Janet Lawson, MFT | February 10, 2014

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and the love is flowing at Autistry. Last Friday, Angelique Benicio lead a fabulous mask-making workshop. We were all enthralled with her artistry, her gentle enthusiasm and her ability to bring out the artist in us all. In three hours we each made complex structures out of chicken wire and covered them with papermache. Each person chose their own special design and Angelique floated among us guiding us all along. Next week we will cover the masks with bondo, fabric, feathers, jewels and whatever other cool materials we have on hand. Our goal is to finish the masks and model them at the Scientist & Artists…Party!

Speaking of which: The Scientist & Artists…Party will be on Saturday, March 1st at Autistry. The festivities begin at 7pm. The first party in September was such a success that we decided to do it again. This time even bigger and with more cool presentations. Joining us will be Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute discussing his work on the agents that extend the lifespan or prevent age-related disease. Tan Le, founder of Emotiv just confirmed that she will do a demonstration of her brainwave reading headgear. Mark Eastham is giving a presentation on the resiliency of the human brain. Mike Winter is bringing his very special robots and Ken Pontac will be with us again to give us a sneak peak at his latest animation projects. And…there will be KARAOKE!

The amazing Autistry staff have designed 9 weeks of incredible summer camp experience! For the first time we are opening up our summer programs to non-Autistry students. These camps are not part of our Core Workshop Program, but specially designed 4-day experiences based on different topics and themes. Each camp runs from Mon through Thursday from 10am to 3pm. Art, exploration, cooking, and self-discovery. Something for everyone. You can sign up for one week or all nine weeks! Ages 13+.

Our School Partnership Program got off to a great start in January. Students from Oak Hill School and Star Academy are coming each week to Autistry to build stuff. And there are some great projects happening: guitars, clocks, bead-work, lathe-work, and much, much more. Our staff works closely with the school staff to provide a creative, inspiring and confidence building experience for each student. As Autistry expands we would like to include more schools in our partnership program.

A big Thank You to Autistry parents, Barbara Waite and Mary Anne McCarthy for starting the Autistry Support Network. The ASN will be our booster group and will coordinate auxiliary activities such as field trips, fundraisers, social get-togethers, and more. Together we can build a thriving, vibrant community!

Please check out Janet Miller’s latest blog: Personal Ownership/Parent Transition. Janet writes so clearly about the emotional transition that parents must make as their children become more independent.

Mark your calendars: Several Autistry students will be on a panel talking about transition from high school to adulthood and about their experiences in the work place. Join us at the Marin Autism Collaborative Annual Meeting, Saturday, March 8th, 9am – Noon at Marin Office of Education, 1111 Las Galinas Ave, San Rafael.

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Janet Lawson, MFT | December 30, 2013

What a great year! 2013 saw lots of growth at Autistry. We increased our student body count, launched the Autistry Model Employment Program, created an amazing cardboard racetrack, began a successful School Partnership Program with Oak Hill School and Star Academy, and Janet Miller joined as a featured blogger on transition issues.

And, of course, all the fabulous projects created by Autistry students. Here are just a few:

We had silly moments:

And special moments:

Fun with friends:

Fun with toys:
Playing with our Parrot AR Drone 2.0


Test driving the RC car on the cardboard racetrack

What a fun year! And we have lots more planned (and unplanned!) for 2014. So, join us online on our facebook page and sign-up for our newsletter to keep in touch. We will have some great events again this year and you won’t want to miss them!

Happy New Year from the Autistry Team.

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Janet Lawson, MFT | December 9, 2013

The studio may be cold, and it is VERY cold, but the workshops are hot! The chill in the air doesn’t seem to slow down student production. Julia finished her Phases of the Moon piece. George is nearly finished with a cool catapult. And lots of other projects are moving forward. We all just bundle up in our sweaters, flannel longjohns, knit hats and wooly gloves and we keep on working. Colorful fingerless gloves seem to be the new Autistry Chic.

Autistry eBay Store: Just in time for holiday shopping, this week we launched the Autistry eBay Store filled with fabulous handmade and vintage items donated by local artists, artisans and supporter of Autistry.
We have a great collection of unique works perfect for holiday gifts: hand crafted candle-stands, a hand-sewn quilt, jewelry, framed photography, unique ceramic bookends and other lovely stuff.

All proceeds support the programs of Autistry Studios.

Check out the store!

