Hello, My Name is Max and I Have Autism
An Insight into the Autistic Mind
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
INTRODUCTION My name is Max and I have autism. This label just means that I’m different, not damaged. My mom tells me this all the time. She says my brain is just wired differently. I didn’t know I had autism until last year. I knew I had “it” but I didn’t really understand it. My parents didn’t want me to be held back by a label. When I realized what it was, I got really depressed and hated myself. I hated my autism, as I knew it made people feel uncomfortable around me. My mom heard me talking to myself about how I wished the autism in me would die. She started crying, and told me that it was the autism that made me who I am and she was really sad that I hated a part of myself. My Uncle Dean gave me an art set and my mom told me that the best way for me to deal with my autism was to embrace it. She said that yes, I was different, but to focus on my strengths, not what others perceived as my weakness. She encouraged me to draw my feelings, to get them out on paper. It made me feel better. Our family believes that it is our duty to help others. My artwork and my book is how I am paying it forward. It was hard trying to negotiate being an autistic kid in a neurotypical world. I was kicked out of schools, YMCA basketball, Cub Scouts, even McDonalds. People didn’t understand that I was different as my disability wasn’t obvious. It’s not like we turn purple or something. I wish people could have been more patient with me and my parents. It would have made a huge difference. My art show is entitled, Insight into the Autistic Mind. I took my show and made it into this book. I’m sharing it because I want to generate compassion for other kids, just like me. Especially the ones who cannot speak. They need someone to speak for them. Someone who is just like them, not someone who read a book or wrote a thesis in college. Someone who knows what it is like to be overwhelmed, or not being able to talk or misunderstood. Someone like me. My name is Max. And I have autism. Autism, yep … it’s just part of who I am! CHAPTER ONE WHAT DOES AUTISM LOOK LIKE? INSERT PICTURE #1Self-portrait (caption) Self-portrait I did this picture at school. It became part of a larger work entitled, “My Family,” which was part of the Community Quilt at the Denver Art Museum. My mom had to submit an artist bio for me. She asked me what my art was about. This is what she wrote and what was published in a book about the Community Quilt. My son’s piece is entitled, “My Family.” Max used cut outs from family photos to recreate his self-portrait that he did in art class. In the upper left, there is a photo of the self-portrait and in the bottom right, a picture of Max. Max is a high-functioning autistic and was non-verbal until the age of 6. He has been subject to segregation and prejudice since he was quite young. Max was denied educational and social opportunities due to his diagnosis. After several rejections, we finally found an autism program. The interventions worked. Max is now in a regular classroom with his peers but still feels separate. He is aware of his autism but considers it a label versus a definition. His art reflects his view of his identity. He is able to be his own person and defy his labeling. He is not just an autistic. He is an 11 year old boy, a blend of his entire family and his life experiences. Max placed pictures of his family around his self-portrait. He knows his family surrounds him and protects him but he is still able to be his own person. Max said, “I am not autism. I am ME.” I knew I had autism, but it is like being labeled a Lutheran or a Toyota. I didn’t know exactly what it was about until later. I am glad I had my family to surround me when I did finally figure it out. So what does autism look like? Like ME!
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Due to his disability, Max encountered many forms of discrimination, mostly due to ignorance. He was denied access to the many things allotted to children—sports, education, scouting, birthday parties, even playdates. Despite these harms, Max chose not to be bitter. He embraced his autism and became an advocate for himself and for other children on the spectrum. When words were difficult to come by, Max would use art to communicate his feelings to his mother. He now uses art and essays as a tool to educate others about what it is like to have autism.
An aspiring artist, his art has been displayed at the Denver Art Museum and 40 West Gallery. His art show, Insight into the Autistic Mind, is on constant display as part of Max’s in-services for groups interested in autism. He was profiled in the local media for his advocacy. Max has his own Facebook page for his art show and at present has 200 likes and growing.
Max lives in Denver, Colorado with his mom and dad and four cats. He has a love of skateboarding, his PS3, writing, art and music. He wants to be a DJ and play in a jazz band when he grows up.
About the Author
Max Miller is a 12 year old high functioning autistic. Max was diagnosed with autism at age 5. His original prognosis was that he would never learn and was deemed “unteachable.” It was recommended to his parents that he be institutionalized as he would never thrive. His parents defied this assertion and pressed forward with a blend of traditional and non-traditional therapeutic methods. The blend of methods worked and Max began to communicate. Max was non-verbal until age 6. He did not learn to read and write until age 10. He is now integrated in the classroom and reads at grade level. Due to his disability, Max encountered many forms of discrimination, mostly due to ignorance. He was denied access to the many things allotted to children—sports, education, scouting, birthday parties, even playdates. Despite these harms, Max chose not to be bitter. He embraced his autism and became an advocate for himself and for other children on the spectrum. When words were difficult to come by, Max would use art to communicate his feelings to his mother. He now uses art and essays as a tool to educate others about what it is like to have autism. An aspiring artist, his art has been displayed at the Denver Art Museum and 40 West Gallery. His art show, Insight into the Autistic Mind, is on constant display as part of Max’s in-services for groups interested in autism. He was profiled in the local media for his advocacy. Max has his own Facebook page for his art show and at present has 200 likes and growing. Max lives in Denver, Colorado with his mom and dad and four cats. He has a love of skateboarding, his PS3, writing, art and music. He wants to be a DJ and play in a jazz band when he grows up.