Fabulous first meeting of the new Autistry Puppet Workshop led by Courtenay Bell and Melissa Diaz-Infante! The students made stick puppets of themselves. Over the next couple of months they will make several types of puppets, build a puppet theater and stage, and write/perform/film several short puppet plays. Lots of fun!

We survived the great move. It was a big risk to take the program out of the small barn and into the huge warehouse. We all crossed our fingers and held our breaths each month as rent time drew near. But with all the new students, the new classes, grants from foundations and generous donations from families we were able to meet our obligations and grow our program. We are going into 2012 with strong backing and very strong prospects for growth.

We had great events and activities. We started off the year in January with our first warehouse party to celebrate Ian’s 16th birthday. And we discovered that the warehouse makes a very cool dance hall.

It also makes a great art studio as we found in February when portrait artist Robert Evans came for a Painting Day. 10 amazing paintings were created that day and auctioned at our March fundraiser.

After learning that our studio wasn’t quite up to fire code for large public gatherings our March fundraiser, Dancin’ at Duffy Place actually took place at the Marin Art and Garden Center. A perfect example of “falling upwards”. The event was gorgeous and the sparkly fireplace added a charm and warmth that made the change of location seem like a stroke of genius rather than a Hail Mary pass. (Huge thank you goes to Diane Doodha for graciously saving our event)

In July we had the first Autistry Camping Trip – an adventure in Willets. Staff and students hiked, built rafts, and did some target practice. A crazy, wonderful time was had by all and it was unanimously decided to make this an annual event. There is talk of a trip to the High Sierras. So, look for announcements for Camping Summer 2012!

The October Spin ‘n Sizzle fundraising spinathon at Body Image Fitness Center in Mill Valley was a great success and it too will be an annual, if not semi-annual event. Michael and Christine Lopez were wonderful hosts and Chris and Mindy Schreil kept the BBQ blazing. We love these spinning events – easy to do, healthy and fun.

The students produced amazing projects. Over 75 people attended our end-of-semester Holiday Party and Open House and they were greeted with the premiere showing of the Deadly Diamond, improvisational theater, original comedy sketches, dioramas, handmade guitars, paintings and other incredible Autistry student creations.

And we have grown. We now offer 9 Core Workshops, monthly Parent Support Meetings, Sibling Groups, the Gaming Group and on-site individual counseling. We have over 30 students and more join the waiting list every day. We went from a staff of 3 to a staff of 8. The new Autistry staff bring a wealth of talent and skills and they make our program richer.

We have lots of plans for 2012 but I will leave that for the next newsletter. Tonight we raise a toast to our wonderful Autistry community and thank you all for helping us build a program we can all be proud of.

Happy New Year!

Janet, Dan, Courtenay, Sara, Anna, Jeremy, Caitlin and Melissa

Our Autistry team is growing again. We welcome Caitlin O’Brien, an LPCC intern with an MA in Psychology from Antioch University. Caitlin is interested in Art Therapy and PhotoTherapy, the use of photography as a means of communication. She is also interested in gluten-free/dairy-free cooking so she will fit right in at the Autistry lunch table.

Jeremy Gaunt joins us as a workshop assistant. Jeremy is a talented model builder, RPG gamer, and has lots of experience with the business side of things (like accounting!). Jeremy will be a great asset as we set up the accounting infrastructure to support the launch of our Autistry enterprises. Jeremy also knows his way around a workshop filled with power tools – always a plus at Autistry.

Melissa Diaz-Infante will co-lead with Courtenay Bell our first Puppet Theater Workshop beginning Saturday January 7th. Melissa worked for several years at Art Institute of California. She is well known for her theater work with Bindlestiff, the San Francisco based Filipino American performing arts center. Melissa brings a wide array of talents to Autistry and we are all looking forward to helping her create puppets with attitude.

TALKING ABOUT AUTISTRY: There have been several news articles recently about Autistry Studios. The latest was the November 23rd article in the Tiburon Ark. Reporter Michelle Aschwald interviewed one of our students, Jon Wootton and together they did a great job of describing the Autistry program. Unfortunatly the article is not online.

Tyler Barbee also came to Autistry and interviewed Janet about autism and life as a mother of a son with autism. This was a project for a high school class but the questions he asked came from his heart and Janet responded with honest, heart-felt answers:

SUPPORTING AUTISTRY: We have posted our Holiday Wish List. The Autistry workshops are always in need of supplies and equipment. Many of you have asked how you can help so we put together a wish list on Amazon. Purchases do not need to be made at Amazon and they have provided a link to confirm outside purchases so they will be reflected on the list. There is a wide range of choices from saw blades to KitchenAides!

Also, The Miranda Lux Foundation has just offered Autistry Studios a $10,000 matching grant. Please help us meet this exciting challenge. Our services are expensive to provide and the program costs exceed the fees that we charge families. Fundraising efforts such as this are essential for us to provide services to all of our families. If you have been considering an end-of-year donation to Autistry this would be a great time to do it.

