. (1993). The effects of directed art activities on the behavior of young children with disabilities: A multi-element baseline analysis. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 10(4), 235-240. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Bentivegna, S., Schwartz, L., & Deschner, D. (1983). Case study: The use of art with an autistic child in residential care. American Journal of Art Therapy, 22, 51-56.
Betts, D. J. (2005). The art of art therapy: Drawing individuals out in creative ways. Advocate: Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 26-27.
Betts, D. J. (2003). Developing a projective drawing test: Experiences with the Face Stimulus Assessment (FSA). Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 20(2), 77-82.
Betts, D. J. (2001). Cover story: Weekend outings provide creative outlet: Individual expresses himself through art therapy. Advocate: Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 34(3), 20-21.
Betts, D. J. (2001). Special report: The art of art therapy: Drawing individuals out in creative ways. The Advocate:
Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 34(3), 22-23(29).
Curtis, E. (2007, Nov). Autism spectrum and developmental disabilities. Master supervision group session presented at the 38th
annual conference for the American Art Therapy Association, Albuquerque, NM.
De Chiara, E. (1990). Art for special needs: A learning disabled child in a special art program. Art Therapy, (volume no. unknown), 22-28. (Does not discuss autism, but describes relevant body image/human figure projects.)
DeRosa, H. (2007, Nov). Autism and affect recognition: Connecting faces and feelings through art therapy. Paper presented at the 38th
annual conference for the American Art Therapy Association, Albuquerque, NM.
DeRosa, H. & Martin, N. (2007, Nov). Art therapy and autism: Sharing art therapy techniques and experiences. Focus group session presented at the 38th annual conference for the American Art Therapy Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Emery, M. J. (2004). Art therapy as an intervention for autism. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 21, 143-147.
Evans, K., & Dubowski, J. (2001). Art therapy with children on the autistic spectrum: Beyond words. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Fox, L. (1998). Lost in space: The relevance of art therapy with clients who have autism or autistic features. In Rees, M. (Ed.) Drawing on difference: Art therapy with people who have learning difficulties (pp. 73-90). New York: Routledge.
Gabriels, R. (2003). Art therapy with children who have autism and their families. In Malchiodi, C. (Ed.) Handbook of art therapy (pp.193-206). New York: Guilford Press. (Mentions the use of art therapy with parents and siblings.)
Gilroy, A. (2006). Art therapy: Research and evidence-based practice. London: Sage Publications. (Reviews research on ASD from pages 144-146.)
Glaaser, J., Goucher, C., Miller, S. & Scheibler, J. (2007, Nov). Art therapy and autistic spectrum disorders: Providing creative paths to social-connectedness. Panel session presented at the 38th
annual conference for the American Art Therapy Association, Albuquerque, NM.
Henley, D. (2001). Annihilation anxiety and fantasy in the art of children with Asperger's Syndrome and others on the autistic spectrum. American Journal of Art Therapy, 39, 113-121.
Henley, D. R. (2000). Blessings in disguise: Idiomatic expression as a stimulus in group art therapy with children. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 17(4), 270-275.
Henley, D. R. (1992). Exceptional children, exceptional art: Teaching art to special needs. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.
Henley, D. R. (1992). Therapeutic and aesthetic application of video with the developmentally disabled. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 18, 441-447.
Henley, D. (1989). Artistic giftedness in the multiply handicapped. In Wadeson, H., Durkin, J., & Perach, D. (Eds.) Advances in Art Therapy (pp. 240-272). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Henley, D. R. (1989). Nadia revisited: A study into the nature of regression in the autistic savant syndrome. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 6, 43-56.
Kiendi, C., Hooyenga, K., Trenn, E. (1997). Empowered to scribble. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 14, 37-43. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Kornreich, T. Z., & Schimmel, B. F. (1991). The world is attacked by great big snowflakes: Art therapy with an autistic boy. American Journal of Art Therapy, 29, 77-84.
