Autism and Creativity is a stimulating study of male creativity and autism, arguing that a major genetic endowment is a prerequisite of genius, and that cultural and environmental factors are less significant than has often been claimed. Chapters on the diagnosis and psychology of autism set the scene for a detailed examination of a number of important historical figures. For example: * in the Indian mathematician Ramanujan, the classic traits of Asperger's syndrome are shown to have coexisted with an extraordinary level of creativity * more unexpectedly, from the fields of philosophy, politics and literature, scrutiny of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de Valera, Lewis Carroll and William Butler Yeats reveals classical autistic features. Autism and Creativity will prove fascinating reading not only for professionals and students in the field of autism and Asperger's syndrome, but for anyone wanting to know how individuals presenting autistic features have on many occasions changed the way we understand society.

This book presents a new way of looking at autism by considering the impact of the context in which the person lives and where interventions are delivered.--Publisher.

It is no easy task to find a teaching technique that can truly change the course of a child with special needs. Thirty years ago, when Janet Tubbs began working with children who had low self-esteem and behavioral problems, she developed a successful program using art, music, and movement. Believing that unconventional children required unconventional therapies, she then took her program one step further—she applied it to children with autism, ADD/ADHD, and Asperger’s Syndrome. Her innovative methods and strategies not only worked, but they actually defied the experts. In this new book, Janet Tubbs has put together a powerful teaching tool to help parents, therapists, and teachers work with their children. Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Asperger's ​​is divided into two parts. Part One provides an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders and introduces and explains Janet’s novel approach to teaching. Her goal is to balance the child’s body, mind, and spirit through proven techniques. Part Two provides a wide variety of exercises, activities, and games that are both fun and effective. Each is designed to reduce hyperactivity, increase and prolong focus, decrease anger, develop fine motor skills, or improve social and verbal skills. All are part of a program created to help these children relate to their environment without fear, anxiety, or discomfort. A child may appear stubborn and difficult, but that doesn’t mean that the child isn’t intelligent, curious, or creative. With the right treatment, such a child can be reached, taught, and set on the road to improvement. The lessons provided in this book may be just what you and your child have been waiting for.

Using creativity as a lens to explore the meaningful learning experiences of autistic youth, Carrie Snow evaluates and challenges common conceptions about autism and offers a strengths-based demonstration of the many ways that autistic people express creativity and imagination. She then identifies key qualities of education that are commonly cited by autistic people to be significant to the development of fulfilling lives, healthy identities, promising careers and vocations, and creativity in general. This important resource shows how educators can support autistic K–12 students in public, private, inclusive as well as specialized schools. Creativity and the Autistic Student forwards the idea that autistic people offer valuable skills and abilities that can strengthen communities, within school and beyond. Book Features: First-person narratives by autistic people that challenge the prevailing medical model. A strengths-based perspective that highlights the resourceful, novel, relevant ways that autistic people navigate their lives. A focus on the importance of cultivating what creativity scholars term “everyday creativity” in autistic youth. Strategies for inclusive curricular and instructional ideas, adaptations, and structures. Visions for a future that invites and thrives on the creative contributions of neurodiverse citizens. “What a beautiful book! This is not just an attempt to highlight the creative abilities of those on the spectrum, it is a call to explore how those who see the world differently are helping us all better understand creativity itself. Snow does a lovely job of illustrating how art, expression, and imagination can be tools for communication, human connection, and so much more.” —Paula K. Kluth, consultant, advocate, and author of You’re Going to Love This Kid: Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom “Why should it be so hard to imagine that people who think differently might be creative? Carrie Snow’s Creativity and the Autistic Student is a must-read for anyone interested in developing the untapped potential of neurodiverse learners.” —Ralph James Savarese, author of Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption, Professor, Grinnell College “How can you cultivate the creative capacity of autistic students? Few authors have been willing to tackle such a complex and important question. Carrie Snow is an exception. Drawing on her experiences as a special educator and the accounts of autistic students, Snow provides a provocative, compelling, and at times moving exploration of this question. Be prepared to rethink your assumptions and discover how to take a strengths-based approach to supporting creativity in the everyday learning and lives of autistic students.” —Ronald A. Beghetto, editor, Journal of Creative Behavior and Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

"In this book Simon Baron-Cohen summarizes the current understanding of autism and Asperger Syndrome. He explains the process of diagnosis, as well as the options for education and intervention for those with these conditions. Taking a lifespan approach, Professor Baron-Cohen considers how the conditions affect very young children through to adulthood. He also outlines his new Empathizing-Systemizing (ES) theory, which aims to explain all of the psychological features of autistic-spectrum conditions." "This book is designed firstly for people with these conditions and their families. It will be useful to clinicians, teachers, and other professionals involved in the care and support of people on the autistic-spectrum. The book will also provide an introduction to the topic for students in the social and biological sciences."--BOOK JACKET.

Owner of "the most remarkable mind on the planet," (according to Entertainment Weekly) Daniel Tammet captivated readers and won worldwide critical acclaim with the 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir, Born On A Blue Day, and its vivid depiction of a life with autistic savant syndrome. In his fascinating new book, he writes with characteristic clarity and personal awareness as he sheds light on the mysteries of savants' incredible mental abilities, and our own. Tammet explains that the differences between savant and non-savant minds have been exaggerated; his astonishing capacities in memory, math and language are neither due to a cerebral supercomputer nor any genetic quirk, but are rather the results of a highly rich and complex associative form of thinking and imagination. Autistic thought, he argues, is an extreme variation of a kind that we all do, from daydreaming to the use of puns and metaphors. Embracing the Wide Sky combines meticulous scientific research with Tammet's detailed descriptions of how his mind works to demonstrate the immense potential within us all. He explains how our natural intuitions can help us to learn a foreign language, why his memories are like symphonies, and what numbers and giraffes have in common. We also discover why there is more to intelligence than IQ, how optical illusions fool our brains, and why too much information can make you dumb. Many readers will be particularly intrigued by Tammet's original ideas concerning the genesis of genius and exceptional creativity. He illustrates his arguments with examples as diverse as the private languages of twins, the compositions of poets with autism, and the breakthroughs, and breakdowns, of some of history's greatest minds. Embracing the Wide Sky is a unique and brilliantly imaginative portrait of how we think, learn, remember and create, brimming with personal insights and anecdotes, and explanations of the most up-to-date, mind-bending discoveries from fields ranging from neuroscience to psychology and linguistics. This is a profound and provocative book that will transform our understanding and respect for every kind of mind.

This volume, the first scholarly book on autism and the humanities, brings scholars from several different disciplines together with adults on the autism spectrum to investigate the diverse ways that autism has been represented in novels, poems, autobiographies, films and clinical discourses, and to explore the connections and demarcations between autistic and "normal" creative expression.

Wonderfully detailed and obsessively precise, this colouring book calls out to the perfectionist in all of us. Straight from the pen of Peter Myers, an artist with Asperger's Syndrome, these delightfully complex illustrations, reveal the exacting nature of an Asperger mind. Match Peter's detailed drawings with your own meticulous colouring.

A vivid exploration of working with autistic children using empowering techniques from a range of creative therapies. Each chapter in this heartening book is the story of a child with autism and how therapy was pivotal in confronting his or her individual dilemma. Covering many of the behaviours characteristic to autism, such as uncontrolled anger and obsessive tendencies, the therapies used range from drawing and dancing to meditation and martial arts, depending on the needs and interests of each child. The key message is that investing in the relationship between the therapist and the child - so that they grow, play and develop together - is transformative.