Creativity truly knows no bounds and barriers, there are many examples and evidences of that. It heals the soul and sometimes the body. Today I would like to share with you the story of a girl with a beautiful name Iris, that touched my soul.

Iris Grace Halmshaw was born in 2009 in the UK. When she was two years old, doctors diagnosed her with autism in a severe form, the baby could not sleep, she was constantly anxious, refused to communicate with other people and to engage in an eye contact. There was a large probability that the girl will never speak and will not be able to adapt to life in society. But the parents did not lose hope: her mom, the photographer Arabella Carter-Johnson, together with experts developed for Iris home teaching and took the child to a speech therapist. It was during one of the sessions with the doctor, when the girl was offered to draw to improve her movement skills, to develop imagination, and to reduce the overall level of anxiety. As it turned out, the idea was genius.

To everyone's surprise, the three year old (at the time) girl took pencils, brushes and paints for the first time in her life and began to create. "We were hoping that painting would help Iris to express herself, inspire her to communicate," admits Arabella. "But in the process, my husband realized that our child is really talented. She has a rare sense of color, composition and their interaction. We finally found the precious key to her inner world."

Baby has the gift to fully concentrate on drawings, she can sweat over some of her works for several hours. When she draws pictures, Iris uses a variety of devices: in addition to standard brushes she uses sponges, stamps, rollers and even a plastic fork. The result is abstract paintings with harmonious color combinations and intricate patterns. They are like small windows into the magical world of child's soul that can not be overshadowed by any difficulties.

As you already must have noticed, Iris has a furry helper — a cat Thula. Many children with autism are recommended to communicate with animals. The girl did not like horses, and hyperactivity of a puppy caused a new seizure. The family was advised to pay attention to the Maine Coon cat, as they are friendly, intelligent and able to empathize and that was exactly what Iris needed. And fortunately, it all turned out. Now Thula is actively involved in all the games and activities of the girl: it dismantles toys, rides a bike, sits in a basket, sleeps nearby and, of course, oversees the creative process. This little friend helps the baby to take a bath, just being around and letting her to wet its hair so that the young artist is not afraid.

It is noteworthy that the first words of Iris were "Cat, sit down!" — when the pet reached a picture with its paw. So the child began to learn to fully communicate and now can safely look directly into the eyes of her friend from the cat family.

Parents do their best to help Iris and support her in her attempts to draw. Her mother, Arabella, loves taking pictures of the girl and has published a book with shots from everyday life and examples of paintings. Being so young, the baby got famous around the world: critics called her "a five year old Monet" for the similarity of colors with masterpieces of the famous impressionist paintings, the pictures are bought by collectors (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bought one of her works), and their copies are often placed on the postcards. The family transfers the proceeds from the sale of books and paintings to the National Autistic Society. Let us admire these inspiring pictures:

I hope you will be inspired and touched by the story and creativity of this unique girl just as I am. Thank you for your attention!