More from Jacob's Batman files

As you may well imagine, Jacob is nearly beside himself with anticipation over this weekend's opening of the Batman movie: The Dark Knight Rises. Batman has been an on-and-off obsession of his for years.

Two-Face, one of Jacob's favorite Batman villains

As far as autistic obsessions go, I find Jacob's fascinations with superheros (& their counterparts, super villains) to be, well, fascinating. He is particularly intrigued with the notion of the double / secret identity.

He is always talking (in his way, which means asking closed-loop questions) about this.

"Who is Bruce Wayne, Mom?" (Only acceptable answer = "Batman")

"Who is Batman?" (Answer: "Bruce Wayne")

Occasionally he will get deeper into the matter of the transformation itself and ask "What happens when Batman puts on his cape, Mom?" (Answer: "He becomes Batman.")

That it's an obsession with people - albeit fictional people - makes me happier than if it were, say, train schedules for (an overused) example. Especially since he also likes to talk about what they are thinking and feeling.

According to Jake this is "Bane" the main bad guy of the new movie

We are going to a 9 AM screening on Saturday (remember, Dan is in "the business" and the producer is a friend of his) and Jake can't stop asking "What are we doing on Saturday, Mom?" even though he knows full well the answer.

I am very glad Jake has an activity to keep him happily occupied on these dreadful heat-wave weekend days. He will go though a half ream of paper over the course of a week.

And have you noticed how his style is evolving?  He is drawing fewer giant heads and starting to include more bodies, slowly figuring out how to do that (whereas before, his bodies were mostly vaguely rectangular shaped lumps).

His faces are becoming a little less interesting in the process, but I'm sure the details will come back once he gets this body stuff figured out.

And the rest of these guys aren't necessarily Batman related, but just some of the recent crop that I found particularly intiguing or endearing.

Enjoy.

I think of this one as "Introspective Superman" - less chiseled, more thoughtful

(For more Jacob art posts, click HERE.)

An Autist and an Artist

Jake: "A Bad Guy from Iron Man"

I have been posting images of my son Jake's artwork from time to time here on my blog since he started doing really extraordinary work this past fall.

As I am way too tired to write anything of import today (first day of camp for Ethan - Jake in his 2nd week of no school/no camp vacation - trip out to L.I. with Jake in tow to both see my Mom & meet with her rehab team - there's nothing to eat in the house, so food shopping too) I thought I would fill in the unseemly blank space here and share some of the recent crop.

With all this free time on his hands, he's been busy!

"Bad Guy"

All Jake would tell me about him is that he's a "Bad Guy" and I have no idea which TV show or Movie he's from.

Personally I LOVE all the personality that comes out in the little lines around his mouth. And the sparkle of mischief in those eyes.

It never ceases to amaze me how Jacob manages to capture so much expression and emotion and character in the faces he draws. This would be impressive for ANY not-yet-ten year old boy, but for someone on the autism spectrum?  Truly, mind bogglingly extraordinary.

I love how it goes against the grain of all the common "wisdom" about autistic folks - how they are more interested in objects than people, don't pick up emotions, etc. etc. Because Jacob? Fascinated with other people, and clearly VERY tuned into facial expressions and what they convey.

Like I always say "You meet one person with autism... and you've met ONE person with autism." And Jake is SOME person with autism.  My favorite (but I am clearly prejudiced.)

"Peter Parker"

Jacob says this is Peter Parker - see the bit of spider on his arm that is cut off in this photo - but I think he looks quite a bit more like John Lennon, no?

"Two Face"

"Batman Bad-Guys"

Jacob is so clearly enamored of larger than life characters and stories. He loves drawing both superheros and their nemesises - the "Bad Guys."

"Harry Potter"

We've been having a bit of a Harry Potter film festival in the house this past week, as that's what Jake's been asking for, and I don't mind a bit as I have loved the books and enjoyed the films. This is definitely Harry from Book Seven, roughed up a bit and covered in either mud or blood - Jake was not quite clear on which - or both.

We haven't been watching in chronological order, but rather jumping around as Jake requests one or another specific film with a logic his own that I am not questioning, but rather letting dictate our viewing habits.  He has been commenting on Harry's maturation over the course of the series, going from asking "Is Harry a boy or a man?" to stating "Harry is a boy AND a man!" as he understands the films encompass some years of his life as he grows from one to another.

I think Jake is also thinking in about himself and how he will grow from a boy to a man someday. He's been talking about his impending birthday a lot, when he will turn TEN!

And with that thought I leave you. More tomorrow on... something. (Whatever my brain can muster.)

Art and Autism

I think about the connection between art and autism a lot. About how outside the box, committed to their singular vision both the artist and the autist, each in their own way, are.

I've been doing this for a while (see my best known post "From Autist to Artist") but it's been circling round my brain a lot these days, as Jacob's artwork has really taken off lately. Into the stratosphere.

If you've been following my facebook or Twitter streams you may have seen some of these:

"Bruce Wayne"

"Goku" (From Dragonball Z-Kai)

"Commissioner Gordon"

"Goku" (Again)

"Superman"

Drawing makes Jacob so happy. Time to draw is his big reward at school, and it's a great carrot.  You don't want to know how fast we go through a ream of paper these days. And I'm not complaining in the least.

