Meet Maxim

Maxim is a beautiful child with an amazing gift. As a child with autism, he wrestles with the ability to communicate his thoughts and feelings as clearly as with other children. Maxim instead chooses to communicate his emotions through his drawing. Since he was a small child, Maxim loved to draw. As many children do, he would draw on walls, on tables, on everything around the house. We focused his desire to a more suitable palette: the concrete patio in our backyard with chalks. Maxim would draw for hours. He would draw what he learned at school or what we read to him. We began to realize that he was actually quite good. He has a beautiful way of seeing the world through the simplicity of a child's eyes. His characters are usually smiling and happy. The first words Maxim learned to spell were names of animals. He would spell 'giraffe' and 'elephant' whenever he drew his favorite animals. Maxim draws what he feels. If he is upset, he will draw a story of why he is. When he is happy, it comes through in his drawings.

The idea of these animal t-shirts came about from the many people who saw Maxim's drawing and wanted a copy for themselves. We thought that through my son's drawings, we can show that children with autism may be challenged in some areas, but also have amazing gifts to be cherished. We hope to promote autism awareness and autism education

Maxim's Photo Gallery