My Son With Autism Wants To Spend All Day Drawing Pictures. Should I Encourage Or Discourage His Interest In Art?

Oct. 23, 2008 -- Question: My son with autism wants to spend all day and night drawing detailed pictures of Scooby Doo cartoons. Should I encourage or discourage his interest in art?

Answer: Well, we certainly wouldn't want to discourage interest in art or creativity or an activity that brings great enjoyment to the child. What we do want to do is make sure that it doesn't interfere with everyday functional, social, adaptive activities. So, what we can do is give him times during the day to pursue this activity, and then have him engage in a wider range of activities and exposure to other things during other parts of the day.