School Partnerships: In January the Autistry School Partnership program continues with Build Stuff Workshops for students from Oak Hill School and Star Academy. These workshops have been very successful, enjoyed by both students and staff. We work closely with the school teachers to provide a learning experience that enhances and advances academic study. We have found that working with ones hands to create a project exercises not just fine motor skills, but also executive functioning skills, math skills and social skills.

The Spring semester begins Saturday, January 4th. The schedule is posted on the Autistry website. We are scheduling intake interviews now and there are a few openings in the workshops.

It is with sadness that we note the passing of the de-facto Autistry vehicle “the truck,” our old Chevy Tahoe. Blowing a head gasket (for the second time) we decided it was time to buy a new car. While we were car shopping we realized that it is probably time for Autistry have its own vehicles so we will be seeking capital equipment grants to buy a van of some sort.

Stay warm!

The Autistry Team

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Janet Lawson, MFT | October 23, 2013

Preparing for the Faire! This has been an amazing journey creating the Cardboard Carnival. It began in the spring when we met with Josh, Mike, and Jesse of the Cardboard Institute of Technology. We sat in the middle of the studio and kicked around ideas. Dan drew a sketch of a strange racetrack with bowls at the end for the cars to turn around. We laughed at how absurd and yet cool the design was. We soon realized that our busy schedules would make it nearly impossible to work on the Faire together but the racetrack design, the concept of cardboard, and the passion to create a unique event that would be fun for young kids, teenagers, parents, and grandparents stayed with us.

Dan and the students built the crazy race track. And it looks just like the model. We spent a long couple of days putting it all together. But you can watch it happen in just a 90 seconds:

And it works. Here is a short video of Dan testing the track:

Last year’s Haunted Hospital designed by Sara Gardner was one of the most popular activities at the Autistry Faire: Steampunk Halloween (second only to Dunking Dan!). The students enjoyed acting in the wonderfully funny and scary drama Sara wrote.

This year with the theme of cardboard and cars, Sara has created The Little Auto Shop of Horrors – a short interactive play featuring Audrey 2 and a guest appearance from the crazy dentist. And a big thank you to our neighbors at Cain Tires and Lawrence Automotive for all the props. This is a fabulous piece of theatrical fun but watch out for that man-eating plant!

FEED ME, SEYMOUR!

We are closing off Duffy Place in front of the studio so this will be a block party as well as a carnival. Under the big tent, Beso Negro, the Gypsy Swing band will perform. This is a rare opportunity for the whole family to experience this very popular band.

The Faire will also feature the amazing local band, Marble Party. This will be one of their first appearances after a long time locked behind the recording studio doors! They have emerged with a great new CD.

The staff, students, and families of Autistry have created fun and fabulous games of chance and skill that will entertain the whole family. Please join us and support this ever-growing community.

Sunday, October 27th
Noon – 4pm
37 Duffy Place, San Rafael

Tickets available online: http://autistryfaire2013.brownpapertickets.com/

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Janet Lawson, MFT | September 30, 2013

So much news…where to begin? Let’s start with a party!

Last week we held a very special event at Autistry – The Scientists and Artists Party!

It began as a simple thank you party to Brian Kennedy, CEO of the Buck Institute as several of our Autistry students had internships at the Buck this summer. And we also wanted to thank Ken Pontac, local screenwriter and animation director, for his many visits to Autistry to speak about working in the world of comics, cartoons, and animated features.

So we combined the two parties into an amazing celebration of creativity. The over 120 guests enjoyed presentations by Janet and Dan about the history of Autistry and their exciting plans for the future, a great introduction to the research being done at the Buck on the impact of aging on disease, and a lively talk and fabulous karaoke performance by Ken.

Several other scientists were in the crowd including Gordon Lithgow (Buck Institute), Robert Hendren (UCSF), Barbara Kalmanson, and Mark Eastham.

Local artists included Angelique Benicio, Archie Held, Rufus Stechman, and Jennifer Fearon.

Jen Hirt of Sugar Pie Bakery created an awesome Scientists and Artists cake – gluten free/dairy free and absolutely delicious.

Autistry student projects were on display and the students themselves were on hand to discuss their work. Several of the students went on stage to sing their favorite Karaoke songs. Dan gave a preview of the racetrack that will be featured at the Autistry Faire.

