Description

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Autism spectrum disorder is found in one of every eighty-eight children—this gorgeous book offers powerful insight into the disorder.

“Drawing Autism highlights an ‘area where individuals with autism can have great abilities.’ . . . Jill Mullin, a clinical therapist, explores the recurring themes in art made by people with autism.” —New York Times Book Review



“This book is a testament to the power of art to reveal the inner world of people living with ASD.” —Publishers Weekly

Over the last decade autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become an international topic of conversation, knowing no racial, ethnic, or social barriers. Behavior analyst and educator Mullin has assembled a staggering array of work from established artists like Gregory Blackstock and Jessica Park, to the unknown but no less talented. Their creations, coupled with artist interviews, comprise a fascinating and compelling book that serves to educate and inspire anyone who knows someone diagnosed with ASD. Mullin’s introduction and the foreword by best-selling author Temple Grandin provide an overview of autism and advocate for nurturing the talents, artistic and otherwise, of autistic individuals.



Using artwork created by individuals diagnosed with ASD, Drawing Autism celebrates their artistry and self-expression while also serving as an accessible point of entry into understanding how ASD manifests in individuals. Autism is known as a “spectrum disorder” because no two diagnoses are exactly the same; however, there are characteristic traits of ASD. Through their art, the contributors exhibit unique perspectives on how they see the world and their places in it. The book’s seven chapters—Interaction, Individual and Societal; Repetition, Repetition, Repetition; Getting from Here to There; Bird’s Eye View; Another World; It’s All History; Art for Art’s Sake—speak directly to the core characteristics of ASD.



Includes a foreword by TEMPLE GRANDIN, PhD, who is considered the most accomplished adult with autism in the world. She is the author of several books, including the best sellers The Way I See It and Animals in Translation.

About the Author

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JILL MULLIN, MA MSEd BCBA, is a behavior analyst who has been working with individuals with ASD since 2000. She is the editor of Drawing Autism.

Dr. Temple Grandin is one of the world’s most respected experts in the fields of autism and animal behavior and livestock handling. As a toddler, she had speech delays as well as other signs of severe autism. Many hours of speech therapy and intensive training ultimately enabled Temple to speak. Mentoring by a high school science teacher and exposure to her aunt’s ranch in Arizona motivated her to pursue a career as a scientist and livestock equipment designer. She is a prolific speaker, internationally best-selling author, and professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. In 2020 she was honored as a Top Ten College Professor in America. In 2010,  Time 100 an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, named her in the "Heroes" category. She was also the subject of the Emmy- and Golden Globe–winning semibiographical film Temple Grandin. 

Praise For…

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A jaw-droppingly beautiful book.
— Library Journal

Drawing Autism is not just a book about autism and art—it’s a book about being human and expressing selfhood in all its beautiful, messy, complex forms. Add Drawing Autism to your wish list, tell your friends about it, and show it to your kids on the spectrum.

— Autism/Asperger’s Digest

Mullin, a behavior analyst, brings together fascinating works by 40 artists on the spectrum with their answers to her questions about their process.
— The Boston Globe

Editor Jill Mullin has collected artwork from a host of painters and other graphic artists who are all somewhere on the spectrum. The fascinating and often lovely reprints in Drawing Autism help provide another perspective on the capabilities of people with autism.

— Time Out New York

Mullin’s clinical background in Applied Behavior Analysis, combined with more than a decade helping individuals with ASD, serve her well as the book’s curator.


— The Portland Phoenix