“Children with autism develop all kinds of enthusiasms…perhaps focusing on one topic gives the child a sense of control, of predictability and security in a world that can be unpredictable and feel scary.” – Barry M. Prizant

“Discouraging an enthusiasm can be just another way of dismantling a strategy that helps a child with autism feel better regulated – or, worse, removing a source of interest and joy. A more helpful approach is to use the enthusiasm as a way to expand the child’s outlook and improve the child’s life.” – Barry M. Prizant

“When a person with autism develops an interest, we must assume that the particular subject of the interest is a good match for that person’s neurophysiology and serves an important function.” – Barry M. Prizant

“These deep interests can help children stay more engaged and attentive. They can be used to motivate learning and to enable participation in situations that might otherwise be difficult.” – Barry M. Prizant

“Though they come with challenges, enthusiasms often represent the greatest potential for people with autism. What begins as a strong interest or passion can become a way to connect with others…” – Barry M. Prizant

“Children with autism are colorful, – they are often very beautiful and, like the rainbow, they stand out.”—Adele Devine, Speaker, Author, and Teacher

“Adopting our own perception, following rather than leading and building bridges are all keys to helping the child with autism learn.”—Adele Devine, Speaker, Author, and Teacher

“We know that children with autism like order, that they often very visual and that they can be quite literal. They deserve beautiful resources and symbols that make sense.” —Adele Devine, Speaker, Author, and Teacher

“When teaching children with autism we must be quick to adopt, follow our instinct and go off plan.”—Adele Devine, Speaker, Author, and Teacher

“All of these things autistic people are supposed to be ashamed of and stop doing? They are how we communicate our joy.”— Julia Bascom

“Being autistic, to me, means a lot of different things, but one of the best things is that I can be so happy, so enraptured about things no one else understands and so wrapped up in my own joy that not only does it not matter that no one else shares it, but it can become contagious.” – Julia Bascom

“Sometimes being autistic means that you get to be incredibly happy…You get to have just about the coolest obsessions.”— Julia Bascom

“Every inch of me is totally engaged in and powered up by the obsession.”— Julia Bascom

“Instead of teaching your child to be great ‘despite’ Autism, teach them to be great ‘with’ Autism. Perspective is everything.”—Stuart Duncan

“Autism is not a disability, it’s a different ability.”—Stuart Duncan

“Autism may make my child HOW he is but it does not make him WHO he is.”—Stuart Duncan

“Autism: Where the randomness of life’ collides and clashes with an individual’s need for the sameness.”—Eileen Miller

“Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.”—Eileen Miller

“In reference to Einstein’s definition of insanity……No, Mr. Einstein, that is not insanity, that is autism”—Eileen Miller

“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.”—Paul Collins

“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. … But autism … is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an overexpression of the very traits that make our species unique.” —Paul Collins

“What I care about – in fact I’m pretty obsessive about this – is the order things come in, and different ways of lining them up…When we’re playing in this way, our brains feel refreshed and clear.” – Naoki Higashida,

“We don’t obsess over certain things because we like it, or because we want to. People with autism obsess over certain things because we’d go crazy if we didn’t. By performing whatever action it is, we feel a bit soothed and calmed down.” – Naoki Higashida

“Do not fear people with autism, Do not spite people with autism unite them, Do not deny people with autism accept them for them their abilities will shine.”—Paul Isaacs

“Remember a person with autism, isn’t a set of symptoms or statistics always remember and remind them that they’re a person first.”—Paul Isaacs

”If kids come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job more important.”—Barbara Coloroso

“A person with autism lives in his own world, while a person with asperger’s lives in our world, in away of his own choosing.”—Nicholas Sparks

“Autism can’t define me, I define autism.”—-Kery Magro

“Autism is part of my child. It’s not everything he is. My child is so much more than I diagnosis.”—S. L. Coelho

“If they can’t learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn.”—Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas

“I might hit developmental and societal milestones in a different order than my peers, but I am able to accomplish these small victories on my own time.”—Haley Moss

“It seems that for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential.”—Hans Asperger

”If you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism.”—Dr. Stephen M. Sore

“Why do non-autistic people have interests/hobbies, But autistic people have obsessions?”—Tina J. Richardson

“Being autistic does not mean I’m from another planet. I’m me just like you are you. I’m here living in your world. Make my life as calm as you can and I will be present.”—Tina J. Richardson

“Don’t be sad that I’m autistic. Love me for who I’m. All of me. Some things are difficult for me but I’m ok as I am.”—Tina J. Richardson