Nicholas Bursh

Nick Bursh is an Autistic man who lives with his parents in Fontana, Wisconsin. He was diagnosed in 1989- the year Rain Man came out and the world first heard the term “Autism.”

Nick has been drawing since he could first hold a pencil, starting around age four as a fine motor therapy. Over the years he’s drawn caricatures, portraits and cartoons on a daily basis. He drew as a form of expression because he could not speak. So for the first 25 years of his life, art was his greatest joy and release.

In 2012 Nick learned to communicate with others directly by using a form of supported typing on a computer or letter board called FC (or facilitated communication). It’s made a miraculous difference in his life, creative expression has literally been flowing powerfully ever since.

Nick now paints regularly and passionately and his style has expanded to include still life, landscapes, architecture and an ever-maturing vision of the abstract. There is no question that his much greater communication skills are now at work. Early on he typed, “Being able to talk is almost like being re-born.” He is now truly making the most of his new life, sharing his gifts of words and art.