Building through making: How one program serves adults with autism

In a studio workspace, Chloe Pollock steps back from her latest piece, examining the geometric patterns she's created. "Oh yeah, they're the ones that I made," she says. Her instructor, Evri Kwong, asks her to evaluate the work, questioning whether thicker or thinner lines might improve the design. "It looks great," Chloe says.

This back-and-forth is typical at Autistry, a program in its 18th year of working with teens and adults on the autism spectrum and those facing other challenges. "Here we make things. That's what we're known for, and that's really the foundation of our program," says Janet Lawson, who co-founded the organization with her husband.

The program started out of necessity. When their son finished high school, the Lawsons discovered there were no services available for him. They decided to create something themselves, converting a barn behind their house into a studio and starting with four students. The focus was practical: helping people learn to create projects, build things, use their hands, and master tools.

The model worked. Over eighteen years, the program has grown from those initial four students to more than forty. Students work on projects they choose or group efforts, learning skills as they go.

For Chloe, that's meant focusing on geometric art. "I really love the geometric art because it's my favorite," she explains. Over the past year, she's been working to design her own graphs at any size, expanding what she can do independently.

Janet sees this kind of growth as central to what separates autistry from other programs. "People generally creating programs for individuals with challenges tend to have their first objective to be to keep them safe, which is a valid and very admirable goal, but it doesn't help them grow," she says. Safety doesn't challenge people to develop new skills or explore new ideas.

"Through the action of creating something, we are also creating relationships with our students and helping them create an identity for themselves that's based on being productive and being a productive member of their community," Janet explains. The goal is to develop both social and practical skills, helping participants become who they want to be.

In the studio, Chloe continues her work under Evri's guidance, each line she draws representing progress toward greater independence and capability. After 18 years, Autistry has proven that growth matters as much as safety, and that making things can mean building a life.