A small movie about Autistry Studios
Posted By Dan Swearingen on March 4, 2010
Chelsea Mattoon has been filming our workshops for MONTHS and has made a wonderful short video documentary about Autistry Studios.
Available in HD at YouTube 
Autistry Studios Mission
At Autistry Studios we help teens and young adults with High Functioning Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and other social/communication/learning differences become successful independent adults by leveraging their interests and talents.
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Autistry Studios Newsletter – February 20, 2010
Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on February 20, 2010
I hope you are all enjoying the break and are rested and ready to return this week for more Autistry fun! We are certainly looking forward to seeing you all back.
We found several sets of photos to upload so the photo galleries have been updated.
We had a great time at the Tommy Castro concert benefiting the Ryder Foundation. Corey, Kris, Sarah, Janet, Kitty and Diane danced to some fabulous blues tunes. All agreed that we need to do more outings. So, let’s think about excursions, events and adventures that might be cool for us to do together: movies, concerts, museums, biking/hiking, etc. There are endless possibilities very close to home.
Fanime 2010 in San Jose at the end of May: We sent out information about the cosplay costuming workshop and a group trip to the Fanime convention. Please let us know as soon as you can if you would like to do this. We need to get everyone registered for the workshop and/or the convention as well as figure out the transportation. Email us for more info.
Marin Autism Collaborative Annual Meeting: Saturday March 6th, San Rafael. Dr David Amaral, Director of Research at UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute will be the keynote speaker. He is a great speaker with lots of information. (see flyer for more details)
Janet and Matt Tarver-Walquist will be hosting the Transition Years break-out session at the MAC meeting and we encourage all our Autistry families to attend. We are inviting school personnel, families and service providers to come together to discuss how we can support our ASD children not just in their transition out of high school but throughout their lives.
Temple Grandin at the Matrix Author Luncheon: We are putting together Autistry Studios tables for this event. If you would like to sit with us please email Janet soon.
Other news: there is an AMAZING pollen dump happening and our whole neighborhood is covered in yellow/green pollen.
The biggest news: the doorbell is fixed!
See you all soon! ~ Janet, Dan, Nate, and AJ
Autistry Newsletter – February 1, 2010
Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on February 1, 2010
It has been far too long since the last newsletter and my only excuse is that we have been very, very busy. The Autistry team is working hard to put in place all the necessary (and boring) business procedures that will allow us to expand our program. But enough of that and on to the important stuff – workshop news! (Oh, Chelsea began editing her documentary about Autistry and should have it ready to show by March!)
Friday College Support and Build Stuff with Dan: We were all very happy to have Sarah rejoin the group. She is finishing up the dog bed she designed for her puppy. Phoebe has finished the columns, the figures and the base for the Ramses II diorama and is putting all the pieces together now. Kris is assembling a multi-piece tank. And, Corey is designing a new project – The Yellow Brick Road. Special note: Both Kris and Sarah made the Honor Roll at College of Marin – big congratulations!!
Saturday Film Stuff with Nate: Wow – all 3 film projects are finished and posted on YouTube. Andrew did a fabulous parody of Rush Limbaugh using Rush’s own words (hey, it is tough to sound more Rush than Rush). Devon completed her mini-documentary on Steven. We were all very proud of how she dealt with the seemingly endless music copyright issues. In the end, she found some public domain music which, though not as perfect as her first choices, added a great soundtrack to the piece. Steven finished Part 2 of his Bupim Epic – and a big thank you to his brother Danny for the voice over! All three of these films were written and directed by the students themselves – a huge achievement.
*Andrew’s Rush to Judgment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McNhea0Zn-w
*Devon’s Interview with Steven: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbo12Io7gsQ
*Steven’s Bupim’s Quest II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht2332fV550
Sunday Build Stuff with Dan: Ryan has finished his science project and is now devoting his time to his Switching Yard. The tracks are all laid down and he is now soldering the wires so that he can run the trains remotely. Ian is nearly finished with the Dojo. He and AJ are making lots of Kung Fu Fighters out of clay that they will use to stage scenes and create a stop-motion animated short film. It was snowing pink foam on Sunday as Paul rasped the Halo helmet rounding out the edges – it looks great!
Tuesday Build Stuff with Dan: The Tuesday class is just getting started and we are looking forward to creating some awesome projects. Rinny will be working on a stop-motion animated short announcing the publication of her latest novel, Sweet Wishes From Oz. She did a practice piece last week to learn the process. It was so cool we posted it on YouTube too! (It is very, very short – like 4 seconds). Breton is putting the finishing touches on Elf World – a project with lots of loving detail.