Donations can be made online on our website:
http://www.autistrystudios.com/blog/index.php/donate/

Or, sent to our office at:

Autistry Studios
137 Granada Drive
Corte Madera, CA 94925

Donations are tax deductible to the extent your tax situation allows. Pledges made now count toward the matching grant and may be paid at a later date and count towards either the 2011 or 2012 tax year.

Happy Holidays from the Autistry Team!

Donations can be made online on our Donate page or sent to our office at:

Autistry Studios
137 Granada Drive
Corte Madera, CA 94925

Donations are tax deductible to the extent your tax situation allows.

Check out our wish list on Amazon - a range of items from saw blades to mixers, robot bits to green screen set ups! Gift certificates at local hardware and lumber stores and art supply stores are hugely appreciated.

Thanks to a very generous donation from the Moran family work will begin on the kitchen this week. We will start with installing a sink and a dishwasher – no more carting home the dirty dishes. Then we’ll hang the cabinets and put in a good floor. And, finally we will be able to cook together. I am looking forward to working with our Autistry students to create new recipes and to share old favorites – like my Grandma’s pot roast.

In the News:

Autistry member, Julia Pozsgai was featured in an article in the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Julia has been working with Dan and Anna to create furniture. She is now taking custom orders and is working on a doghouse based on the Storybook Playhouse design for her first customer.

Owen Bragg will be reading from his latest book, Ketinga the Cat at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Sunday Nov. 20th at 1pm. Please join us for this very special event. You can purchase both of Owen’s books online at the Autistry Book Store.

Last month Robyn Steward dropped in to visit Autistry. She was on a speaking tour and wanted to see for herself what was going on at Autistry. Robyn is a young adult with Asperger’s and she felt right at home in the Friday Workshop. She even painted a WarHammer figure!

REMINDER: The Parent Support Group meets on Thursday, Nov. 10th at 7pm at Autistry Studios. This is a great group of people with lots of stories to tell and advice to share.

Looking forward to another great year at Duffy Place!

Owen Bragg will read from his new book, Ketinga the Cat, at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Sunday, November 20th at 1pm. Ketinga is a delightful children’s book about a cat and a mischievous mouse!

Owen is a fabulous graphic artist and a prolific illustrator who has developed over 100 original characters. This year at Autistry Owen worked with Suzi Musgrove of SLM Creative to produce two full-color children’s books.

Owen will also be signing Eunice the Unicorn the adventures of a brave little unicorn fleeing from an evil tyrant. Both books are available online here: Buy Autistry Books.

Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd
Corte Madera
(415) 927-0960
(800) 999-7909

The Autistry Studios Sibling Support group provides a place for teens who have a sibling with ASD to experience understanding and peer support, learn coping skills, highlight positive interactions and have fun!

We will meet on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:00 beginning October 27th and concluding December 22nd with a break for the week of Thanksgiving.

We will also work together to plan at least 2 outing activities depending on the interests of the participants. These excursions may be on Saturdays.

Sara Gardner, an educator and MFT trainee will lead the group. She will use art materials, games, and mindfulness exercises, but primarily focus on giving these special teens time that is all their own. The group activities will develop to meet whatever needs the members present individually and as a group.

Group Fee: $50/session (1.5 hours). Meets weekly for 8 weeks.

Course Schedule: 6:30pm to 8pm on Thursdays beginning October 27th

Activity Fee: Additional fees may arise depending on cost of outing activities.

Ages: 13 and older

Sara Gardner is a graduate student at Dominican University pursuing her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. Sara has years of experience working with families and children on the autism spectrum. Sara is skilled at leading role-playing games and is developing a therapy model for working with young adults using role-playing scenarios. She will be supervised by Janet Lawson, MFT (#MFC 44746).

Owen is also featured on the online journal WordGathering in an article by local poet, Rebecca Foust. You can find the article here: Owen Bragg: Artist and Author.

The publication of Eunice is the first step toward the fulfillment of the Autistry vision: building a community that supports the development and creation of entrepreneurial enterprises based on the interests, skills and talents of our members. In our Core Workshops students explore their wild ideas and learn skills to make those ideas real. To become an independent and productive member of a community we also need to market our ideas and skills.

We have many more wonderful enterprises in the works – custom furniture, original artwork, greeting cards, culinary creations! The possibilities are endless as the talents at Autistry are ever increasing. If we were launching a hi-tech product with the dream of huge financial returns we would be seeking huge venture capital investments. Our dreams are more modest and our need for start-up funding is correspondingly modest but nevertheless real. Creating these small social enterprises is an essential component to building a working community. To support our efforts please visit our Donation Page.

It’s Spin Time: the 3rd annual Autistry Spin ‘n Sizzle happens Sunday, October 16th. This is a great way to support the Autistry programs. If you can’t make it on the day or you aren’t up for a spin – sponsor an Autistry member to spin for you. This year we will have several Autistry items available for sale and lots of of projects on view. To reserve your bike or sponsor a rider go to our Donation Page or email Janet: janet@autistry.com.

This month we had a wonderful visit from Rudy Simone, an author/jass singer and Aspie! Rudy has written several great books for and about individuals with Asperger’s. Read more about Rudy on her website: Help 4 Asperger’s. We are making plans to host an evening with Rudy in January – stay tuned for details.