Day 313

Today Kelt and I submitted our drawings to an art show in Spokane called NEED | WANT. I thought this would be a good show for us because it's concerned with the "way contemporary American society assigns value and priority." In our statement I tried to explain how this idea relates to Kelt and his keychains, but once I started, it was harder to describe than I thought. This is what we finally said:

Our drawings and Kelton's keychain collection fit well with the show’s concept. For him there’s a fine line between need and want and sometimes there’s no difference at all. Even though he WANTS more keychains, the desire to have as many as possible has become a driving force. For this reason he NEEDS his collection because it provides ease and escape, which is important in a hectic society that’s ruled by norms and expectations. He enjoys his keychains because it’s comforting to control something. Most people with autism have specific interests and prefer a lifestyle that is consistent and predictable.