Autism, Altruism, & ART

Only six years after being officially diagnosed with autism, Logan Michael Benham is giving back to the center that helped him and his family.

Logan hosted an art show at Skull Alley on Broadway in Louisville – along with his father, “Big Daddy” Tray Benham – to benefit the STAR program.

STAR is the Systematic Treatment of Autism and Related disorders program, operated by the University of Louisville’s Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center.

Benham, the owner of “Big Daddy’s Tattoos” in Radcliff and Elizabethtown, called the exhibit “Sticks and Stones.” The show also featured the musical renderings of the John Haywood bluegrass band.
Attracting over 100 people, the art fetched between $50 and $300 – Logan’s art was sold out in 40 minutes, raising $3,000 for the STAR program.

Benham said they began noticing that Logan was slow to walk around the age of 1. He was evaluated and diagnosed with autism by the Weiskopff center at the age of 4.

“It’s really a good feeling to be able to give back to them,” said Benham. “They’ve given so much to us.”
Logan began showing interest in art at the age of 2, and it has since become a passion Benham said; one of the few things he can truly focus on...

“Focus” is the understatement. Logan sketches, draws, and paints a few hundred pieces a day, according to Benham, often going through a ream of paper every day.

The father and son duo are now working on a Web page, illustrating a children’s book, and producing coloring pages.

Logan’s art is on display at Ekron Elementary School and Brandenburg Primary School, and he has also designed placemats for a governor’s dinner.