While autism is a poorly-understood neurological disorder that can impair an individual’s ability to engage in various social interactions, this 5-year-old girl named Grace from the UK is the perfect example of the unexpected gifts that autism can also grant. Likened to the famous French impressionist, Claude Monet, many of her fans and customers are floored by her incredibly beautiful paintings that demanded her exceptional focus and attention to detail.
Though children are normally expected to begin to speak at least a few words by the age of 2, little Iris is still slowly learning to speak because of her health condition. As she goes through speech therapy, her parents gradually introduced her to painting, which is when they discovered her art talent.
“We have been encouraging Iris to paint to help with speech therapy, joint attention and turn taking,” Iris’ mother, Arabella Carter-Johnson, explains on her website. “Then we realised that she is actually really talented and has an incredible concentration span of around 2 hours each time she paints. Her autism has created a style of painting which I have never seen in a child of her age, she has an understanding of colours and how they interact with each other.”
Ms. Johnson-Carter also shared that she first noticed effective art was with Iris when she was trying to establish joint attention, she would draw stick men and make up stories and Iris would laugh and guide my hand to do more. She would tape down large sheets of wall paper liner down onto a wooden coffee table and they would work or draw together.
With no exceptions of her mother, Iris has opened up many people’s eyes to the possibilities in life with her stunning artworks.
