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The Performing Arts: More Than Access to Recreation for Autistic Children and Adults
The school district I attended between 4th and 9th grades included a professionally managed theater arts program. In fifth grade, my class was treated to a live performance of Pippi Longstocking. The following year, I was cast in a small, non-speaking role in Tom Sawyer. My parents enrolled me in...
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The Voice Inside – How the Arts Express the Unspoken and Unleash Pathways to Success
There have been generations of people with a message God gave them that the world never heard. Children who seemed voiceless on the surface but had powerful voices inside. Caregivers, parents, and teachers who didn’t yet have all the tools needed to help the voiceless find their voices. The...
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How Enhancing Access to Art Activities Supports Well-Being and Social Inclusion of Children on the Autism Spectrum
For many toddlers, some of the earliest joys are simple things: the playground, toy trains, building towers out of blocks. But one of the first things that truly captivated my son Matthew was something much quieter. It was crayons. When Matthew was very young — before he was speaking much...
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Three Artists with Autism. Three Voices with Purpose: Laura Nadine, Blair Bunting, and Stuart Neilson
Artists invite their audiences into conversation. A piece of music, a photograph, a painting—each is a personal statement created to connect emotionally or intellectually with listeners and viewers. These expressions and the methods used to create them are shaped by lived experiences, some...
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The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation’s “NYC Overload Project” Creates Employment for Singer/Songwriters
Envisioning and then creating innovative employment opportunities for adults living with Autism has always been a hallmark of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation’s mission. Last spring, while attending a performance by participants from The Miracle Project New York, the seeds of another new...
