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1pen — Autism.

Published: 2008-09-13 23:19:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 8352; Favourites: 206; Downloads: 0
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Description Autism...as a fractal. The brain here is being struck by autism...the great noisy electric storm if you ask anyone with it. The colors represent the enormous deluge of conflicting sensations and the over stimulation resulting from it.

Apo.

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This fractal is an entry in CathARThis 3 Contest. Autism is a brain development disorder. There is no cure. The disorder impairs the individual's ability to socially interact and communicate. It can also include severely restricted interests and repetitive behavior, sometimes referred to as "stimming" or self-stimulatory behavior. It is one of five known Pervasive Developmental Disorders. The disorder is a spectrum disorder, with severity of the disability swinging in both intensity and type. No two individuals suffering from the disorder are exactly the same and, as such, the methods of therapy implemented must be tailored to the individual. Autism affects one child every twenty-one minutes everyday.

I have long wanted to do a piece on autism seeing as my family has dealt with it for the last six years. It has been a difficult journey but an incredibly rewarding one.

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***IT WON!!! I'm happy to say that this piece won the deviantART CathARThis III contest. [link]

What the judges said:

^Katerina423: "The perfect embodiment of autism. That electrical storm. Autism is such a difficult and misunderstood illness and this helps the viewer gain a tangible grasp on what it must be like. That electrical storm. It's wonderful."

*killjoy: "i'm not given to enjoying fractals, but this is a dead-on representation of the autism spectrum, it's ordered chaos, and for most people with autism, there's a structure to it, something they do with a rigid order or pattern, but the pure chaos in the mind that creates this outward order is pure noise. i've to give this due credit, its just smart thinking to use a fractal."

$Moonbeam13: "I love this because it electrically displays the way the brain messages through this disorder. Using a fractal was brilliant in achieving the message."
Related content
Comments: 88

Saiyajin-hime [2010-02-17 00:15:24 +0000 UTC]

An interesting illustration of the brain.

I have autism (Aspergers Syndrome to be precise), and at first the news of this was depressing, being different from (and many times rejected by) society but now that's all behind me and I'm okay with the way I am (I've learned to look at it as more of a gift rather than a 'curse').

I still face some of the challenges, though rather minor, I've found ways to counter them.

That's good to know there are people like you who are supportive to those in your family who have the same condition.

Again, great work!

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1pen In reply to Saiyajin-hime [2010-09-28 02:59:03 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Mrs-Garfield In reply to ??? [2010-02-16 18:42:56 +0000 UTC]

Beautifully expressed.

A friend of mine here on dA Freakylaurent [link] is having a contest, his brother is autistic. Freakylaurent is looking for a tattoo design to honor his brother. I encourage you to take a look, hopefully you will join the contest.

This piece is AWESOME!!!!

Jo

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1pen In reply to Mrs-Garfield [2010-03-03 23:06:12 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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fuzzilybubble [2009-05-29 07:22:10 +0000 UTC]

Oh and another thing, I really thought the description was accurate and it summarized autism very well, as many people get the wrong idea about autism. Although I was confused about the sentence "Autism affects one child every twenty-one minutes everyday." I am not sutre if i've understood it right, but autism affects my brother all the time... anyway, nice piece of work nonetheless

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1pen In reply to fuzzilybubble [2009-06-23 20:06:32 +0000 UTC]

I guess I worded that a bit strangely. What I meant is that one child is diagnosed with autism about every twenty minutes or so everyday.

Believe me, I know, autism affects not just those with it, but those caring for them, every minute of every day.

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fuzzilybubble In reply to ??? [2009-05-29 07:19:48 +0000 UTC]

When I first saw this image I was a bit confused, though I gathered it was something to do with the brain, or the genes and maybe brain signals. I like your concept, and how you have tried to portray the overwhelming whirlwind of confusion and emotion is nice. My brother is severly autistic, it has been a very hard family life for em and my parents but we love him and we know that he can't always help his behaviours. Welldone

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1pen In reply to fuzzilybubble [2009-06-23 20:07:57 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for your feedback. Living and caring for someone with autism is a very demanding but also rewarding responsibility.