To see more photos from the classes check out the Photo Gallery Page!
See you all this weekend!
Janet, Dan, Nate, and AJ
More information about benefits of going Gluten-free
Posted By Dan Swearingen on January 2, 2010
We have been Gluten-Free Casein-Free (GF-CF) around our house for over ten years. For us it was a no-brainer. After only a few days of trial a few benefits were immediately apparent:
- improved energy which improved mood.
- clearer sinuses, better sleep.
- improved ability to withstand sensory input.
Over the next few months more benefits became apparent:
- For our son, we found his ability to attend to his schoolwork improved such that he made new rapid and impressive progress on speech and reading.
- Additionally, our son had needed medication for years to sleep through the night (Ambien and Valium) but we now found that he could go medication-free and we have been for all the years since.
- For our son’s Aspie dad (that would be me): huge welcome weight loss. Sixty-five pounds shed seemingly effortlessly — and still gone a decade later.
Looking back over the years we can see other benefits:
- Improved health. As a family we almost never get sick. Maybe one cold or flu a year.
- Our son knows that right food makes him feel good, bad food makes him feel bad and he acts on this independently. This is an important truth that most adults do not understand.
On countless occasions parents ask us about “doing the diet” and relate that they were not able to do the diet themselves because “it was too hard.”
I’m going to say something really bluntly:
Having an ASD child is HARD.
Planning your diet so it does not have wheat guten or dairy protein is TRIVIAL by comparison.
I do not think the GF-CF diet works for everybody or is needed by everybody. However, if you or your child need a GF-CF diet the benefits are such that it is simply negligent to never even seriously try it just because it feels like too much effort.
Additionally there is a growing body of research showing the serious health problems you risk if you or your children need a gluten free diet but do not get one.
Dr. Mark Hyman MD writes regularly at the Huffington Post and today posted a very good article with several great data points about the dangers of gluten if someone’s body is sensitive to it.
Mark Hyman, Huffington Post “Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You”
Project idea: CycleKarts!
Posted By Dan Swearingen on January 1, 2010
A CycleKart is a small four wheeled car made to look like one of the classic racing sports cars of the 1920’s or 1930’s.
Power is specified as a 200 cc Honda one-cylider engine. Wheels are based on 17″ x 2″ motorcycle rims. Total car weight must be under 250 lbs.
I love the look and these would be great building projects. If we built some using 50 cc engines they would fall into the strange regulation world of “mopeds” and perhaps be made some sort of street legal.
Resources:
End of year request for your donations to Autistry Studios
Posted By Dan Swearingen on December 26, 2009
We have had a great year at Autistry Studios but we would like to take this opportunity to ask for your additional help before we launch into a new year.
This week we would especially appreciate any donations you could make of either cash or tools and materials.
United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay has generously agreed to be our fiscal sponsor while Autistry Studios’ 501 (C) (3) paperwork continues to wend its way through the IRS and State offices. All checks or money orders should be made payable to UCPNB/Autistry Studios and sent to
Autistry Studios
137 Granada Dr
Corte Madera, CA 94925.
Additionally, Janet Lawson and Dan Swearingen will match all cash donations made between now and December 31, 2009 up to a combined total of $5,000.
Because we are space limited, if you have any tools and/or materials you wish to donate please call us or email in advance since we need to prioritize tool and material donations to only things we can make good use of fairly immediately.
Gift cards also work great as donations: Borders, Amazon, cards redeemable at hardware or grocery stores would be appreciated.
The value of your cash donation or the fair market value of any tool or material donation will be tax deductible as a charitable donation on your 2009 tax return. We will report back to you on how all your donations were used to help us provide services to our growing student body.
Autistry Studios Newsletter – December 25, 2009
Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on December 25, 2009
The Fall 2009 workshops came to a close with great progress on projects, lots of lessons learned, and many new friends made. We are looking forward to working with everyone in the next series which begins with our new Tuesday Build Stuff Workshop on January 12th. We have spoken to most of you but do email us to confirm your place in The 2010 Workshops: info@AutistryStudios.com.
Friday Build Stuff and College Support with Dan
Phoebe finished the decorative columns for Ramses II and will be able to put the finishing touches to this scene in the next couple of sessions. Corey completed his Harvey Milk diorama. It is fabulous! Breton’s Elf World is nearing completion – just a few more details before it is ready for display. Kris has embarked upon a wonderfully complex model tank project that will take him well into the next workshop series – lots of detail and a good narrative for the diorama. We are planning to enter all these projects in the Marin County Fair this summer – so watch for news!