Lister, S., Tanguay, D., Snow, S., & D'Amico, M. (2009). Development of a creative arts therapies center for people with developmental disabilities. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 26(1), 34-37. (Not specific to autism)
Martin, N. & Betts, D. (2010). Art therapy approaches to treating autism. In K. Siri & T. Lyons (Eds.), Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011 (pp. 48-52). New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Martin, N. (2009). Art as an early intervention tool for children with autism. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Martin, N. (2009). Art therapy and autism: Overview and recommendations. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 26(4), 187-190.
Martin, N. (2008). Assessing portrait drawings created by children and adolescents with autism spectrum
disorder. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 25(1), 15-23.
Noble, J. (2001). Art as an instrument for creating social reciprocity: Social skills group for children with autism. In S. Riley (Ed.), Group process made visible: Group art therapy (pp. 82-114). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
Pounsett, H., Parker, K., Hawtin, A., & Collins, S. (2006). Examination of the changes that take place during an art therapy intervention. Inscape: International Journal of Art Therapy, 11(2), 79-101. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Riley, S. (2004). Multi-family group art therapy: Treating families with a disabled family member. In S. Riley (Ed.), Integrative approaches to family art therapy (2nd ed.) (pp.155-172). Chicago: Magnolia Street. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Roth, E. (2001). Behavioral art therapy. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.),
Approaches to art therapy: Theory and technique (2nd ed.) (pp. 195-209). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Scanlon, K. (1993). Art therapy with autistic children. Pratt Institute Creative Arts Therapy Review, 14, 34-43.
Silver, R. (2001). Assessing and developing cognitive skills through art. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.), Approaches to art therapy: Theory and technique (2nd ed.) (pp. 241-253). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Silver, R. A. (1989). Developing cognitive and creative skills through art: Programs for children with communication
disorders or learning disabilities (3rd ed. revised). New York: Albin Press.
Stack, M. (1998). Humpty Dumpty's shell: Working with autistic defence mechanisms in art therapy. In Rees, M. (Ed.) Drawing on difference: Art therapy with people who have learning difficulties (pp. 91-110). New York: Routledge.
http://www.kennedykrieger.org/kki_touch_article.jsp?pid=4482
“The Art of Healing: Art and music therapy give kids with disabilities an outlet for their thoughts and emotions” by Courtney McGrath of the Kennedy Krieger Institute featuring an interview with art therapist Jennifer Glaaser.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=14163&news_iv_ctrl=1882
“Using Art to Help Kids with Autism Find Their Voice” by Carin Yavorcik (June 18, 2009); an ASA book review.
www.art-therapy.us/autism.htm
Art therapist Donna Betts' website on the topic.
www.arttherapyblog.com/c/autism/
Link to the autism page of arttherapyblog.com
http://art-therapy.concordia.ca/co_snowassess.htm
Multi-disciplinary creative arts therapy study out of Concordia University (Montreal).
http://autism.healingthresholds.com/tags/art-therapy
An art therapy and autism resource listing hosted by Healing Thresholds.com. Resources are not consistently from art therapy sources, but are related.
An interview of the webmaster dated April 8, 2008 for story Art therapy creates new hues in Autism Awareness Month in Northwestern University's online newspaper Medill Reports
Here I have included Theses and Dissertations from art therapy university programs on the topic of autism. Although it is very difficult to obtain these manuscripts without visiting the university itself, it is worth noting the significant amount of unpublished research created by interested students (who often continue to work with clients with ASD professionally). More to come....
DeRosa, H. (2006). Autism and affect recognition: Connecting faces and feelings with art therapy. Unpublished master's thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Kim, J. (1995). Printmaking with an autistic adolescent. Unpublished master's thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Martin, N. (2005). Look at me: Assessing portrait drawings made by children with autism. Unpublished master's thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Pizza, D. (2000). Autistic children making connections through art therapy. Unpublished master's thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Art, Art Education, and Arts Advocacy
Anderson, F. (1978). Art for all the children: A creative sourcebook for the impaired child. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. (Does not discuss autism, but contains useful information.)