More photos from the evening can be found on the Autistry Flickr account (and we post lots of photos on our Autistry Facebook Page). It was a wonderful, magical evening and all agreed that we must have more parties.

Video from a test flight over the party with our quadcopter with attached GoPro camera.

A story with heart: Several months ago William Brent, an artist friend of Ken Pontac’s had heart surgery. Ken asked us to send uplifting, humorous, artistic messages to lighten Bill’s spirit. So Jack drew a mechanical heart with a cheery message. Alex sketched the tin man with a note saying “Just ask the wizard!” And, Amelia and Dan created a heart of gears out of wood on the ShopBot. Bill is recovering well from his surgery and last week he sent us a beautiful painting of himself as the tin man with his Autistry heart! This has been an amazingly creative communication between folks who speak from the heart.

 

It’s almost Faire time! Autistry students and staff are gearing up for our annual fundraiser – the Autistry Faire: Cardboard Carnival. This year the faire is bigger and better than ever. A 40-foot long racetrack is under construction and we are building custom designed radio-controlled cars to race on it. There will be dancing in the street to live music from Beso Negro and Marble Party. And in keeping with our Car and Cardboard theme a wonderful twist on the haunted house – The Little Auto Shop of Horrors! Courtenay returns to create fabulous facial art and we will have lots of games of skill and chance. There will be great food, wine and beer and a wonderful Autistry Bazaar filled with cool crafts and vintage items for sale. Oh, and belly dancers – Raks Rosa returns! Tickets to the Faire are on sale now.

Also this month: the Oak Hill School “We Are Family” Wellness Day, Sunday, October 13th at the Bay Club in Corte Madera. The Autistry Studios workshop program will be represented and this is an event for the whole family and features:

• Abram Rosenblatt, PhD, UCSF Professor, will preview the UCSF-Oak Hill Autism Outcomes Study.
• Barbara Kalmanson, PhD, founding clinical director of Oak Hill School, will discuss teaching skills for independent, healthy living for children and adolescents.
• Clifford Saron, PhD, researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis, will address the issue of sensory processing and how neurologically different children experience their world. Dr. Saron will also describe his related research on meditation practice with children on the autism spectrum and their mothers. For more information visit the Oak Hill page.

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Janet Lawson, MFT | August 12, 2013

The Autistry Model Employment Program launched in June. The program is designed to give hands-on, real-world job experience to Autistry students who have completed at least one semester of the Core Workshop Program.

We began with two students, Connor and Ian and a teeny tiny budget. But even at this small size we are seeing a huge impact – the products are amazing and we have a long line of students who want to get into this program. The students are learning many new skills including how to work as a team and how to build customer-driven designs.

The first commissioned piece was a 4’x 4′ garden shed. This order was very special as it came from Dr. Bryna Siegel who 15 years ago diagnosed Ian with autism. She was delighted to be our first customer. Ian and Connor worked very hard and were proud of their first project.

We have several in-house projects lined up and we are accepting orders for commissioned pieces. If you would like to discuss a project email Dan: dan@autistry.com.

We are all very excited about the upcoming 2nd Annual Autistry Faire: Cardboard Carnival on Sunday, October 27th. The Faire is our main fundraiser and supports the Opportunity Fund which provides scholarships and sliding scale fees to moderate/low income students. The Faire also supports the expansion of Autistry programs and the new Model Employment Program. For this year’s Faire we are really rocking the house.

The centerpiece of the Faire is a 40-foot-long racetrack for remote-controlled cars. The giant racetrack is being built by Autistry staff and students with help from the artists of The Cardboard Institute of Technology. One of the sponsorship opportunities is to sponsor a 30-40 mph 21-inch long RC racecar. Your car will be customized by Autistry students to your specifications to promote your support of Autistry Studios. We will host a VIP Racetrack Social the night before the Faire where you can race head-to-head against other sponsors while enjoying cocktails and a special tour of our 10,000 sq. ft. facility. We are happy to have a car sponsored by a group of businesses, organizations, or families – we will make room for all the names and logos. This is fundraising at its most fun. Check out the other Racetrack sponsorship opportunities on our Sponsorship Page!

The Autistry Activity Booths are back! This year’s haunted extravaganza will be The Little Auto Shop of Horrors! Sara and Jeremy have retooled the Haunted Hospital into an automotive nightmare guaranteed to scare your lug-nuts off.

