Autistry Studios » 2012

End of Year Ask

Janet Lawson, MFT | November 27, 2012

Autistry Studios was founded in 2008 by the parents of a teenage son with autism. Looking for programs to help their son transition after high school into independent adulthood they found nothing available and set out to fill the gap themselves. Autistry Studios serves teens and adults with autism, Asperger’s and other compatible learning differences.

Our program is based on fantastic projects from each student’s imagination. By facilitating their ideas and working with them to make their projects real, we explicitly teach practical life skills while implicitly practicing social skills that will enable our students to engage with their community. We have created a unique post industrial workspace in San Rafael, California.

In four years Autistry Studios has grown from a group of four students working in a backyard shed to nearly forty students working in a 10,000 square foot converted warehouse. What are we working on? Trains, planes, automobiles, swords, shields, helmets, tanks, guitars, quilts, dolls, dresses, films, paintings, computers, chairs, puppets…whatever you can imagine!

In 2013, we will launch Autistry Enterprises offering direct employment experience to our students.

Our core values are small groups, half-day sessions, realistic boundaries, and outstanding staff. This combination delivers incredible growth and a rewarding experience for our students. Families pay fees for service and about 25% of our families receive some form of tuition assistance. Tuition only covers 85% of the total cost of the program.

Please support this important and remarkable program by donating to
the Autistry Annual Fund.
(Pdf of this Ask Letter available here!)

Contributions may be made by check to Autistry Studios, and sent to our business office: 137 Granada Drive, Corte Madera, CA 94925

Or, donate via PayPal from our website Donation Page!

Thank you!
The Autistry Team

Autistry Studios is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contributions will be
tax deductible to the extent allowable by your tax situation.

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Autistry Newsletter – November 13, 2012

Janet Lawson, MFT | November 13, 2012

We are all finally recuperating from the Autistry Faire. It was a great success and a wonderful combination of fun, fantasy and a fabulous showcase for the student projects.

Check out the Faire to Remember blog for more photos. The Faire will become our signature fundraising event. So mark your calendars for Sunday, October 27, 2013.

And mark your December calendars for the ABC7 special, Profiles in Excellence featuring Autistry Studios. The film crew spent an entire Friday with us talking to the students, filming the projects, and interviewing Dan, Janet, and Courtenay. The crew returned on the 27th to film the Faire and to interview Ian S.

We haven’t seen the finished piece yet but we know they have found archival footage of Ian when he was 3 years old and part of the just-formed MCOE Autism Early Intervention Program at Marindale. At that time, Ian was non-verbal and no one could predict where he would be as a teenager. At 17, Ian is talking up a storm! He did the interview with the ABC7 producer, Laura Kutch and her photographer, Lorne Morrison all by himself. We are all eager to hear what he had to say. The show will air on Sunday, December 2 at 10:00am on ABC 7 / KGO TV.

Last spring Gloria Simoneaux visited Autistry Studios. And she fell in love with what she saw. Gloria is the founder of Harambee Arts, a nonprofit organization partnering with African and Nepali grassroots programs to train local caregivers to provide art programs for vulnerable children. Many of the children she works with have autism. Gloria is determined to connect the Autistry students with her African students in hopes that all will benefit.

Our first communication was a small book of photos of Autistry students and their Little World Boxes. These projects were created in the Summer 2012 Autistry workshop led by Courtenay. Each box represents something special to the student and tells a story about who they are. Gloria brought the book to Nairobi, Kenya and showed it to her students.

The response was pure delight. The African students loved meeting the Autistry students through the artwork. They immediately created a wonderful painting and sent it back with Gloria. We believe this is the beginning of a long and productive relationship!

And speaking of relationships, the one between Autistry and SLM Creative is very productive. Suzi Lee Musgrove, owner/creative director of SLM, has been helping our students realize thier visions by providing graphic design and printing instruction. Owen Bragg is now working on his fourth book, Victor and Nathaniel Hecht created a wonderful Dragonology Coloring Book. Suzi discusses her work in this video piece produced by Sean Nipper:

NOTE: Autistry will be closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday – Thursday Nov. 22nd through Sunday Nov 25th.

Best wishes from the Autistry Team!

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A Faire to Remember

Janet Lawson, MFT | November 1, 2012

The 1st Annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire was a great success! Dan, Janet and the Autistry staff welcomed over 150 people to the Studio to join in the festivities.