Autistry Newsletter – December 22, 2015
Janet Lawson, MFT | December 22, 2015
You rock. Really. We met the $5000 Gear Wall Challenge!
With your generous donations we met the Roberts Shoes Fund $5000 Matching Challenge! Our 2015 Autistry Gear Wall is still growing and with that growth comes new opportunities for our students. New tools, new programs, and new scholarships. And we couldn’t have done it without you. 2015 Autistry Gears will be going up until Dec 29th, so there is still time to join the chain!
I’m a little choked up thinking about the year that has just flown by. We had a lot to celebrate at the Autistry Family Potluck this past Saturday night:
Steven Waite, one of our very first Autistry students, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Sonoma State University. Steven has blossomed into an expressive sculptor with one of the sharpest, wryest wits I know. Like most graduating college students, he is a bit anxious about what the future has in store for him. But I know his intelligence, his wit, and his creativity will carry him wherever he chooses to go. And the Autistry community will support him and encourage him all along the way.
Our son, Ian Swearingen, passed his math class at the College of Marin—the third college-level course he has taken! We are so proud of how independently and conscientiously he studied. Next semester he will take an English class. Ian graduated high school with a certificate and he is determined to get his GED. Sara Gardner has mentored Ian through these early college semesters. And together they are pioneering and prototyping how Autistry can support continued education for our students.
Amanda Meeuwsen and April Evans both passed their first online college course, Theories of Personality, an introduction to psychology. They have shown us another way that Autistry can support adult education and we will be hosting more online learning in 2016. Amanda and April also successfully completed a semester internship at a local preschool and they will be taking an online course in Early Childhood Education in the spring semester. At Autistry, we believe that learning is a lifelong endeavor and we encourage our students, our staff, and ourselves to keep turning the pages of the book of knowledge.
If you weren’t able to join us on Saturday night—and especially if you were—here are some photos from the party.
We are so thankful for you! It takes lots of hands to build and sustain a high-quality program like Autistry Studios. Thanks for the many ways you cheer us on.
With much gratitude,
Janet, Dan, and the Autistry Team
