What Unique Quality Do You Have That Makes You Feel Special?

 

Feeling good about ourselves and embracing the unique qualities that make us individuals is important for happiness in life. At SEEDs for Autism we understand that healthy self esteem enables us to stand up for ourselves, stretch our limits and gain the confidence to connect with others. We asked our participants to share the personal skills, talents and interests they have that make them feel special.

MICHAEL IS.
I think independence is the unique quality that makes me special. For example, I ride the Valley Metro bus without assistance, and I walk about half a mile to and from the nearest bus stop.

CONNOR
I never give up. I’m relentless.

CHRIS M.
My unique quality that’s very special to me and everyone I know would be that I have a talent for drawing and making pieces of art.

JAKE M.
My sense of humor is a unique quality that I have and it feels good when I can spread that humor to other individuals.

DANIEL CH
I’m good at singing. It makes me feel special.

ANTHONY
I feel like I’m good at cleaning things, organizing and mopping. And I like to help show my family the healthy things they should eat.

RYAN D.
I have good skills of drawing, acting, singing, and dancing.

JESSE
I have a really wild imagination when it comes to writing stories.

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Gardening Aprons at SEEDs for Autism

GARDENING APRONS!

The Arizona summer is coming to an end and that means it’s time to start planting! To celebrate the start of gardening season, we have selected our beautifully made GARDENING APRONS as our featured product for the month. Sturdy construction with reinforced seams, these practical and stylish aprons have deep pockets for carrying gloves, garden tools and for keeping your phone handy while you work. The short style of our gardening aprons allows for lots of bending and crouching as you pull weeds, plant seeds and create a beautiful display of plants, vegetables or flowers. These hand-crafted aprons are available online and make a perfect gift for the gardener in your life!

SPECIAL ONLINE OFFER
In honor of planting time, we are offering a special discount on our gardening aprons. Just enter the code SEP18 when you make your purchase online and receive $5 off these delightful gardening aprons made with love by the participants at SEEDs for Autism!

Click HERE to start shopping today!

Be sure to visit Summerwinds Nursery for plant purchases, expert gardening advice and many other garden related products and services!

Empowering Families at SEEDs for Autism

Jennifer Espinoza, BCBA/LBA working with families at SEEDs for Autism

SEEDs for Autism is proud to be one of the leading Phoenix resources for autism support, information and connection. We offer monthly educational lectures for parents/guardians of adults on the autism spectrum to learn more about topics related to autism. 

February’s Educational Lecture & Workshop: Using Positive Behavior Support Strategies to Increase Your Adult/Young Adult’s Motivation

Jennifer Espinoza, BCBA/LBA worked with a group of parents/guardians for a unique and educational experience at SEEDs for Autism. During the lecture, Jennifer provided valuable insights and demonstrated useful tips on how to use positive behavior support strategies to increase their child’s motivation. These research-based methods are empowering for those on the autism spectrum: providing choices which result in a greater sense of independence and engagement.

Afterwards, Jennifer spent time with each family as they worked together on an art project: creating a family banner. This provided an opportunity for parents/guardians to practice these behavioral support strategies in a real-life situation.

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Participants at SEEDs for Autism Share Their Thoughts

My experience at the SEEDs workshop was a really great one! I got to work on this really cool project which was a custom family banner with hearts that had all our family members on it, decorated with stamps and other add-ons. It was a little difficult at first, but as soon as me, my mom and sister got working hard together on it, we got the hang of it, and I started to enjoy the project even more! The banner turned out awesome in the end! I liked it!   -Brianna

David and his parents

I created a red and purple  family banner that has our family’s name on it. My red and purple family banner also has the names of my twin nieces. I had to cut 3 hearts and pinned 2 of the hearts but sewed the 3rd to the banner. I also had to sew the top of the banner around the wood dowel. My family helped me create the family banner by helping me sew the hearts and the top onto the banner around the wood dowel.

-David

 

While parents/guardians attended the lecture, their loved ones participated in an engaging session of Improv  with their peers led by SEEDs instructor, Amy.

I had fun. I pretended to drink hot cocoa. I was a tree and played catch with an invisible ball. Then I made a banner with my mom. I used scissors to cut out hearts. -Daniel Ch.

Daniel and his mom

SEEDs for Autism exists to serve our local Phoenix autism community. These monthly educational lectures are intended for parents and guardians in our autism community and are an opportunity for us to help provide resources and education.

