Courage, Heart & Wisdom: Essays on Autism: By Physicians, Psychologists, Educators, Speech and Langu

Autism is a puzzle but it can be solved with a team working together.

Fractal and Autism Mathematicians tell us a fractal is a graphic representation of a random set of numbers or behaviors. In any random activity, there is often a level of order that we cannot see due to our visual or cognitive perspective. A fractal image is a pattern of order within the apparent chaos that increases in beauty and complexity as our awareness and vision of it grows. Autism can be perplexing. Children may exhibit behaviors that appear to be random and idiosyncratic with no rhyme or reason. Why does he scream when a certain song is played? Why must all the Froot Loops be purple? The answers to these questions will differ for each child and will always amaze us. The song was in the key of B flat which is the same pitch emitted by the fluorescent light that, when amplified by his auditory sensitivity, is intolerable. The purple Froot Loops match Barney(TM) a favorite TV character. While seemingly random, all of these behaviors meet a specific need and are communicating an important aspect of who this child is. They are the puzzle pieces that, when assembled, create a beautiful and unique image.