Beckerleg, T. (2008). Fun with messy play: Ideas and activities for children with special needs. London: Jessica Kingsley. (Not specific to autism)
Davalos, S. (1999). Making sense of art: Sensory-based art activities for children with Autism, Asperger's
Syndrome and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.
Flowers, T. (1992). Reaching the child with autism through art. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons. (I've seen this same book by Flowers under the name The artistic autistic: A sensory approach to art for children with autism and their friends without published by the Village Press in Indianapolis, IN, also in 1992.)
Kellman, J. (2001). Autism, art, and children: The stories we draw. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Lancelle, M., & Lesada, J. (2006). Sundays with Matthew: A young boy with autism and an artist share their sketchbooks. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.
Miller, E. (2008). The girl who spoke through pictures: Autism through art. London: Jessica Kingsley. (Illustrations by Kim Miller)
Pemberton, E. & Nelson, K. (1987). Using interactive graphic challenges to foster young children's drawing ability. Visual Arts Research , 13(2), 29-41. (research performed with neurotypical children, but useful information for early intervention/developmental growth treatment goals for children with autism)
Simmons, K. (2004). Artism: A book of autism art. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing.
www.autismarts.com
Great resource on artists and information from around the world.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=art_exhibit
The Autism Society of America's art gallery of work by individuals with ASD.
National Arts and Disability Center
http://nadc.ucla.edu/
(they have a satellite program at UCLA's Tarjan Center: http://tarjancenter.ucla.edu/whatwedo.cfm)
Very Special Arts
www.vsarts.org
Arts Access Australia
www.artsaccessaustralia.org
Psychology, Counseling, Special Education, and Social Work
Charman, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1992). Understanding drawings and beliefs: A further test of the
metarepresentation theory of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(6), 1105-1112.
Charman, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1993). Drawing development in autism: The intellectual to visual
realism shift. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 11, 171-185.
Cox, M. (1999). Contrasting styles of drawing in gifted individuals with autism. Autism, 3(4), 397-409.
Craig, J., Baron-Cohen, S., & Scott, F. (2001). Drawing ability in autism: A window into the imagination.
Israel Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 242-253.
Epp, K. (2008). Outcome-based evaluation of a social skills program using art therapy and group therapy for children on the autism spectrum. Children & Schools, 30(1), 27-36.
Gray, C. (1994). Comic strip conversations. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
Osborne, J. (2003). Art and the child with autism: Therapy or education? Early Child Development and Care, 173, 411-423.
Pring, L., Hermelin, B., & Heavey, L. (1995). Savants, segments, art and autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36(6), 1065-1076.
Pring, L., & Hermelin, B. (1993). Bottle, tulip and wineglass: Semantic and structural picture processing by savant artists. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34(8), 1365-1385.
Rimland, B. (1978). Savant capabilities of autistic children and their cognitive implications. In G. Serban (Ed.), Cognitive defects in the development of mental illness (pp. 43-65). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Schleien, S., Mustonen, T., & Rynders, J. (1995). Participation of children with autism and nondisabled peers in a cooperatively structured community art program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25(4), 397-413.
Selfe, L. (1983). Normal and anomalous representational drawing ability in children. London: Academic Press.
Studios and Artist Workshops
These are community art studios designed especially to accommodate talented artists with neurodevelopmental disabilities. They are usually staffed by artists, art teachers, art therapists (those who prefer to work in non-clinical settings), and volunteers/students. These studios foster recreational pleasure, art skill development, relational skills, and even employment (artwork sales) and are exceptionally cool places to visit and support (are often not-for-profit organizations).