What I am most struck with is the emotion in the faces he draws, even more then the details of certain parts like the ears (the ears!), or the way his noses look like noses; the way he captures a mouth with one line - and it so completely is a mouth.

This flies in the face of so much common "wisdom" about autistic people paying no attention to faces, or not being able to read facial expressions for emotion.

When I mentioned this along with a photo of Jake's art I posted on Facebook, a cyber-friend, who is herself on the spectrum, responded with this really interesting reflection:

What this has to do with his autism, if it's mere coincidence or if the way he perceives the world through its filters open up the artist space in him, all this is unknown and probably unknowable. And ultimately besides the point.

I don't have any answers here. This is just me ruminating out loud, in public (blogs are so lovely for that). And also, truth be told, showing off, sharing some of my son's wonderfulness with the world.

Because Jake deserves to be celebrated.

I do know this: Jake's drawings are alive, in the way that mere renderings are not. They are art, and he IS an artist. 

Jake is who he is.

A package deal.

An artist and an autist.

But mostly, he's just Jake.

My son.

<^><^>^<^>

I haven't been writing that much about autism here lately, as much as it suffuses our lives, and bits of it weave through almost every thing I do. The other bits of life have been more dominant.

But that's about to change. Tomorrow is April 1st, the beginning of Autism Awareness month, and Monday, April 2nd is International Autism Awareness Day.  And just in time for all of this, the CDC has released new figures for Autism rates that are making big news.

I'm sure you know the new numbers, but if you've been sitting in a cave and haven't heard:

1 in 88.

(And for boys it's 1 in 54.)

And these are figures for 2008.

Four years ago.

(A limited 2011 study? 1 in 38. No I'm not kidding.)

So I'm going to be talking about Autism a lot this month, and you should too.  Because it's not going away, and even if you don't have an autistic kid (or nephew or cousin) you are and will be affected by this.

And the autistic kids of today are going to be the autistic adults of tomorrow, contributing to and (re-)shaping our world. And figuring out how best to support them, how to establish a future world that nurtures and meets the needs of us all, really needs to be on all of our minds.

It sure is constantly on mine.

To be continued people... to be continued...

Art, art, art, and a few words

Since I blew right past Wordless Wednesday this week, I might as well add more words into the story of these pictures that I had been planning to share with you.

The boys have both been busy making much art, and I have been having too much fun with my iPhone camera, always handy, always there.

This past week, parents were invited into Ethan's school to walk the halls and witness the results of the wonderful "Studio in a School" art program that has just completed a unit with the 4th grade, quite interestingly tied in with their history curriculum.

The kids providing docent service for the grown-ups, Ethan loved shepherding me through the show, helping me to find his own creations.

I know he wasn't consciously trying to mimic the expression on his "Crazy Warrior" - a  portrait of the self, imagined as a colonial era figure.  But, it shines through, no?

Ethan and his self-portrait as a colonial era Native American - "The Crazy Warrior"

Jacob has been drawing, drawing, drawing, as usual, and I thought I'd share some of the latest crop:

A guy

A Dragonball Z Kai dude. And if you have to ask, you don't want to know.

All TV show and cartoon characters this time. But, once again... WOW! Jake's ability to capture so much emotion, especially in the eyes, I find beyond astounding. Who says autistic kids don't perceive, understand and process emotion?

Dragonball dude again

Yes, it's everybody's favorite airbender: Ang the Avatar

I love these eyes.

Is it just me, or do you not want to meet this guy in a dark alley, too?

My favorite are the half-finished ones, with the simplest lines.

I love this drawing

 And because he's so damn cute, here's a picture of the artist, too: 

Jake out & about on our snowy Saturday last week

Me? It rained and rained and rained today. A biblical level downpour that lasted about 20 minutes. Excellently, of course, during the alternate side car-parking shuffle time. So what did I do? Document it, of course.

Rain on my windshield on Riverside Drive. 

I turn my wipers off at red lights and watch the rain overwhelm the windshield.

 Enjoy. And coming tomorrow - lots of words!


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Because

Because he would rather skip than walk down the street... and he's so fast that I have to run to catch up...

Because he gives the best hugs, pulls my cheek down to his lips telling me "Big kiss, big kiss for Mommy" and then plants one on me with a loud smacking sound...

Because every day when I meet his bus, he turns around once we're on the sidewalk to wave and yell "Goodbye, Deba, see you tomorrow!" and his stone-faced bus driver flashes him the brightest smile you've ever seen...

Because he draws people with "all the parts" and his drawings breathe with life:

It took Jake 3 minutes to do this sketch of "Mommy" as he was in a hurry to play

Yes, that's Timmy & his fairies from TV's "Fairly Odd Parents"

This IS our cat's expression when Jake's around: anxious

Jake didn't get to finish the body, but I love Bruce Wayne's face here

I tell you: "If you've seen one kid with autism... you've seen ONE kid with autism."

Look at my Jacob with fresh eyes, anew every day, and every day he will astound you.

As he does me,

as

he

does

me.

I'm linking up to Shell's Pour Your Heart Out & Maxabella's I'm grateful for... because I am so grateful for my wonderful autistic son Jacob.

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