Karen Simmons, author of Little Rainman and founder of Autism Today joins Donna Seebo in Washington. Donna Seebo is a professional counselor, speaker, and popular talk show host of the “The Donna Seebo Show” heard daily on KLAY radio in the Northwest. She broadcasts throughout the country, through radio and television sharing her love of learning and communication to make life a richer experience.
The subject of the interview was Karens new compilation “Artism, Art By Those With Autism” where Donna asks pertinent autism related questions. Karen discussed the purpose of the book and how wonderful it is to bring all of this wonderful work to life.
One of the artists, Mark Rimland, was a character study for Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man where Dustin spent time with Mark and several other people with autism so he could play the part. Another artist, Donna Williams, was one of the first published authors with autism with her book “Nobody Nowhereâ€.
The book is the brainchild of Karen Simmons’ CEO of Autism Today, the Internet’s best online source for the latest resources and information on autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Karen is the mother to one of these artists and was inspired to together other artists with similar talents. Artists range in age from 4-52 and are from places all over the world such as the US and Canada and from as far away as Thailand, Sweden, the UK and France and the Netherlands making it a truly global phenomena.
Simmons says she’s thrilled to see this book in print as it was a labor of love for herself personally and a bonding experience for her online communities. “After inviting input from audiences on both the Autism Today and Autism Arts websites, we received a flood of responses from artists with Autism Spectrum Disorders. We were bowled over by the quantity and the quality of submissions,†says Simmons. “The publication of this award winning coffee table version of the book is confirmation that people on the autistic continuum have beautiful contributions to make to our world.â€
This book allows readers to explore the mind’s-eye perspectives of artists with autism from around the world. Through the artwork collected in Artism, we can see these individuals’ colourful, brilliant, and sometimes-lonely worlds come to life. However, this is more than just an artist’s showcase. It is a model designed to shed new light onto the often-misunderstood world of autism, and to inspire others to share their uncommon experiences and true gifts with the world.
Click here to listen to the Donna Seebo recorded radio show with Karen Simmons.
Click here to purchase Artism: Art By Those Wiith Autism