Janet Lawson, MFT | September 24, 2012

Mark your calendars for the first annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire. Sunday, October 28th from 11am to 5pm. There will be lots of activity booths, a wonderful luncheon, student projects on display, and … the Dunk Dan Tank!

If you would like to sponsor an activity at the Faire please check our Faire Sponsorships Form.

Sponsoring an activity booth and coming to the Faire are great ways to support the work of Autistry Studios.

The Autistry Fall semester is in overdrive! This is one of the most productive semesters yet and we’re only in September. Old projects are being finished and new projects are underway. The studio is humming.

Ian G. and Danny S. have added new items to their LARP weapon arsenal including a beautiful shield, a two-headed sword, and several other swords of varying lengths. Ian G. is building a special display rack so that all the weapons can be viewed at the Autistry Fun and Food Faire.

Daniel S. put the strings on his red guitar last week and it looks and sounds magnificent. Ryan will string his sparkling green guitar this week. Their guitars, along with Daniel M.’s many hand-built musical instruments (acoustic and electric guitars, dulcimers, flutes and a theramin), will be showcased and played at the Faire. Other Friday Group projects include Alex’s graphic novel that he has been working on with Jack. We hope to be reading that soon!

Julia is finishing up the cushions on her new wooden chair. April has completed a Sherman tank and is tackling another. Jon is converting a GI Joe into a Samurai warrior – and it is looking good. Rinny will have her fairy quilt ready for display soon. And, Owen has now written and illustrated his fourth book! It is hard to keep up with the Thursday group.

Several students are making costumes. Chris is creating a character from Star Wars (complete with helmet and armor!). Danny S. is recreating a mask he saw at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ross has just begun amazing Aztec warrior regalia. And we are looking forward to seeing Corey as Frank N. Furter.

Maya is learning to sew and creating adorable huggable plushies. Peter has finished a Tom Servo puppet that has to be seen to be believed – check out the video:

Andrew and Connor have nearly completed very difficult to construct airplanes. And Lauren, in addition to her own projects, is helping Dan assemble the new ShopBot. They are having too much fun:

The Sunday workshop draws on all the talents of the Autistry staff. Nathaniel is making a dragon diorama and putting together his amazing dragon drawings in to a Dragonology. Ben L. just finished his first tank and will be working with Ian G to make more swords. Marina is building one of Autistry’s favorites – the Tardis from Dr. Who. Ian S. is building a full-sized teardrop trailer – getting ready to hit the road. A big thank you to the Recyclery for donating a BMX bike that George is completely rebuilding into a red and black mean machine. And … principle photography is now complete on Ben C.’s film: Barugorus. The new trailer for this epic film will be screened at the Faire.

More news: The ShopBot arrived! This robotic router is the first piece of equipment for Autistry Enterprises. It will allow us to produce projects in large quantities. Our plan is for the Autistry students to sell their creations online and at local venues. We are all very, very excited:

Hope to see you all at the Faire!

The Autistry Team

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Janet Lawson, MFT | September 6, 2012

Tickets now available online: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

1st Annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire featuring cool activities,
spectacular student projects, fabulous food
…and the Dunk Dan Tank!

Entry Fee (includes Lunch and 10 activity tickets per person):
$40/person
$100/family of 3 (additional child $20)
$20/starving student rate

Activity Booth Tickets: $1 / 2 tickets

Buy your tickets online: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

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Janet Lawson, MFT | August 7, 2012

The summer is flying by! Schools will be back in session soon and yet it seems like just the other day students were graduating. We have had a great summer at Autistry. The 2-week Summer Camp led by Courtenay was a great success and we are hoping to do more of these short, intensive sessions throughout the year. The student Little Worlds projects came out great!

Though our workshops go throughout the year we do think in terms of semesters. The Fall semester officially begins on August 25th. The workshops are filling up fast but we continue to interview new students and we will open new workshops when necessary. If you would like to join Autistry send an email to Janet (janet@autistry.com). Check Our Intake Process page to learn more about how to become an Autistry student.

Amelia just left for her summer adventure – hiking the John Muir Trail. This will be her second trek through the High Sierras. Last year Amelia spent 3 weeks hiking the trail – solo! She is shortening her sojourn slightly this year to be back in time for the beginning of our fall semester. She has promised to send postcards when she can so we will keep you all posted on our Autistry Facebook page. Maybe next year some of our students will accompany her. Let’s start training!

SAVE THE DATE: The first annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire will be held on Sunday, October 28th. We are still working out the details but there will be a fabulous brunch, activity booths, costume contests, face painting, project demonstrations and … the Dunk Dan Tank! That last activity is not to be missed! Remember all those push-ups? Well, now you have the opportunity to get your revenge. Stay tuned, more information will be coming soon.

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Janet Lawson, MFT | July 10, 2012

Summertime and the studio is busy! The Autistry Summer Day Camp is in full swing with mornings filled with creative art projects and afternoons spent exploring the many wonders of Marin – parks, museums, hikes! The camp runs Monday through Friday from July 9th to July 20th.

Staff News: We are very happy to announce that our resident artist, mentor, and Aspie extraordinaire, Courtenay Bell has moved up to Creative Director. Courtenay will not only lead creative workshops but help Autistry Studios maintain a high artistic standard. Courtenay’s passion for art and her unique ability to connect with students make her a key player at Autistry.

