Five-year-old Iris Grace from the United Kingdom is speaking up for autistic people everywhere – only, she’s not saying a word at all. Little Iris, who was diagnosed with autism in 2011, is just now learning to speak and form words while most ******** have already begun to speak by the age of 2. But she doesn’t let her impairment get her down. Through the encouragement of her parents, Iris has found a way to express herself through movement and art and her pieces are simply breathtaking.
Autism is a complex neuro-development disorder that causes a person to to have communication difficulties and social impairments. But some autistic people, like Iris may also develop Savant syndrome, a condition in which a person with mental disability develops other remarkable, almost prodigal abilities.
Action shot of 5-year-old Iris Grace painting in her garden studio.
Iris’s exceptional focus and attention to detail and understanding of how colors interact have helped her create incredible works of art, often compared to the works of French Impressionist, Claude Monet.
She gets her inspiration from the vast amount of time she spends outdoors and from her cat Thula. In her piece “Raining Cats” (pictured below) an image of Thula can be spotted in the undertones.
In addition to painting, Iris has always loved music. Her mother recalls that when she was younger, it was the only thing that could calm her down. Iris’s favorite genre is classical and she’s recently taken an interest in the violin.