Chris Stiles was born in 1968 and appeared normal in every
way. He was a quiet baby and seemed content. When he was one year
old his parents realized he was avoiding eye contact. He had not started to
speak, or make noise. Autism was unknown in the 60's, and the pediatrician
initially was unable to diagnose anything specific. By the time he was two
he still was not talking. By the time he was four he was diagnosed with mental
retardation with autistic tendencies. Doctors suggested the parents
begin preparations to have him institutionalized, as was often done at the
time. They determined to keep him at home for as long as possible. He
spent a lot of time looking at branches and trees. He would analyse them,
checking them out at different angles and perspectives. When he was
five he was tested and found to be reading with comprehension at second grade
level. He was still was not speaking. At age 7 he began repeating
words but did not use them for communication. It was at about that age
that he had a 2 week evaluation at the Francis Haddon Morgan Children's
Hospital. The evaluation resulted in a diagnosis of "Classical Infantile Autism".
When he was 12 he was privileged to participate in a week long camping experience on Mount Hood in Oregon for children with autism. After that trip he began drawing pictures of roads and hills and buildings. He was drawing the route he had driven to Mount Hood. After that he begin drawing maps of other places he went. Often he would draw on both sides of the paper and try to look at both sides at once by holding the paper sideways up to his face. Between the ages of 12 and 13 Chris started exhibiting aggressive behavior and for a while was unable to attend school. After spending 6 months at home he entered program for autistic children at the University of Washington. The aggressiveness came to a screeching halt. When his parents asked the teacher how she did it and she said, "I threw him down on the mat, sat on his chest and screamed in his face." She probably weighed close to 200 pounds and had previously worked with institutionalized, behavior disordered, adult males. The family was very grateful to her.
When Chris was 10 he started running with his mom and younger brother and sister and eventually the family worked up to 7 to 14 miles per day. Now at almost 40 years of age he is still at home and still running 7 miles a day with his mother, aunt, sometimes his sister and her baby, as well as three greyhounds, a Jack Russell Terrier and a German short haired pointer belonging to the neighbor. Chris is responsible for two of the dogs.
Chris' drawings have attracted quite a bit of attention over the years, but he has only donated framed art to charitable auctions. One lady who bought one of his pictures entered it in an art show at Seaside Oregon and it received honorable mention. No one knew of his handicap except the lady who entered it. She sent the newspaper clipping to the family as documentation.
The various drawings from Chris now number 135 and are represented in this web site. We began showing his art at various art festivals and street fairs in about 2006. Chris sits and draws and receives high praise for his work, he feels respected and admired... and that is very healthy. Many of his most popular pictures were drawn when he was 7-12 years old. He continues to make pictures and designs the family Christmas card each year. His mother will be assisting Chris in the sales of these wonderful drawings. They will be sold in many forms as also shown on the web site. Some are from long ago, like the map of the neighborhood, and some are more recent, like his landscapes and flowers, and word association drawings. He uses permanent marking pens and any paper at hand. He insists on doing it his way, and sometimes "finished" pictures will end up completely over-drawn to black or will get holes in the paper, or will be crumpled up. Chris is unique, as is his concept of when one of his pictures is done. Chris continues to produce artwork, specific to his own outlook and perception and it is our desire to share his artwork with the “outside world".
When he was 12 he was privileged to participate in a week long camping experience on Mount Hood in Oregon for children with autism. After that trip he began drawing pictures of roads and hills and buildings. He was drawing the route he had driven to Mount Hood. After that he begin drawing maps of other places he went. Often he would draw on both sides of the paper and try to look at both sides at once by holding the paper sideways up to his face. Between the ages of 12 and 13 Chris started exhibiting aggressive behavior and for a while was unable to attend school. After spending 6 months at home he entered program for autistic children at the University of Washington. The aggressiveness came to a screeching halt. When his parents asked the teacher how she did it and she said, "I threw him down on the mat, sat on his chest and screamed in his face." She probably weighed close to 200 pounds and had previously worked with institutionalized, behavior disordered, adult males. The family was very grateful to her.
When Chris was 10 he started running with his mom and younger brother and sister and eventually the family worked up to 7 to 14 miles per day. Now at almost 40 years of age he is still at home and still running 7 miles a day with his mother, aunt, sometimes his sister and her baby, as well as three greyhounds, a Jack Russell Terrier and a German short haired pointer belonging to the neighbor. Chris is responsible for two of the dogs.
Chris' drawings have attracted quite a bit of attention over the years, but he has only donated framed art to charitable auctions. One lady who bought one of his pictures entered it in an art show at Seaside Oregon and it received honorable mention. No one knew of his handicap except the lady who entered it. She sent the newspaper clipping to the family as documentation.
The various drawings from Chris now number 135 and are represented in this web site. We began showing his art at various art festivals and street fairs in about 2006. Chris sits and draws and receives high praise for his work, he feels respected and admired... and that is very healthy. Many of his most popular pictures were drawn when he was 7-12 years old. He continues to make pictures and designs the family Christmas card each year. His mother will be assisting Chris in the sales of these wonderful drawings. They will be sold in many forms as also shown on the web site. Some are from long ago, like the map of the neighborhood, and some are more recent, like his landscapes and flowers, and word association drawings. He uses permanent marking pens and any paper at hand. He insists on doing it his way, and sometimes "finished" pictures will end up completely over-drawn to black or will get holes in the paper, or will be crumpled up. Chris is unique, as is his concept of when one of his pictures is done. Chris continues to produce artwork, specific to his own outlook and perception and it is our desire to share his artwork with the “outside world".