Women in Art 278 Magazine December 2013 | Page 21

Iris is Autistic. At four-years-old, she is not speaking yet and has great trouble with interacting with others but expresses herself through movement and art. Iris is delightful, funny, serene, dainty, intelligent, crafty and utterly gorgeous! Iris loves nature, water, flowers, trees, wind, books, pictures and dancing on tip toes. Since she was diagnosed in December 2011 her parents were able to learn about how to help. With the expert help of many therapists she changed dramatically in just a short space of time. She used to be consumed by books, eye contact was a rare occurrence, she didn’t want to or know how to play, showed obsessive behaviours, got desperately distressed when near any other children and her sleep patterns were all over the place. She experiences fits of laughter, squealing with delight, plays, communicates by creating her own signs, a few small words and her sleeping is much better. Iris still has a long way to go with her social skills and speech, but she has many more ‘good days’ and on Hو\