More can be found at: http://nadc.ucla.edu/VaCenters.cfm or http://nadc.ucla.edu/resources.cfm
www.creativegrowth.org (Oakland, CA)
www.artsoflife.org (Chicago, IL)
www.studiobythetracks.com (Irondale, AL)
www.littlecityarts.org (Palatine, IL)
www.projectonward.org (Chicago, IL)
www.artsunbound.org (Orange, NJ)
www.passionworks.org (Athens, OH)
www.accessiblearts.org (Kansas City, KS)
www.creativityexplored.org (San Francisco, CA)
www.artsproject.org.au (Northcote, Victoria, Australia)
www.art-enables.org (Washington, D.C.)
gatewayarts.org (Brookline, MA)
www.carousel.org.uk (Brighton, United Kingdom)
www.kcat.ie (Ireland)
www.outsidethelinesstudio.org (Medford, MA)
magicpaintbrushproject.org (Johnson City/Binghamton, NY)
www.spindleworks.org (Brunswick, ME)
Artists with Autism
Bayliss, S. (2004, October). Showcasing “neurodiversity”: Artists with autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities are attracting mainstream attention. ARTnews, 103, 778.
Hall, E. (2004, March 4). All kinds of ants: What Gregory Blackstock's autism has to do with his art. The Stranger. Retrieved November 9, 2006 from http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=17340.
Karlins, N. F. (2004). Is autistic artistic? Retrieved October 18, 2007 from http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/karlins/karlins1-21-05.asp.
Rexer, L. (2002). Jonathan Lerman: Drawings by an artist with autism. New York: George Braziller.
Special report: Journey of an artist: The Echo McAllister story. (2005) The Advocate: Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 38(1), 28-29.
Treffert, D. (1989). Extraordinary people: Understanding savant syndrome. New York: Ballantine Books.
Walker, G. (2009, May 28). Autistic man uses art walls as means of self-expression. The Argonaut. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from http://www.argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2009/05/28/news_-_features/top_stories/1a.txt
Mark Rimland's website: www.markrimland.com
Donna Williams' website: www.donnawilliams.net
Stephen Wiltshire on YouTube and his website: www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk
Richard Wawro's website: www.wawro.net
Jessica Park's website: www.jessicapark.com
Daniel Muller's website: www.geocities.com/dansweb2000/
Justin Canha's website: www.justinart.com
http://www.powerlight-studios.com/
The Wisconsin Medical Society (a center fueled by the scholarly work on savants by Darold Treffert) has a wonderful collection of online videos of people with art savant skills. A must see. www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org
http://www.neurodiversity.com/art_poetry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autistic_artist
Galleries and Collections
Willoughby, S. J. (2003). Art of the M.I.N.D.: The art collection of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. Sacramento: Regents of the University of California.
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/news/images/mind/artists.html
The UC Davis MIND Institute Collection online.
http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/site/services/disabilityservices/artsanddisabilities.aspx
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center at Vanderbilt University showcases artwork by and about people with disabilities.
Autism Families
Family members of people with autism using art to cope, share their experiences, and process feelings.
Collier, V. (2005). A portrait of autism: A mother's interpretation revealed. The Advocate: Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 38(1), 22-25.
www.genrecookshop.com
http://heartfeltpieces.com/
Artwork for sale by Rachel Meek, an artist inspired by her nephew with autism.
General Autism Information
Although this website is designed with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with autism spectrum disorders, here are a few good links no matter what your level of knowledge. Books and articles on the topic abound and are easy to find (a good resource for titles is the Autism Asperger Publishing Company's catalog at www.asperger.net).
Autism Votes (for the latest news on state and national legislation pertaining to autism)
www.autismvotes.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov
National Institute of Mental Health
www.nimh.nih.gov
Autism Speaks (recently merged with Cure Autism Now) and the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE)
www.autismspeaks.org
Autism Research Institute, Defeat Autism Now (DAN)
www.autism.com
www.autism-resources.com
Incredible warehouse of autism information. Don't miss the Bibliography section under “Autism FAQ”.
www.autismtoday.com
Resources, information on autism
www.autism-society.org
Autism Society of America
www.neurodiversity.com
Links to a variety of related websites
Check out: http://neurodiversity.com/art_music.html for art, music, and drama therapy references.
www.firstsigns.org
A non-profit org dedicated to early detection and intervention
Watch for research coming out of these universities:
YouTube Search keywords autism, art, art therapy in various order for a great sampling of video.
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