SEEDs for Autism Student Profile – Daniel

Daniel shares his experience in the wood department with an introduction to the process and his instructor, as well as the products he creates and the impact it has on his self esteem and job preparedness.

SEEDS provides education and vocational training for all functional levels of autism as well as providing resources for those on the autistic spectrum. We are proud to be one of the leading Phoenix resources for autism and our programs let those with autism spectrum disorders explore the possibilities and discover new skills in a structured environment.

My Experience in the Weaving Department

At SEEDs for Autism, participants work in a variety of departments – learning the skills necessary to create a multitude of beautiful, high-quality home and garden products. But the learning process does not end there. Daniel discovered that learning how to weave made him realize that he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to. (Ed.)

Daniel working with a nifty knitter

Hello my name is Daniel and I’m going to be writing about my experience in the Weaving Department. My instructor’s name is Bailey and she has taught me how to work with the nifty knitters to make scarfs and headbands. We make towels using a loom. The products the Weaving dept produces are made of fibers woven together. We learn lessons on how to weave the fabric together to make products that serve a useful function in the house.  The towels could be used for washing your hands or for decoration on the wall. Scarfs prevent you from getting cold and they are an attractive fashion  accessory.

It was initially very hard to learn weaving, but I persisted at it and it became easier with time. Learning the skill of weaving has shown me that if you set your mind to something you can do it .

I felt proud when I learned a difficult skill.

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What SEEDS means to me

What Seeds means to me

2/16: At the time of writing this I have been working at SEEDS FOR AUTISM for over a year. During this time I’ve come out of my shell a lot. In High School I was always the quiet person in class that wouldn’t talk anyone and no one would even try to talk to me. I did have a couple of friends from Middle and Elementary school that I would hang out with at lunch and on the bus, but we didn’t have any classes together. I secretly felt kind of lonely but was to afraid to actually talk to new people. After I graduated, my family took me to a job/program/school fair where SEEDS had a booth. It seemed interesting, so that summer I signed up for the summer program -and it was a lot of fun. I met some nice people who I became acquaintances with, but I still didn’t feel at home/comfortable yet. Then in December, I joined the official SEEDs program. I was still pretty nervous, until someone who also works at SEEDS said he remembered me from the summer program and welcomed me into the SEEDS family. I felt bad because I didn’t remember him.  After a while though we became good friends and still are. I started talking about similar interests, things that are on my mind, how life is going, and now I have many new friends! Now I feel like I can make friends, share what I have to say, and I am slightly more confident. I am now truly part of the SEEDS family!

5/25: Today I am leaving SEEDS, I still feel the same as I did when I wrote the paragraph above. I am leaving because SEEDS has given me confidence to follow a new opportunity. I will miss all of my friends and all of my instructors very much, but it’s time to move forward with my life, and SEEDS FOR AUTISM has given me the knowledge to do so successfully. I have learned skills and made things here that I never thought I would ever be able to. I am very grateful for SEEDS FOR AUTISM and everyone here for helping me with so much. The only thing I can say now is, thank you!

~Breanna D.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

~Nelson Mandela

Keri’s Awesome Video

My Favorite Department

My name is Matthew and my favorite department is Newsletter. In Newsletter I get to use my talent of making amazing stories and harness it into great blog posts. In Newsletter I learn to make cool titles with pictures. In Newsletter I’m free to write about what’s on my mind or what I write in my journals and I get a lot of support from Michele and my friends they are the first people in the world that like my stories and believe I could be a writer.

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/

Alex’s Pictures @ Seeds

Sonja and Noah sewing

 

Wood Department

 

Andy,Jeff and Brian are working

 

Sydney in sewing

 

Daniel and Jesse Dean

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/

My trip to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park

During my winter break from SEEDS I had fun with my family, celebrating Christmas, going on our yearly trip to Williams AZ., and the most interesting thing we did exploring Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde. When we got to the park we saw a big bird cage filled with different kinds of parrots and lovebirds. We the got on a shuttle to the other side of the park, it was a bumpy ride. There we saw other animals like, ring-tailed lemurs, marmosets, a sloth, lions, wolves, tigers, and hyenas. We stopped for food then sat and watched the Tiger Splash show. The tigers were running around the pool playing with toys like giant house cats. It was cold hat day and I didn’t expect any of the tigers to go in the water, but once one of them noticed there was food on a raft it went for it and dived right in. But because it was cold and rainy the week we went, we had to track trough lots of mud. I was okay though because with all the fun I was having I didn’t mind getting muddy. There was a zip-line over the animals, my little sister was the only one of us brave enough to do it. She told me it was fun and didn’t feel like she was that high up. The last thing we did was go on the safari tour. We got to go on the safari bus and drive around close to the animals. Also on the safari tour we could feed a giraffe or a camel named Humphrey. The all the other animals on the tour had teeth that would hurt if it bit you while trying to feed it. Some of the people put the treat near their face to get a giraffe kiss. A kid sitting behind me tried to do that to one of the giraffes named Pilgrim. But Pilgrim almost missed and got me, but I ducked in time and didn’t get a sticky giraffe kiss. At the end of the day we all had fun at The Out of Africa Wildlife park and would definitely recommend going to visit.

~Breanna D.

~All photos taken by Breanna D.

A Place Where Friendships Grow