Making Stuffed Animals at SEEDs for Autism

Sewing teaches calmness, discipline and patience. It improves hand eye coordination, inspires creativity and cultivates emotional well being. At SEEDs for Autism, sewing helps our participants strengthen their ability to remain focused – a highly valued skill which opens the door to employment opportunities which require attention to detail and the ability to stay on task. 

ABOUT THE SEWING DEPARTMENT
by Camille 

Hello my name is Camille and I am going to tell you about the Sewing department at SEEDs. We use a lot of materials such as thread, fabrics, and polyester fiber stuffing. We use tools like sewing machines, needles, pins, scissors, and measuring tape.

At SEEDS, sewing helps make me focused so I don’t make mistakes. But sometimes, the flat iron can get loud and distracting so I use my coping skills, and remain on task. The instructor teaches me safety skills on the flat iron so I don’t get hurt. It is important to work slowly and to not touch a hot surface and to respect the equipment. We make many beautiful products in the sewing department like  produce bags, aprons, and hand-sewn pouches.

At SEEDs, we also make stuffed animals. I like making stuffed toys because they are so cute, soft, and they make me happy.

This is how we make stuffed animals:

1. Design the animal by drawing the animal on paper.
2. Cut out the shape so you have 2 pieces of fabric.
3. Sew the 2 pieces together, use sewing machine, but leave a little space to put in the stuffing.
4. Put the stuffing into the plush toy.
5. Sew the hole closed by hand.

Children cuddle them and we sell them to raise money for SEEDS.

The dinosaurs are my favorite.

In conclusion, I like working in the sewing department because it makes me feel positive and productive.

Hunter’s Presentation at SEEDs for Autism

Developing social skills is an important area of focus at SEEDs for Autism and we incorporate practicing these skills into every aspect of our program. Creating power point presentations is a creative way for our participants to build confidence, improve communication skills and inspire others. In this presentation, Hunter speaks to a roomful of his peers on the topic of “Manners”.

Animals of Africa

People on the autism spectrum often exhibit an intense focus on a particular area of interest. These affections may change over time, yet the level of enthusiasm remains the same. At SEEDs for Autism, we recognize that these passionate hobbies offer a level of comfort and stability to these unique individuals. From there, we can introduce new ideas and challenges to help our participants GROW. Daniel loves the animals of Africa, and during the creation of this blog post, he confidently stepped outside of his comfort zone. Apart from performing the technical skills of online research, typing, uploading images, adding categories and finding appropriate tags, Daniel opened his mind and created poems about his favorite animals.

Jewelry-Making Workshop with Gloria and Justin

At SEEDs for Autism, our ongoing series of workshops provide new opportunities to empower our participants and encourage them to GROW. These talented young adults gain confidence interacting with the community as they assist our staff during these educational and inspirational events!

Intro to Jewelry Making: Mixed Metal Earrings

The Intro to Jewelry Making class on Saturday was a great success! By providing step-by-step instructions and live demonstrations, Gloria (instructor) and Justin M. taught workshop attendees how to create a beautiful pair of mixed metal earrings!

Workshop attendees pay close attention as Justin and Gloria work together to demonstrate each step

Justin SHINES as Gloria’s star pupil in the Jewelry department at SEEDs. Due to his high quality work, attention to detail and delicate touch, Justin is the only participant entrusted to work with more expensive materials such as silver. This workshop at SEEDs for Autism gave Justin the opportunity to take a leadership role and share his talents and skills with the community!

Justin provides one on one instruction

 

Justin demonstrates how to use the drill

 

Justin supervises while his student drills

SCENES FROM THE EVENT

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

seedsforautism.org

Featured Artist: Interview with Camille

Animals and Rainbows by Camille
“The drawing is really cool because it’s vibrant, creative, and cute.”  Brianna

Developing social skills is an important area of focus at SEEDs for Autism. One of the creative, yet practical ways we practice these skills is by conducting interviews. Participants make eye contact, utilize active listening and focus on the speaker to gain information. Brianna put these skills into ACTION by interviewing one of her peers about her love of drawing.

INTERVIEW WITH CAMILLE:

Question: What are your favorite things to draw?
Answer: Nature, landscapes, travels, and animals.
Question: How long have you been drawing?
Answer: I started when I was little.
Question: How did you learn to draw so well?
Answer: By looking at pictures, illustrations, cartoons and different shapes or something to get ideas.
Question: Why do you like drawing?
Answer: Because it’s fun, relaxing, it makes me happy, and it’s my hobby!

Interviewer: Brianna

Self Portrait by Camille
“I like this drawing because it’s pretty abstract.” Brianna

 

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

Jon’s Favorite Artist: Charles Thomson

Jon poses with his own artwork

At SEEDs for Autism, we recognize art as a powerful form of self-expression and we cultivate an environment where our participants can explore their talents and GROW.  Creating art reduces stress, develops fine motor skills and encourages personal growth. Through art, we can explore and interpret the world around us. It is a creative and meaningful way to engage and connect with others.