Courtenay returns to paint her fabulous One-of-a-Kind Face Art Creations. There will also be an all new Shooting Gallery, the Fishing Wall, Plinko Board, Bean Bag Toss and much, much more. You can support Autistry by sponsoring an Activity Booth – see our Booth Sponsorship page.

And…special live performances by amazing local bands.

Beso Negro has an all-star lineup of internationally experienced musicians who have brought drive and passion to Gypsy Swing. The love for tradition has collided with a modern sensibility and has transformed the genre into a vibrant new beast.

Marble Party is part indie rock, part power pop, and a hint of psychedelia. Their debut album Lyle has garnered rave reviews. “..unique sound that displays both precise musical acumen and a laid-back Northern California vibe all at once. The music satisfies on so many levels.”
 
 
 

We will also be joined by the Raks Rosa Dance Company.

This is a fundraiser but it is also a celebration of the wonderful world of autism!

Viva la difference! 
Put this on your calendars:
Sunday, Oct 27th, 2013
12-4pm
Autistry Studios,
37 Duffy Place, San Rafael

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Janet Lawson, MFT | July 5, 2013

It’s a hot July and the creativity at Autistry is sizzling. We are busy with new student projects and new Autistry programs.

We are over halfway to meeting the Summer 2:1 donation challenge to raise $10,000. When we raise the $10k we will receive an additional $20,000 from a very generous foundation. That $30,000 will go toward the Autistry Opportunity Fund which supports sliding scale fees and toward the new Autistry Model Employment Program. To donate on line go to the Donate Page or, send a check to Autistry Studios, 37 Duffy Place, San Rafael, CA 94925.

Autistry News: We are very happy to announce that Sarah Horowitz is joining us as Autistry’s first Director of Development. Sarah will work closely with Janet, Dan, and the Autistry board to develop and execute our fundraising efforts as well as coordinating media coverage. Sarah has worked for several years with Matrix Parent Network as their media and publications coordinator. She is a skilled graphic designer and she also knows a lot about trains!

Janet Miller, Autistry Board member and longtime autism community leader has launched the first weekly Autistry Blog: Transitions. Janet M. will be writing on topics relating to the many transitions from youth to adulthood: leaving home, diploma vs certificate, employment, housing, SSI, and many other issues that affect the lives of families with ASD children.

And we are delighted to announce that Sara Gardner has received her MS in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University. Sara will be continuing at Autistry as an MFT-Intern working under Janet’s supervision (MFT#44746). She will help facilitate several Core Workshops and meet with clients for 1:1 counseling. Sara’s strong background in ASD issues makes her a very important part of the Autistry Team.

New faces at Autistry: Well, Dayna has actually been with us for awhile! Dayna Camden was our first high school intern and is now on staff as an Autistry Mentor. She is a wonderful addition – patient, funny, and she creates a strong peer relationship with the Autistry students. She is a student at Redwood High School and when she graduates in 2014 Dayna would like to go to UC Davis to study psychology. And, we hope she will continue to work with ASD individuals.

Danny Waite is our second high school intern. Danny goes to San Rafael High and isn’t quite sure where he will go on to college when he graduates in 2014. Danny works on Saturdays and the lessons he learned in his SRHS wood shop classes are coming in very handy.

We are in the early planning stages for the fall Autistry Faire. This year we will be teaming up with the amazing artists of the Cardboard Institute of Technology. They create stunning works of art from this most mundane of materials. So, get out your cardboard and your box knifes – this is going to be a fabulous event!

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Janet Lawson, MFT | June 10, 2013

This has been an amazing spring semester. The Autistry families, including our new friends from Oak Hill School and Star Academy celebrated all the cool projects with a warm and wonderful Open House. These end-of-semester gatherings bring us together to share our work and admire the work of our fellow students.

So much to share with you all. But first the big news: a generous donor has pledged $20,000 to Autistry. This is a matching 2:1 donation so for every $1 donated we receive an additional $2. These funds will go toward the launch of the Autistry Model Employment Program and the Opportunity Fund which supports sliding scale fees and scholarships. This is a great time to donate to Autistry – a lot of bang for the buck. Donations can be made online, on the Autistry Donate Page or sent to Autistry Studios, 37 Duffy Place, San Rafael, CA 94925.

