The Open Sketchbook

The Open Sketchbook is a digital space dedicated to sharing creativity, empowerment, and education. We have reached out to and interviewed activists, artists, and prominent members of the artistic or neurodiverse/disabled community, hoping to amplify and share their stories. You can listen to podcast recordings of these conversations and read through transcribed interviews to learn more about their experiences. For instance, discover Niam Jain, an artist with Autism and his ability to communicate through painting; or listen to Marisa, the Founder of Linc-D, a business that sells the art of neurodiverse artists.

The A.WARE Executive team has also carefully put together articles and infographics to share knowledge about disability and neurodivergence. Education and awareness is the first step in creating meaningful advocacy. We invite you to take a moment and flip through the pages of The Open Sketchbook.

Listen to and Watch our Interviews:

A.WARE embraces content accessibility and diversity — listen to full audio versions of our interviews, or watch closed-captioned video versions here!

 

Featured Infographics

 
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5 Myths and Facts surrounding neurodiversity

There are many false assumptions and stereotypes surrounding the neurodiverse community. In this article, we seek to debunk five major misconceptions to help you better understand and access the facts over the myths!

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5 Things That Need To Be More Accessible

Let’s talk about some things that need to be more accessible for people with disabilities. As a community, it’s important that more awareness is spread about some of the challenges posed upon disabled individuals which others may not consider.

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5 Things To Be Aware of When Interacting with Neurodiverse Individuals

It is important that we all learn how to interact with and treat neurodiverse individuals with respect. Here are some basic aspects to be aware of when communicating with them!

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We’re here to share your story!

Do you have something interesting to say? Are you driven by creativity, activism, or a greater cause?

The Open Sketchbook is an open gallery of ideas and stories from people from all walks of life. Let us know about your experiences and be featured on this digital gallery by contacting us below.

Check out infographics, news, and other amazing updates:

 
There’s a stereotype that because the disability community face disadvantages in a predominantly non-disabled society, they will never be able to create art or perform physical feats equal in beauty to those of non-disabled individuals. However
We had the amazing privilege to be able to sit down with Teva, aka @neurocurioustherapist to talk about social work, neurodiversity, and activism online. Take a read at our new feature in the link in our bio. 🧡🌟
Thank you to both our wonderful sponsors of Greenbarn Potters Supply Ltd. and @rusart.fine.arts for kindly donating art supplies for our programs! Green barn is Western Canada's largest distributor of pottery materials and supplies. Clays, raw mate
FUNDRAISER ALERT🚨: We will be having a chocolate fundraiser tomorrow from 1:00-5:00pm in front of the stores: Moores Bakery (Kerrisdale) and Mavi (Kitsilano). We will be selling chocolate bars from Seattle Chocolate, a company that produces high end
We are working with Christine Turcot, Legal assistant and autistic artist to share a series of her artworks. Alongside guest teaching in our fall workshops to come, Christine has generously shared black and white versions of her hand-drawn patterns f
Dr. Karen Bopp worked in the neurology field for over 25 years; her work in the field of neurodiversity and autism focuses on changing the surrounding environment of neurodiverse individuals instead of the individual themselves. In the video, our Le
As technology becomes an increasingly important tool in our lives, here are 3 ways you can boost accessibility online! Camel casing, capitalizing the first letter of each word, is a simple and easy way to make sure your hashtags are readable to every
Happy Friday everyone! A little reminder from Kim Peek, an American savant living with ACC: "Learn to recognize and to respect others and treating them like you want them to treat you will bring the peace and joy we all hope for. Let's care, sha
This is your LAST chance! Applications close tonight at 11:59 PDT 🌟 Apply at the link in our bio or at awarefoundation.ca/apply
Guess what! If you forgot to send in an application, you now have an extra week to do so! Join our amazing team for the 2021-2022 cycle through the link in our bio. 🧡
Less than 1 week left! Check out the link in our bio or head to awarefoundation.ca/apply to join our team. We encourage people from all backgrounds, not just students, to apply! APPLICATIONS ARE DUE MAY 10TH AT 11:59 PDT 🧡
Here’s a post by #ActuallyAutistic Artist Anouk (@autism_sketches ) highlighting how Autistic individuals actually look 🧡 #Neurodiversity #Autism #Autistic #Neurodiverse #AutismAwareness #ActuallyAutistic #Autisme #AutismFamily #Neurodivergen
Looking to join a vibrant, creative, and energetic organization? Join A.WARE Foundation’s Executive Team for the upcoming year to engage with your community and advocate for neurodiverse and disability acceptance. EDIT: Apply at the link in b
This post contains quotes from Ellen Jones, an autistic campaigner who advocates for LGBTQ, mental health, and disability. According to GLAAD, a media advocacy organization, the number of characters with disabilities on broadcasted networks have in
In light of Autism Acceptance month, we’ve curated some resources we’d recommend checking out regardless of if you’re autistic or an ally. As this list is in no way meant to be comprehensive, we advise everyone to not let this post
Thank you @autism_sketches for this wonderful post! Take a read to understand the intersections between the autism spectrum and the gender and sexuality spectrum. #autismacceptance #autismorganization #autismcharity #autismacceptancemonth #lgbtq #n
Happy Wednesday everyone! This post features quotes from the wonderful @undercoverautie — Please go check out her account to hear more from her! 🧡 Continuing our discussion of Autism Acceptance Month, we wanted to share more thoughts on the i
Thank you so much to our lovely partner, @ahaburnaby for kindly gifting us an $100 OPUS gift card to support our programs! Artists Helping Artists is an art collective supporting adult artists of all abilities, with a similar ethos to our organizati
Today, we celebrate all the wonderful autistic individuals in our lives and communities. In honour of Autism Acceptance month, the A.WARE Foundation will be using our platforms to amplify even more autistic voices and share educational resources to e
🔔Whether you are someone with a disability or without, a parent, a professional, or simply someone who has something to say, we want to hear from YOU. We’re actively trying to see how we can improve ourselves as an organization as well as ou