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 197


Autism's Lost Generation

This article was recently covered in Parade about Dana, a 20-year-old girl with autism who is struggling with adulthood. After 21, which is the cut-off for educational services, there are limited post-secondary programs in the U.S. for people with autism and other types of developmental disabilities. This is the exact problem that we've having with Kelt. Good programs exist, such as Chapel Haven, College Internship Program, and UCLA Pathway, but they're expensive, competitive, and far away.

A few interesting facts/comments from the article:

  • In the next 15 years, an estimated 500,000 children with autism will graduate from a school system in the U.S.
  • The steep, recurring price of many programs and therapies is why raising a child with autism, according to a Harvard University study, can add up to $3.2 million over his/her lifetime, compared with the $222,360 it typically takes to raise a child to age 18.
  • 1/110 children (and 1/70 boys) born in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism, and the numbers have been rising 10% to 17% a year.
  • Advocates say that the need for this population must be addressed by the private and public sectors, such as by building appropriate housing, creating tax-free saving accounts for parents to use for their adult children's care, or providing government incentives to companies that hire autistic employees.

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