In 1998 my youngest brother, Kelton, was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that affects communication and social interaction. Autism currently affects 1/88 people in the United States. Kelton is a talented individual who runs cross-country and track, wrestles, plays the drums, loves history, and collects bobble heads and keychains.

This year Kelton decided to enroll in his first art class where he discovered his skill for drawing. His unorthodox style made me reconsider my artwork and examine the differences and similarities that exist between our perspectives. According to Paul Collins’ Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism, artists are four times more likely to have autism in their families. Considering the number of artists in my family, this statistic made me question the similarities that exist between Kelton and me. For this reason, we have decided to draw one of his 6,481 keychains a day for one year. These drawings will be as simple and uninhibited as possible. This project will explore our individual perspectives and examine the similarities that exist between us as artists.

Day 91


I finished "Autism's First Child" today and learned some interesting facts about Donald Triplett:
  • Can name any musical note as it's played.
  • Can multiply any two numbers in his head.
  • Constantly hums to himself, which appears to be a random collection of sounds, but are actually the same 3 notes that form a perfect chord if played simultaneously.
  • Thinks in numbers. Often brings up numbers in conversation and assigns every person a number, which he never forgets.
  • Travels every month for 6 days; has been to 36 foreign countries and 28 U.S. states.
Considering the recent post about neurological phenomena, such as perfect musical pitch, and the fact that people with autism have an easier time understanding literal concepts, such as numbers, the first four points are not too surprising; they're fascinating, but are shared by a number of people on the spectrum. Compared to the other points, the last tendency is the most unique for a group of people who have a hard time changing their routine and interacting with people, not to mention strangers from another culture. I know that Kelton will continue to be successful and gradually become more independent, but it's encouraging to hear a story like Donald's to be reminded of his potential and future possibilities. If anything, this article reminded me of the importance of independent life skills and the need to work on these skills as early as possible. Currently 85% of adults with autism live with their parents or a relative and in about ten years, more than 500,000 children with autism will enter adulthood. These numbers are daunting and discouraging, but I think Kelt will eventually be able to drive, work, live on his own, and travel... just like Donald.

Article link:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/10/autism-8217-s-first-child/8227/
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