If you would like to learn more about this life-changing program, please visit our website:

seedsforautism.org

Kyle’s Demo at the Holiday Sale

 

Hi my name is Kyle and I would like to talk about my role at the Seeds for Autism Holiday Sale. I am a metal head and it’s not just my taste in music (bad-um tss) but metal is my soul and iron runs through my blood. So naturally I did a forging demo on how to make our garden trowels.

Changing Lives at SEEDs for Autism

Support and GROW the life of an adult with autism!

Help SEEDs for Autism reach our goal to employ 15 participants in the next 12 months.

SEEDs for Autism is a Phoenix based vocational training program dedicated to teaching adults with autism a multitude of job skills related to the arts. As a non-profit organization we need your help to support this life changing program.

While enrolled in the public school system, there are a lot of resources available to help children affected by autism. But what happens when these children grow up? So many are capable, yet for 85% of this population, being an adult with autism means a lifetime of isolation; a dark and lonely future with no real direction or sense of purpose.

Seeds for Autism has created a solution. SEEDs provides real life practical experiences to help participants obtain job, life and social skills while being productive in a workplace environment.  Participants learn how to use real tools of the trade to produce over 150 high quality home and garden items which are sold into the community.

Your donation is a direct investment towards the employment of our participants.

Fundraiser Site:  SEEDs for Autism’s GoFundMe Page

Website: https://www.seedsforautism.org/

Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/SEEDSforAutism/

Please Help SEEDs for Autism Grow

SEEDs for Autism is a Phoenix based vocational training program dedicated to teaching autistic adults a variety of job skills related to the arts. Please use your Arizona Tax Credit to help SEEDs for Autism grow! https://www.seedsforautism.org/

A Place Where Friendships Grow

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Please help us win a new website! Go to https://rocketmedia.com/givebackvote and vote for SEEDs for Autism!

Creatures for Autism

Have you ever felt like you were a little bit different? Like if you were someone special but nobody wants to be around you? Then you know exactly how it felt to be me. Let me tell you about monsters, everything you know is a lie. No creature has ever hurt anyone, people just see them and use what they see for scary stories. Monsters try to help, they try to learn, they try to make the world a better place. But you haven’t heard this about them until now.

Hi, my name is Matt and I’m a blob monster that goes to Creatures for Autism. If you go there you will see that there is more to us than meets the eye. Creatures for Autism is a place where monsters can go to learn job skills to fit in modern society. We make garden products that are to die for! Our stuff is so great, you will ask your mummy to get it for you! It will bring eternal life to your garden!

Our place is run by our shapeshifter, Mary Ann. Learn weaving with our spider queen! Learn woodwork with our Bigfoot! Learn to stitch with our mad scientist! Learn to make bird houses with our were-bird!  Learn to make jewelry with our mummy! Learn about the internet with our Phantom virus! Make newsletters with help from our Vampire! Learn about selling from our Invisible man! Learn to turn clay into ceramics by our Witch! Welding might be a little hot when you meet our Phoenix!

At Creatures for Autism we scare because we care!

Lone Wolf

In a small grotto, a soft wind blows and a young man stands over two gravestones. He places some flowers on the ground at each of the headstones. It has been a long time since I’ve been back, I’m sorry. I have had a lot of fun adventures, made a lot friends and lived, truly lived. Tears start to fall. It is still hard to go on sometimes. I live on while others age to dust around me, but I learned I’m not alone. There are others like me. They finally found how use my DNA to help others now. I’m sorry it never made it in time for you guys. And now they chose me to go into space as part of a group of explorers. I get to live my dream now, thanks you guys for everything.

He sat sat there for bit talking to the head stones.

Soon he heard heard footsteps and a voice called out to him,

“Hey Jesse you coming? Tomorrow is the big day, better get some sleep.”

“Be right there Shawn!” Jesse calls back.

Thanks guys. I love you both. I won’t be back for long time but I’m not so sad anymore.

He got up and As he headed back to the house,

The wind blew dirt off the gravestones revealing writing it read:

“To the two people who made me who I am, may we meet again some day.”

As the sun, sets the light comes through and lights up the area. As if to respond to the young man .

The boy looks back and smiles.

Thanks guys.. He said heading back into the house.

 

To be continued…..
Story by

J.L. Wolf