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ImprisonedBeauty [2009-05-19 23:02:44 +0000 UTC]

This deviation has been featured here: [link]
I hope you like it (and don't forget to it if you do)!

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1pen In reply to ImprisonedBeauty [2009-05-21 15:42:32 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for the feature. It was a great article, good job!

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ImprisonedBeauty In reply to 1pen [2009-05-21 15:43:02 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome! And thank you!

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xo-KisshuLuvr-ox In reply to ??? [2009-04-26 03:04:00 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely beautiful...

Autism is an intersting thing. Both a gift and curse in itself. It's differences in people like this that can push humans forward! Autism is unique. I never try to look at it negatively, but rather a possible optimism! Your art has really spoken to me, and I don't even have Autism...but my boyfriend has Asperger's. This represents Autism so perfectly. Ordered chaos. An painted oxymoron. Never have I seen it understood so well and shown visibly enderstandable to everyone. I hope people see this and get a glimpse of what it's like...

I really appreciate you doing this. I know you must think I'm some crazy person, but I'm really glad you made this. You are a wonderful artist and a have a great sense of creativity. I just thought you should know.

Have a lovely day. <3

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1pen In reply to xo-KisshuLuvr-ox [2009-09-25 17:23:30 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for leaving such a thoughtful comment. I'm truly sorry that it has taken me five months to reply to you and I hope you'll forgive me for that!

I'm glad to hear that you too saw the "ordered chaos" I tried to represent with the fractal in this piece that represents autism. I don't think you're a crazy person at all, just a very thoughtful and kind individual who took their time to express their thoughts on my work and I really appreciate it! Thanks again!

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xo-KisshuLuvr-ox In reply to 1pen [2009-10-08 01:56:27 +0000 UTC]

You're so very welcome!

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nothingunusual In reply to ??? [2009-04-02 14:57:32 +0000 UTC]

Hello.

Your deviation has been featured here:
[link]

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1pen In reply to nothingunusual [2009-04-08 16:22:29 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for the feature. It was an excellent article.

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MisokaMine [2009-03-13 19:10:14 +0000 UTC]

Ah, this is lovely. I am an autistic person and, to me, this represents my brain well. While sometimes it can be troublesome to have a brain that's so...busy, I wouldn't change it for anything. And congratulations on it winning a contest.

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1pen In reply to MisokaMine [2009-09-25 17:24:46 +0000 UTC]

Wow, thank you so much for your feedback. I'm sorry it's taken me six months to reply to you, but better late than never. It means a lot to me to know that others have been able to relate to this picture and understand what I was trying to represent. I really appreciate it.

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BomKosh [2009-03-10 05:39:19 +0000 UTC]

The fractures are very decent, colors shine, and great glow effects.

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1pen In reply to BomKosh [2009-03-12 02:27:54 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the feedback and your , I appreciate it

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BomKosh In reply to 1pen [2009-03-12 04:12:10 +0000 UTC]

Welcome.

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Counter345 [2009-01-23 19:07:25 +0000 UTC]

I don't mind not falling over every 5 mins, or writing like an elephant, but Everyone thinks I'm weird..

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1pen In reply to Counter345 [2009-02-06 05:37:14 +0000 UTC]

. Everyone thought I was weird when I was younger. Now they call me "peculiar" and mean it as a compliment.

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Chaobaby7 In reply to ??? [2009-01-10 00:32:26 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful. I have Asperger's syndrome so it means I am very intelligent but cannot cope with too much going on, i cannot socialise or mix with people and am cripplingly shy and prefer to make friends over the internet, i am also too mouthy and say too much when I should not and do not realise i should not do it or say it, i hate bass, loud laughter and shouting, i am very sensitive to heat and light and if there is lots going on or a busy room with too much in it my brain sort of wizzes about. I am very nerdy about history, legends and art and collect lots of things, I am 42 but sort of have a mental age of about 13 and yet an IQ of 140 so people cannot understand why I act like kid so often and yet i am not mentally handicapped or retarded.

