Art, Autism, and the Happy Kingdom: The Colorful World of Rainbow Mosho
Rainbow Mosho (Thomais) is a 12-year old artist with autism. Mosho’s art is mainly inspired by her experiences living as a child on the neurodiverse spectrum and how those experiences have affected her. Art has been a way for Mosho to express herself and share her stories with others going through similar experiences as she is. Last week, our Executive Director, Koby Chen, and Marketing Coordinator, Brigette Lee, had the opportunity to sit down with Mosho and her mother to discuss their journey so far together with art and autism.
The A.WARE Foundation is elated to launch our Open Sketchbook platform with this talented young voice.
Koby: Thank you so much for sitting down with us today/ We are so grateful for this opportunity to discuss you and Thomais’ experiences. Let’s start with introductions. Can you introduce yourself and Thomais?
Thomais: “I’m Thomais. I’m 12 years old and I'm an artist with Autism and during quarantine I spend time with my family and friends.”
Yadira: “I am Yadira and I am the mom. So many times I end up being the social worker, the psychologist, the police, the cool person, the nasty person—good cop bad cop situations.
Yes, my daughter is on the autism spectrum, and for us that has meant many things. From the beginning, it has meant the discovery that there is a long road ahead. And sometimes that road will be met with plenty of rocks, plenty of holes, plenty of barriers. However, the one thing we have learned since she's been officially diagnosed 9 years ago, is that all these holes and barriers can be overcome and that it takes a lot of work.
Brigette: What was one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had since Thomais was able to speak after her regression?
Yadira: Her dad is in Australia, which is one of many realities families face. There's a challenge to the couple. So dad is in Australia and he's working and helping us immensely. Since 2012, we moved to the United States, and he has called every night. Dad came up with many great stories to tell at night; between 2014 and 2016, he would tell her a different story every time. Dad came up with about 30 different stories about Cuddly (a dog Thomais wanted) and every night [he read them to Thomais].
We parents are also overcoming challenges. (Yadira to her husband) If you want our daughter to learn to speak, we have to speak to her. This was on steps and it didn't happen like magic. About nine months later, he’s telling one of the many stories again. But, he has changed it a little bit. To our surprise, Thomais told him to tell the same story as she heard 15 months prior. That was huge to have her account what she heard. Before, she couldn't do that… And here we are, Thomais with the capability of speaking, sharing her emotions, being a kid— a kid with a diagnosis.
The degree of patience we need as a parent is simply immense. It's a learning curve for everyone. Many times, family and friends do not understand what we go through. Many times, we have to use our energy to explain to others around us immediately why things are different. But we parents have the responsibility to define and set a clear path. [Our] main goal is to move her forward and to keep her understanding that she can achieve [anything] and that she can become independent. But it's not going to be easy.
Koby: What prompted you to write Autism the Happy Kingdom?
Yadira: I wrote that in 2015 and we're hoping to get that published with all that reality of dealing with the real world. It was written at a stage when I also had the opportunity to work as a teacher assistant with exceptional educational students. I was receiving all these messages of similar experiences.
To my understanding, in order for us families that are raising children with some type of diagnosis, In order for us to get around, people have to understand us and accept us and to respect us we need to open up the doors of our home. People don’t understand many times that what we experience is different.
I was always a firm believer that I will get her out there where she's going to be exposed. Even though it meant arriving somewhere, for example, the grocery store. Five minutes later, something didn't click whether it was a sound, whether she was hungry and whatever it may have been at the time, she could not verbalize it. I had to just realize “oops, this is not the right moment to do this.” I prioritize my child.
Thomais: Sometimes she had to carry me out of the store like a pig.
Yadira: Yes I did. Because she was having such a moment. Many times, people do not understand and call her a brat and say that I have to discipline your child. and I was like, “really are you telling me this now?” I moved on.
I as a parent needed to be concerned with my daughter's needs. So, with the book, the main message is inclusion begins with us— us the ones surviving, us the ones realizing. But we also need from the community around us. [We need] the community around us to be open and willing to find a way to expose them to what we live.
There's a really cute story: There's a royal kingdom. All four members of the royal family, they all have autism in a different presentation. The king jumps. The queen has a lot of sensory issues. The prince has a major behavior crisis, and when he walks he makes thunder sounds. And Princess Rainbow, she has rainbow eyes and she's always airy and spaced-out, which is many times what we experienced. So, you have this royal family presenting different realities within the autism spectrum. But the main goal was we need a community that's going to be welcome.
Koby: How would you encourage others to help individuals with autism?
Yadira: Any individual with a developmental disability is going to take time to [respond to situations]. Families raising children, teens, or adults that have limitations, they may not behave according to social norms. The degree of respect and patience to understand what [the neurodiverse] community needs is immense. And there are places where we found that.
There are wonderful individuals out there who look at you without saying a word and you know that they understand. Some other people may take that extra step and ask if you need help. On the other hand, you have individuals who go and complain and ask why your child is making “gibberish noises.”
So, in order for the community to respond to our realities, people needed to remove themselves from the little quarrels and selfishness. Because, that's the spirit of community. Community is everyone together. We are all here creating something that is better for everyone. But, it takes effort from everyone. So, we have a lot of work to do when it comes to the spirit of support, of acceptance, of respect, of tolerance. But when we have situations that are challenging, or situations that bothers [people], you have to understand that there may be a reason why. Many times we, the parents, don’t even know why it is happening. But we are doing our best to prioritize our child.
Brigette: What influences your (Thomais’) art?
Thomais: When I feel super sad, sometimes I make a piece of art that I use to express my emotions. I remember one time I made a piece of art of me being held onto the chains of hate. One time in summer school, when I was misbehaving and didn't understand [what was going on], my teachers locked me inside a bathroom… Another time, my teacher didn’t take me on a field trip. My mom didn't understand why I was crying until she asked the teacher. They were like “oh we’re sorry we forgot.” My mom immediately decided to take me out of that summer school. She was furious.
Yadira: So many of these realities that she has been exposed to is reflected in her art. (...) When you made some of the drawings that expressed all those experiences, showing your creativity and ideas, what do you feel Thomais?
Thomais: I feel happy, mad, calm, or sad.
Yadira: And why do you use all of these different colors, why is that important?
Thomais: Because, orange means silly. Yellow means happiness. Green means fear. Turquoise means calm and light blue means glad. Dark blue means sadness. Purple means courage. Pink means love and pinkish-red means peace.
Yadira: Every color has an emotion or meaning attached to it. (...) As a family, we are dealing with PTSD and this is the role art has played to express all of this pent up fear, anger and emotion. Now that she can speak, now that she has her art as this powerful tool, that allows her to share what she’s feeling.
Thomais: Sometimes I feel like I’m burning in silence.
Yadira: That’s why she voices what she feels in art. She wrote another quick short story and we are in the process of having her edit it and clean it up. And it has to do with the emotions of what she observes and what is her role in these situations.
Koby: If there is one piece of advice you would give to parents in similar situations, what would it be? Would you recommend art?
Yadira: Yes, indeed. Without a doubt, our children express interest in different ways. We as parents need to be observant. If your child is interested in trains, if your child is interested in movies, dinosaurs— do pursue those interests. Open the door for your child to discover. Art helped so much because art can help her express many of her interests. It is so important to allow our children to go out there and seek resources and support in order to help join the community and fuel their passions.