Last week Ken Pontac, writer and animator of childrens shows ToddWorld and LazyTown and the darker cartoon Happy Tree Friends visited Autistry. He regaled us with behind-the-scenes stories and shared his wisdom and experience of the world of animated storytelling. And the students shared their creations with Ken. It was a love fest and we hope he will visit again soon.

Highlights from the Thursday workshop:

  
Owen’s book, Ketinga the Cat is now available on Amazon.com! Owen is on a roll. Birthday Surprise, his tale of a birthday party gone awry will appear on Amazon next. And then follows several more in the Ketinga series. He is also working on the Ketinga Clock, perfect companion to the book, which will be available for purchase soon.

   

Rinny rocks the power tools. She made a beautiful napkin holder with a flower pattern engraving. This could be the prototype for new line of Autistry products. She is now working on a spice rack for the Autistry kitchen and she takes care of the new Autistry garden.
  

Julia has finished her stellar box lovingly decorated with galaxies, stars, and the Aurora Borealis. This has been a project of patience, detail, research, experiment and dedication. Julia made several tests to develop the application technique that gave her just the right look. A stunning piece!
  

April, also known as Tank Girl, has completed four tank models – a US M3 Stuart, a Russian T-34/76 1943, a US M4A1 Sherman, a US M1 Abrams, and finally she’s currently building a WWII 6×6 cargo truck. April has created several different diorama environments – winter snow-scape, desert sands, and lush European hedges. Perfect homes for her tanks.

Jon is working on the The Making of…. book for a film existing only in his wild and wonderful imagination. He has created a film poster and drawn several pages of illustrations documenting this imaginary world. Jon’s work is original, funny, and filled with twisted phrases and perfect descriptions of highly improbable realities.

We are looking forward to a summer filled with new projects and the launch of the Autistry Model Employment Program. Stay tuned….

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Janet Lawson, MFT | April 23, 2013

Ah, the best laid plans of mice, men …and Janet often go astray. I had planned to write a newsletter every week during the month of April but somehow didn’t get to it.

April has been an amazing month so far. A group of program mangers from AspIT in Denmark visited Autistry. AspIT is a vocational program for ASD individuals focused on training IT professionals. They came to the Bay Area to visit Silicon Valley companies (specifically Google and Apple) and kept hearing people mention Autistry. We spent a great afternoon sharing ideas and teaching strategies. They were very interested in the wide range of projects our students produce and they loved the Studio. We have been invited to visit Denmark and we would love to put that trip on our calendar!

We also met with Stacy Frauwirth, Professor at Dominican University in the department of Occupational Therapy. Over the next year Stacy and a team of grad students will be working with Autistry to develop a battery of assessment instruments to log and track student development toward the goal of independence. This will involve the creation of assessment tools and the testing of these tools. At the end of the process Autistry will have a sophisticated set of assessment tools, a revamped intake process, and the ability to collect important data. This will be very, very important for us going forward as we develop our training program and apply for larger grants.

Several of our Autistry students and families were interviewed by LabZero to gather information on the creation of a new app specifically designed for ASD individuals. The LabZero software engineers spent two days at Autistry asking detailed questions about how our students use technology, what types of reminders or prompts would they find helpful, what difficulties do they have organizing their days, etc. We will continue to meet with the design team as the app is being developed. From all accounts the team learned a lot about the ASD mind!

Highlighting the Sunday Workshops:

Nathaniel’s dragons are getting more and more sophisticated. He is now scanning his drawings into the computer and adding color and texture in the Paint Shop program. He has learned to use the tablet and stylus which has given him a new range of expression in his drawings. Nathaniel continues to work on his Spore World diorama of mushroom forests, dragon nests and a river running through it.

George finished the jump ramp for his bike and is now hobbling around on a broken ankle! Do those two things go together – not necessarily. But he still gets around the Studio on a very cool 4-wheel scooter and is helping others with their projects. He helped Ashley with her chair and Noah with his parcour obstacle. We hope he is back on both feet soon.

Daniel S., the man-of-many-projects is working on another chest armor piece – this time in hard plastic. This is based on his earlier design which he fashioned out of floor mats. This new model he is making out of a large plastic bucket. How’s that for recycling. Daniel has also finished a guitar, refinished a Nerf rifle, made various launching gadgets, and …I have lost track now!

Devon has taken on a wonderful sewing project – Captain Jack Harkness’ jacket (from Dr. Who). Under the expert guidance of Amelia, she is first making a mockup out of muslin that she will use to make size and shape adjustments. The muslin version will then become the pattern for the real thing. Her hard work and attention to detail will pay off!