Saturday Filmmaking with Nate
All three film projects are very, very close to finished. Andrew is missing only a couple cut-aways and the end credits on the Rush Limbaugh Show. Devon is the closest with her behind the scenes look at Steven at work. Steven just needs to do some sound effects on the voice tracks and his latest installment in the adventures of Bupim will be ready to screen. All three were ambitious projects and we are looking forward to sharing them on the site and on YouTube.
Sunday Build Stuff with Dan
Joseph has created the foundation for his Geo-Trak layout – the tunnel is marked out, the river bed is dug out and the tracks are layed out. Ryan’s trains are running on the track! All the switches work on this wonderful model switch yard. We’ve all enjoyed driving the trains – now, the work begins on modeling the terrain. Paul’s halo helmet is beginning to take shape. He has learned to use a new tool – the hot wire cutter. Ian’s dojo is coming along as he cuts and pastes each wooden slat into place.
Check out the photos:
Friday Build Stuff and College Support with Dan
Saturday Filmmaking with Nate
Sunday Build Stuff with Dan
Wishing you all a great holiday! Janet, Dan, Nate and AJ
Event: Parent support group for parents of children and adolescents with autism
Posted By Dan Swearingen on December 9, 2009
Doug Lipinski is the dad of one of our first students and he has been doing parent group meetings for several years here in Marin.
This meeting is for Moms and Dads but Doug also runs a regular Dads meeting. Please contact Doug at his email below if you have any questions.
From Doug:
Come and discuss strategies for getting over any holiday bumps, offer your winning strategies and build camaraderie with other parents who share similar life circumstances.
Since December is a busy month please call Doug at 415-785-4319 or respond to lipinski@sbcglobal.net if you plan to attend.
Parents of Children and Adolescents with Autism
Parent Support Group
Thursday Dec. 17th 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
30 North San Pedro Road Conference Room
San Rafael, CA 94903
Refreshments Provided.
Free and Open to the Public
Film report: Ben X
Posted By Dan Swearingen on December 4, 2009
Ben X is a 2007 film from Belgium about an extreme Aspie teenager who is relentlessly bullied in and around his high school. Ben’s solace is his role playing game persona (”BenX”) and his online relationship with a healer character “Scarlite.”
Bad Things happen to him. Ben is driven past his limits and it is unclear until near the end how it will come out. I will not spoil the story for you in case you wish to see it.
If you are ASD or have an ASD person in your life, Ben X is heart breaking but a very good movie. If you want someone to see what it is like to be ASD this is perhaps the best film portrayal I have ever seen.
Dutch language with English subtitles. Available at Netflix (streaming or DVD) and Amazon.
Autistry Studios Newsletter – November 23, 2009
Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on November 23, 2009
** REMINDER: No workshops over the Thanksgiving weekend **
All the workshops this last weekend were incredibly focused – lots of great energy and lots of great work was done. Chelsea filmed the Friday group this week. Her documentary is beginning to take shape. She will be filming interviews in the coming weeks and plans to have the project edited and ready for posting in March!
FRIDAY BUILD STUFF: Phoebe has put her unique mark on the Ramses Columns and they are looking good. Breton’s Elf World lit up – literally. A small ‘pumpkin light’ in the tree house added a very warm glow. Corey nailed down a parade of people and now just has a few touches to put on Harvey and the MILK diorama is ready for showing. Kris is building the suspension on his Sherman tank – lots of little pieces to keep track of. And, we had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with a special Battle of the Drumsticks!
SATURDAY FILMMAKING: Andrew found fabulous footage for cutaways in the Rush Limbaugh Project – very, very funny stuff. Devon’s documentary showing the many sides of Steven really took off this week. She put together some great sections (who knew Steven was so accessible!). Steven finished sculpting his cast of thousands and began the arduous work of photographing the sequences. He’ll start editing it all together next time.
SUNDAY BUILD STUFF: Joseph got his Geo Track all glued down and will start on scenery next time. Ryan also glued down his track – HO scale and he’ll be laying down the ballast next. Paul has mastered the art of hot knife cutting and discovered the importance of face masks – the fumes from the melting foam are quite intense. Ian began piecing together the inner walls of the Matrix Dojo (and AJ got in touch with her inner craftsperson).
Have a great Thanksgiving and we’ll see you all in December!
Janet, Dan, Nate and AJ