JCC Manhattan, 336 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76 Street
www.jccmanhattan.org/theartisticspectrum
April 10, 2008
Jacob Artson, 15, is a ninth grader at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. He is dedicated to helping all people, whether they have special needs or not, live with dignity and meaning. He would like to thank his mentor Dr. Ricki Robinson, his parents, and his amazing twin sister Sihira, who is his best friend, role model, cheerleader, advocate and fashion consultant.
Kristina Chew teaches Classics at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City and co-directs the Honors Program. She blogs at autismvox.com.
Amy Gravino, age 24, has Asperger Syndrome. Born and raised in Port Jefferson, NY, Amy is currently attending graduate school at Caldwell College in Caldwell, NJ, where she is working to obtain her Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. Amy has been writingsince the age of 10, and is presently working on “The Naughty Autie,” a dating and sexuality book for young adults and adults on the spectrum. Amy was also an interview subject in the documentary “Normal People Scare Me,” and is participating in the filming of a new documentary called ARTS, which showcases the talents of artists on the autism spectrum in collaboration with skilled mentors from their fields. Amy has been speaking publicly at autism conferences all over the country since age 14, and plans to use her degree to work as an autism consultant in middle and high schools, speaking to faculty and students alike, and working with young adults on the spectrum to help them have a voice in the decisions affecting their day-to-day lives.
My name is Jason Ross and I write poetry and stories that are seen on my website www.drivemomcrazy.com. I have written many poems and stories ever since I was a small child living in Rockland County, NY. I still live there currently though soon I will be having a place of my own to be as independent as I can while Adaptations helps me. My writing signifies that I express myself better than when I talk which enables me to show the world who I am. I am also an artist in the medical field and just recently became a part of the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography as an Echocardiography Technologist. With my art of writing and my artistry as an Echo Tech, I am able to express myself more ways than one. As a writer, I imagine images in people’s minds, while as a sonographer, I show images of people’s hearts in order to help doctors help people in every way they can. I am 28 years old and by having Asperger Syndrome and being diagnosed later in life as an adult, shows you that I have been through a lot of bad times while now I am seeing my success flourish finally. I feel my writings—specifically the poetry--that you will hear me read to you, show my feelings and what I have been through in life. I hope you think about my selected poems you will listen to and realize that you can really learn from me.
Clifford Joseph Schumacher was born on October 6th, 1990 in Reno, Nevada. He showed signs of autism and was diagnosed when he was three. He was put into a clinical program at UCLA under the supervision of Dr. Ivar Lovaas. His label was then removed when he was four, when he didn't meet the DSM for classic autism and was fully mainstreamed. During the spring 2007 legislative session, he acted as an advocate with ACON (Autism Coalition of Nevada), which was successful for raising funds for autism at the Nevada legislature in several years. At the same time, he was accepted to Bard College at Simon's Rock, and he left for college without a high school degree at the age of sixteen. He maintains a blog dedicated to autism at http://www.crimsonthought.blogspot.com. He has written throughout his life, in various amounts at different times, but he only began to share his work in the last year. His interests include: philosophy, martial arts, psychology and politics.
Leigh Silver was born in 1977 and graduated with a BS in business from Nova South Eastern University in 2002. While in high school in 1995-96 he was asked to write something for his school’s literary magazine. After hearing someone on WFAN in the summer of 1995 read out his poem about the recently passed Mickey Mantle he decided to see if he could right some poems about the game he loves. At last count, he has written over six hundred poems.
Kim Stagliano is a writer, Huffington Post blogger and Managing Editor of AgeofAutism.com and mother of three daughters with autism. She lives in Fairfield County, CT with her family. Kim is included in the new book, "Embracing Autism. Connecting and Communicating with Children on the Autism Spectrum."