Jon has recently discovered his passion for art, finding his creative voice exploring shapes, line and color with pencils, colored markers and a growing collection of sketchbooks. Jon’s newfound interest in art led him to discover artist Charles Thomson. The work of Mr. Thomson really resonated with Jon. He found many of the artist’s paintings online and was inspired to share his thoughts on the pieces that inspired him. [Ed.]

Top Hat by Charles Thomson

This painting in my opinion is the coolest thing I have ever seen! The amount of bright colors and dark colors work so well together. The different colors in the background leads your eyes to the figure in this painting. And the color choices work so well together, from the bright orange, green and pink in the center of the figure to the dark reds, browns, and grays of the background. It is a work of art that made me want to study this with my eyes and mind.

 

Everyone Called Smith in the Barnet Phone Book 1998–1999 by Charles Thomson

What I love about this is that it looks like a hand-cut collage and it took me a while to figure out it wasn’t. It was a painting made by the hands of a human being. I was surprised to see such a detailed oil painting because it looks so real and tricked my mind into thinking it wasn’t a painting. The details in the ‘cutouts’ were amazing to me from the amount of simple details with the difficult oils that made it look so real and that is the main reason why I like this painting.

 

Creative Canvas Workshop: Making Vision Boards With Jeff and Camille

A creative, fun-filled Saturday morning at SEEDs for Autism!

At SEEDs for Autism, our ongoing series of workshops provide new opportunities to empower our participants and encourage them to GROW. These talented young adults gain confidence interacting with the community as they assist our staff during these educational and inspirational events!

At SEEDs, participants learn by DOING, so Camille and Jeff created their own Vision Boards in preparation for this workshop. By experiencing the process themselves, Jeff and Camille became familiar with the different techniques and understood how each step led to the next. Through this experience, they gained confidence and looked forward to sharing their knowledge with the community.  Jeff and Camille SHINED as they utilized their social skills – welcoming guests, using their words to encourage others and providing instruction to the workshop attendees.

“Jeff and Camille were very helpful and professional. This was a very organized event and I had a great time making my vision board!”

— Richard Bledsoe (Workshop attendee)

The event was a great success! Congratulations to Jeff and Camille on a job well done!

Camille stands by, offering encouragement and guidance

 

Jeff demonstrates how to add items to the vision board

 

Jeff and Camille standing by, ready to assist workshop attendees

 

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Workshop attendees and their beautiful Vision Boards!

For more information on this life-changing program, please visit our website: seedsforautism.org

Educational Lecture: Life Care Planning

“The future depends on what we do in the present.”

Mahatma Gandhi

At SEEDs for Autism we are happy to introduce a series of educational lectures as part of our continuing mission to serve our Phoenix autism community. These free monthly lectures are intended for parents and guardians in our autistic community, and are an opportunity for us to help provide resources and education.

For our January lecture, the topic is Life Care Planning.

At SEEDs, we recognize the importance of planning ahead. Planning for the future enables us be proactive, make long-term decisions and turn our challenges into opportunities.

-How are you going to prepare for your child’s future?
-Is guardianship a necessity?
-What about a Special Needs Trust?

Join Karen Starbowski, CLU ChSNC from MassMutual Arizona for a complimentary workshop, Planning for Your Child’s Future. Parents will learn what steps to take to ensure the future of their child and how to get the plan started.

Thursday, January 25th
6:30-7:30pm
SEEDs For Autism
3420 S 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85040

Please visit our WEBSITE for more information on upcoming events at SEEDs for Autism

Creative Canvas Workshop with Jeff and Camille

At SEEDs for Autism participants learn by DOING! Camille and Jeff create their own vision boards which empowers them to instruct others!

At SEEDs for Autism, our ongoing series of workshops provide new opportunities to empower our participants. These talented young adults gain confidence as they interact with the community to provide instruction as they assist our staff during these educational and inspirational events!

This month, Camille and Jeff will help guide you through the process of creating your own mixed media vision board!

Hi, My name is Camille and I am going to tell you about my experience making a vision board. I painted my canvas aqua colored. While the paint was drying I looked through magazines for pictures. I cut out pictures of animals, pop culture, travel, flowers, autism, Disney, Sedona, and other things. I also cut out words like Power and Good News. I glued them onto the canvas by using Mod Podge glue. I had fun making my vision board.

Please come to SEEDS for Autism and make your own vision board.

Camille

What is a Vision Board? A vision board is a collage representing things you would like to attract to your life and focus on for the New Year. Enjoy exploring a variety of mixed media techniques to create your own one of a kind canvas. You can incorporate inspirational phrases, include your own photos and utilize an assortment of art supplies and decorative elements which will be provided for the event. An artistic way to visualize your goals for 2018!

CREATIVE CANVAS: 2018 Vision Board

Saturday – January 27, 2018

SEEDs for Autism

3420 S. 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85040

Click HERE to reserve your spot today!

$30.00 (all supplies included)

BE CREATIVE! THINK! POWER! Jeff and Camille incorporate inspiring words into their vision boards.