We are very happy to announce the completion of Marina’s Dr. Who Tardis. This has been a true labor of love. Marina used the band saw, the ShopBot, the router, the nail gun, all sorts of hand tools and paint brushes. In fact I think she used just about every tool in the shop. And the finished product looks great – let’s all go back in time.
   

Ben L. is just about finished with a shield to accompany the two swords he made earlier. The shield has a silhouette of a grey howling wolf on a black background – very dramatic. Ben has learned to sew as well as use the band saw and the hot knife. Oh, and the iron. All skills that will come in very handy one day.

REMINDER: Thursday, April 25th is the last day to purchase Stella & Dot jewelry through Suzi’s Trunk Show page to support Autistry Studios. Here is the link to use to start your shopping: http://www.stelladot.com/ts/qojo5.

Enjoy!

Janet and the Autistry Team

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Janet Lawson, MFT | April 1, 2013

Happy April Fools Day! As with any day at Autistry we are working hard, playing hard, and letting our inner-tricksters roam wild. It is one of our fundamental tenants that each of us creates our life given the materials available. And great lives, not just great projects are being created at Autistry!

Highlighting the Saturday Workshops:

After months of hard work, Chris is finishing up his Star Wars helmet. Chris has shown amazing tenacity, overcoming lots of production obstacles but sticking with it. Amelia is researching how to create a mold so that more helmets can be made using Chris’s as a prototype.

 
Connor E. wrote a comic book story about a family picnic. He staged the action using adorable mouse figures. This type of photo-novella is the perfect introduction to stop action film making. It also a good way to practice the art of storytelling – sequencing disparate events to create a narrative flow.

Connor B. finished his angel-winged mirror and is now hard at work on a model BatBoat. Connor used several different tools to create the wings – the bandsaw, the router, chisels, etc. And he learned new painting techniques – highlighting, dark wash, etc. And it all came together beautifully.
 

 
Peter is making a very difficult Crow T. Robot to accompany his Tom Servo. You may remember these characters from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Tom Servo was difficult to build but Crow is proving to be an even greater challenge. Allison and Peter have spent hours deciphering the instructions and creating their own designs to make this project work. Learning to overcome obstacles is all part of the process.

Andrew is making a Box World Diorama of an historic bedroom – complete with carpet, bookcases, and a pillow case for the bed pillow! They used several tools including the bandsaw and the sewing machine (rather similar those two machines!) Andrew and Allison make a great working pair. He has great concentration and she has infinite patience.
 

 
Maya is working very independently creating plushies of characters from Homestuck. She has drawn her favorite characters and cut out fabric pieces ready to assemble. Homestuck is a web comic that combines different techniques to tell a story. Traditional drawings are augmented with animated gifs, Flash animation, and instant message logs. So cool!

The trains are running for Josh! He finished detailing his Amtrak engine which included painstaking work carefully placing decals on the train. He also had to spray paint the engine first with a flat black, then with silver, and after the decals were attached he sprayed it again with a clear coat. Focus and attention to detail can come in handy when doing model work. When he was finished he set up the track to take it for a spin.

 
And, there is Lauren, ShopBot Queen. Lauren has certainly tamed this machine. She runs it independently, with just a little help from Dan. She has really taken ownership of the entire process of running the ShopBot from setting up the cutting bits to programming the cut files. Lauren has created several signs, a wooden box, and a cool set of gears. There is much more to come.
 

The Autistry staff also creates projects! Ashley, who claimed not to be creative when she arrived, has become quite a talented artist. This week she finished her Majora mask. Ashley works with several of the students and is happy to learn right along with them. This is a trait we cherish.

We are so fortunate to have the very talented and creative Amelia as our Workshop Lead. She is multi-talented, at home on the ShopBot, the bandsaw, the sewing machine and in the kitchen! Ameila recently finished a ShopBot project that is worthy of auction at Sotherbys – a fold-up stool with an antique finish.

All our mentors are encouraged to create – to try, fail, and to try again. How we handle the stress and frustration of making something real serves as a model for our students. We are not flawless and we make mistakes. Those too are learning opportunities.

We’ll be highlighting different workshops throughout April and May so stay tuned for more cool project news. You can also follow us on Facebook and see fabulous photos on our Autistry Instagram page.

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