We also welcome Jack Pesso to Autistry. Jack joins us as Director of Robotics and Engineering. He brings years of software development and management experience to the Studio. He also loves to restore motorcycles, build radio controlled vehicles and create gadgets of all shapes and sizes. He jumped right in helping students prepare for the Drake High School Engineering Academy. You can read the student blogs about their robots here: Student Blogs.

HairJinx: Just when we think we have tried everything, another challenge comes along. It all started when Anna wanted to add a little more color to her hair. Then Theresa wanted a hair style that was a bit more radical. And Amelia wanted a just a trim on the sides. Seeing the results, Daniel stepped up for a new do to help his presentation at job interviews. Where will this end? Who knows, perhaps the next step for us is the Autistry Salon!

Join the Autistry Community: We are starting to think about the Fall semester which will begin on August 25th. We are meeting lots of new families and setting up intake interviews. If you would like to learn more about our program please give us a call: (415) 454-1037.

Upcoming events: The Autistry ASD Parent Support Group will meet on Thursday, July 11th, 7pm – 8:30pm. This is a great place to share resources, get support from others who totally ‘get it’ and meet more families in the ASD community. Please email janet@autistry.com to RSVP.

To get all the news and share the fun join us on facebook!

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

The Autistry Team

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Dan Swearingen | June 16, 2012

We seem to have an outbreak of impromptu hairdressing happening at Autistry lately. First Anna had taken a start at a cool red coloring on her hair.

 

Courtenay and all the other women in the workshop took off for the nearest drugstore and found the color Anna liked best.

Anna was thrilled with the result.

We never quit when we are ahead, so when Theresa showed up with a new ‘do and partial purple color…

… we helped her with a more aggressive cut.

Sara, Courtenay, and Theresa looking up haircut ideas.

Out come the scissors…

Going for really short in the back:

Everyone happy with the result.

 

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Janet Lawson, MFT | June 5, 2012

We are taking orders for the first Autistry Studios t-shirt. The t-shirt was inspired by the recent report that 1 in 88 children born in the U.S. will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Being that one individual in the midst of the other 88 can be lonely but at Autistry that is not the case. Here ASD folks are not only in the majority but they are running the show!

To order your t-shirt and support Autistry Studios click on one of the buttons below. Sizes available are Small, Medium, Large and X-Large. Price is $24.00 each, $3.00 shipping and handling. California sales tax will be added to your order.

Order Small
Order Medium
Order Large
Order Xtra Large

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Janet Lawson, MFT | May 26, 2012

Spring time is blooming at Autistry this year. We saw an amazing array of projects created in the Build Workshops: guitars, tanks, a Theramin (look it up – it’s cool!), an original board game – Touchdown Trivia, treasure chests, Life Action Role Playing swords, airplanes, Dr. Who and the Tardis, wonderful dragons, a quilt, a dress, the trailer for an upcoming film project, a pendulum clock! Supporting all this creativity is certainly challenging the Autistry staff and keeping us all on our toes. And we love it.

Our first Puppet Core Workshop was a tremendous success. The students created several different types of puppets and gave a demonstration at the May Open House. Courtenay and Melissa will be teaching the Autistry Day Camp July 9 – 20. They will offer another Puppet Workshop in the fall semester beginning in August. Stay tuned for details.

Several Autistry students participated in a panel discussion at the Marin Autism Collaborative Annual Meeting held at the Buck Institute earlier in May. The panelists spoke honestly and eloquently about their experience as individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders at school, in relationships and on the job. The audience was spellbound as the students, ranging in age from 15 to 40, recounted personal stories of pain, humor and pride. The response has been overwhelming. We have been asked to participate in several other events bringing our voices to the discussion of autism.

The Open House on May 20th was absolutely fabulous. We had over 100 people show up to view the projects, watch the films, experience the puppetry and enjoy wonderful food. These events bring the families together and give all of us a chance to talk to one another. A big Thank You to all the folks who donated to our Let There Be Light Fund. We collected enough to purchase new bulbs and fixtures for all the overhead shop lamps and rent the scissor lift so we can reach them. We even raised enough to purchase some hard hats to wear while working – very important for those of us on the ground.

I have saved the best news for last: this week we received a call from the Bothin Foundation. They are giving us a grant to purchase a laser cutter, a ShopBot and a 3D printer! With this equipment we will be able to launch our first Autistry Enterprise. To provide jobs for teens and adults with ASD has been a goal of Autistry since day one. The Core Workshops are designed as pre-vocational learning experiences leading to employment and/or college. But we have long understood that many of our students need actual work experience before entering the general employment arena. With this very generous grant we will be able to provide that experience.

We are looking forward to a great summer!

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Dan Swearingen | May 23, 2012

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Dan Swearingen | May 23, 2012

We had our Spring end-of-semester open house last Sunday, May 20. Our last open house was in December of last year and we have grown quite a bit. We had over 100 friends and family.

many of the student projects were on display and there was a table devoted to instruments the students have made or are making. We’re currently making guitars (electric and acoustic), dulcimers and a theremin.

All for now! This is Abe’s latest project: a working Cogsworth clock.

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Janet Lawson, MFT | March 29, 2012

We had a wonderful spring Spinathon on Sunday, March 25th. The skies threatened rain so we held the classes indoors. I am always amazed at how spacious the small Body Image Fitness Center is. We had lots of people, lots of projects and overflowing food tables and there was still room to mingle and chat. We’ll post photos soon.

Michael and Christine Lopez were gracious and generous hosts and have invited us back for a fall Spinathon in October – so keep those pedals turning!

The Tiburon ARK did a great article on the event which you can find here: Spring 2012 Spin ‘n Sizzle

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