FROM THE EDITOR
E
very morning after breakfast my son Jay goes to the
computer to find out which famous people were born
and what momentous events happened throughout
history on that particular day. What started out as just
random trivia has now become a family tradition—a precious
part of my day that I look forward to every morning. Perhaps
one of the reasons I enjoy these random bits of information is
that they encourage Jay, and the rest of us too, to dig deeper.
In our family, making a statement like “Hey, did you know
2015 is the year of the Sheep?” will lead to an all-out search as
to which Chinese zodiac animal each of us is and what 2015
has in store for us. (For the record: I am a Rooster, Jay is a Snake,
my hubby is a Rat and Grace is a SHEEP!)
Of course, finding out that
Gracie girl’s sign was the
same as the sign of the YEAR
led to further investigation,
which is how we discovered
that the SHEEP is a symbol
of Peace, Harmonious coexistence and Tranquility; according to the Chinese horoscope, that will be exactly the
fundamental mood for 2015
for us all. It also happens to
be the theme for this Winter
issue of ZOOM and why we
chose to concentrate on relationships. Wait. It gets better. The Sheep is also the symbol of
the Arts, a secondary theme that this issue just sort of took on
as it all came together. ART is a way to communicate and, as
we all know, commun ication (in any form) is a way we tend
to connect with one another. It is for this reason that we are
so excited to highlight so many incredibly talented autistic
artists in this issue. You are going to love Debra Muzikar’s
feature piece on The Art of Communication; it kind of sums
up all of this.
We have a fair share of articles on “harmonious co-existence”
too! CarolAnn Edscorn tells us what it is like to be an autistic
4
Zoom Autism Through Many Lenses
After hearing that 2015 was The Year
of the Sheep, my Gracie girl made
this “ewe”nique picture! I know that
sheep pun was “Baaaaaaaaaaaad!”