Autism Resource Mom, a local Orange County organization that provides support, guidance and hope for parents of children with autism, held a year-end creativity workshop for their children (and themselves) at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity on Monday, December 5th. Debora Smith, founder of ARM, had this to say about the evening:"I’m happy to report that AUTISM RESOURCE MOM’s holiday event was yet another huge success! I’m thrilled we were able to sneak one more of these in before the end of the year. Our families were in agreement—they absolutely loveDenise and her artist assistants.
"What I enjoy about the evening is watching our kids “get lost” in their creations and in doing so, feel comfortable enough to let their guard down a bit. And I know their anxieities are lessened because the kids are talking with peers, talking with other adults, making social connections. It’s quite remarkable.
"In the Post-Event Survey, one question reads: What are the top 3 things you liked about tonight’s Art & Creativity Workshop? Here are some responses:
The giggles, the creativity and no judgement
So creative, very organized and fun
It was fun, relaxing; kids could move around as needed, not restrictive
The helpers were fun and encouraging, the flexibility, different projects to choose from
That our kids are very creative and need a space and opportunity to expand it; and socially this is a great event
Very laid back, awesome venue, great selection of activities at the different stations
"The final headcount was: 26 parents/kids; 2-man video crew for Autism Resource Mom; 1 reporter from the OC Register; 3 CJCC awesome artist helpers and last but not least, the one-and-only Denise Dion-Scoyni [the lead teaching artist at the Center]!
"On behalf of our entire organization and all our families, we are profoundly grateful to everyone at Chuck Jones Center for Creativity for working with us to make this possible. It’s becoming one of our signature events—and I think that’s pretty cool."
More information about ARM available here.