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1pen In reply to Chaobaby7 [2009-01-13 06:06:21 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad you liked this one, it means a lot to me. I understand Asperger's fairly well, not as someone with it, but as someone caring for someone with autism who was just short of the criteria for Aspergers. Your experiences with it sound similar to hers.

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Chaobaby7 In reply to 1pen [2009-01-13 14:39:25 +0000 UTC]

i am glad you did it, the internet is a god send for soemone like me who fins making friends extremely difficult, i mean where I else can I go and find people who enjoy talking about history, cats, legands and stories as much as me.

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The-Raven-Hunter In reply to ??? [2008-11-09 21:06:43 +0000 UTC]

Congrats! I've done up your journal feature here: [link]

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1pen In reply to The-Raven-Hunter [2008-11-10 17:54:52 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for your support and for the feature.

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photocrafter In reply to ??? [2008-11-08 17:50:19 +0000 UTC]

Congratulations!!!!!! Beautiful my friend!

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1pen In reply to photocrafter [2008-11-08 21:02:42 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much and thank you for the too!

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mani-mas In reply to ??? [2008-09-15 12:52:18 +0000 UTC]

Actually...That is what it looks like sometimes, in my head; though it's usually much more...chaotic. And accompanied by rock music.

Thank you for sharing this; it's simply lovely.

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1pen In reply to mani-mas [2008-09-26 03:32:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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FireDrak14 In reply to ??? [2008-09-14 01:35:11 +0000 UTC]

It's just beyond my scope of thinking to think that someone can be that disabled. It's just too horrible, and I'm sorry your family has had to deal with it.

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1pen In reply to FireDrak14 [2008-09-26 03:34:37 +0000 UTC]

Meh, no need to say sorry, I've found its one of those things that in living with (like my left arm) makes you a different person, usually a better person, than you were before.

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FireDrak14 In reply to 1pen [2008-09-26 10:36:19 +0000 UTC]

What a powerful and optimistic way of putting something that could tear families and lives apart.

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1pen In reply to FireDrak14 [2008-09-26 15:14:34 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, but really it's all about finding strength in what you can do, and liberation in accepting what you cannot do.

Compassion, empathy...those are learned traits. Sometimes I feel that being struck down by my own disability has given me a small small window into the world of others that's helped me to grow as an individual. It reminds me of that story from the life of Jim Lovell (the hero of Apollo 13) who, while flying over the sea of Japan at night in his fighter jet the "Banshee", missed a crucial rendezvous with two other planes. The planes were supposed to receive a signal from their ship directing them back to the "Shangri-la" their carrier, but for some reason or another Lovell's own plane did not receive that signal and instead ended up flying in circles completely lost. A bit of an inventor, Lovell had designed something he thought might help. He plugged the device into the instrument panel, but it shorted out and left the cockpit in total darkness. Although this added to his terror, it actually saved his life. When he looked down, he was able to discern a faint phosphorescent trail caused by the carrier's screws churning the algae in the water. He followed the trail right back to the carrier. In a sense, as corny as it sounds, losing the use of his instruments helped him to see the glowing algae that saved his life. If he hadn't been left in the dark, he never would have seen it. So maybe, in a way, losing the use of my arm, losing other opportunities because of the impact autism has on a family, is helping me to see things from a different point of view, teaching me something that couldn't be learned any other way. I'm grateful for my experiences, good and bad.

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FireDrak14 In reply to 1pen [2008-09-27 03:41:46 +0000 UTC]

I will never get over the fact that there are amazing people out there like you that know how to live their lives, no matter what challenges face them. Including Mr. Lovell's story just enhances the point you're trying to make. Many people in this world (including me) can learn from a person like you. Kudos on what you've done with your life so far, and good wishes for the years to come.

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