By Debra Muzikar “The only thing that is constant is change,” a wise man once said. 2015 was a year of intense change. From the book Neurotribes, the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, to the shake-up at Autism Speaks, 2015 has been a wild ride in the autism community. It…

You rock. Really. We met the $5000 Gear Wall Challenge! With your generous donations we met the Roberts Shoes Fund $5000 Matching Challenge! Our 2015 Autistry Gear Wall is growing and with that growth comes new opportunities for our students. New tools, new programs, and new scholarships. And we cou…

Autistic people are chronically targets of bullying, discrimination, ableism, domestic violence and time and time again are being murdered by the people who are supposed to take care of them. If a person has the ability to avoid all of that by hiding what makes them appear to be autistic, I think t…

Jenny Palmiotto writes a letter from her future self to herself in 2015 Dear Jenny of 2015, When letters start off this way, it is usually to reflect on our past selves. These letters are filled with wisdom from the passage of time and the knowledge that ‘everything is going to be okay.’ This is not…

This week I attended The Disney Effect: Communicating with Autistic Children through Animation, an event hosted by the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Expecting the usual “parent of an autistic” author talk and autism expert lecture, I was totally unprepared for the emotional impact of Ron S…

Mark your calendars: Autistry Scientists & Artists …Party! IV – Saturday, April 11th – 7pm – 10pm at the Studio. You can RSVP to Sarah Horowitz or go to the Facebook events page. On the event page click on the Invite button and let all your Facebook friends know about th…

As he begins his second semester of community college, I want to catch everyone up on Ian’s college career to date. Last semester, Ian and I attended College of Marin’s beginning acting class. While we originally discussed transitioning towards independence last semester, we never made the jum…

2015 has opened with a bang at Autistry! Lots of new faces: students and staff. New projects are starting and older projects are being completed. We are all overcoming the temptation to linger in projects that we love so we don’t have to strike out into the unknown territory of a new project. …

“Don’t mollycoddle autistic kids”.* How many times have we sat in an audience with other parents, nodding our heads when Temple Grandin gives this advice? After she speaks, we applaud. We get our pictures taken with her, post them on the refrigerator and on our Facebook page. We even get our child…

Time flies when you’re so busy you can’t see the calendar! So much happened at Autistry in April and May that it is a bit of a blur but I will try to describe the clearest moments. Pour yourself a cup of coffee – this is a long one! APRIL The Scientists & Artists…Party!…

April is Autism Awareness Month: Well, for some of us every month is Autism Awareness Month. But I am all for people learning more about how ASD minds work and what programs work for ASD minds. Thursday, April 2nd, Nicole Hitchcock has organized Bay Area Autism Awareness Day. Temple Grandin and Cong…

“At the end of the day this film is not about autism; it’s about love. Being more caring to the person next to you; being compassionate. This is a movie about love through a different lens; through the eyes of autism.” Carolina Groppa By Debra Muzikar (This is an excerpt from an i…

We are still getting settled into the new studio. So many boxes to unpack and tools to find places for. The kitchen is looking good, the library shelves are going up, the digital arts studio is pretty much up and running, and the shop is back online. A lot of work but the move was a good one. The s…

Autistry has moved! We have found a fabulous place at 448 Du Bois in San Rafael, just 3 blocks away from the warehouse, that fits us to a T. We have dedicated rooms for the Shop, the Digital Arts Studios, the Fabrication Studio, the Library/Chill Room, and, of course, the kitchen! As well as offices…