june 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Anthony Cummerlander has a colorful life. He sings in the choir. He is close with his family. He attends Blend Art Studio in Newark. But he misses his friends from Pickerington North High School. Though he graduated in 2012, Anthony has not forgotten the many friends he made during his school years. “When Anthony graduated he was really excited,” said his mother Marie, a Fairfield DD Individual Support Coordinator. “But it was the celebration he enjoyed. He didn’t realize graduation was actually an ending.” As his classmates embarked upon their many different post-high school paths— off to new schools, jobs and towns, Anthony soon felt their absence in a profound way. “He really started to retreat back into what he calls Anthony’s World,” said Marie. “The real world is not for me,” he told his family. Anthony has always had an affinity for cartoons and all things plush. So he began to surround himself with hundreds of plush animals, many of which he made himself, and he can (and will) recite entire episodes of various cartoons from start to finish, complete with onpoint impersonations. While Anthony may have found many ways to comfort himself, his studio coordinators at Blend, a studio of SPARK in Indian Mound Mall that offers art classes and employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities, decided to help Anthony use his imagination and sewing skills to begin letting go of the pain from missing his former classmates. Over the course of the last eight months, Anthony has been very busy creating plush replicas of every friend he had in high school. He spent countless hours with studio coordinators selecting fabrics that match the skin tones, eye color and hair color of each friend, using his old high school yearbook for reference. Earlier this May, when all of the dolls were completed, he held his own graduation ceremony for them. His family and other supports hope that by allowing his plush friends to graduate, he will begin putting that chapter of his life into perspective, if not behind him. And he was in good spirits as he proudly presented his friends to everyone in the studio. He told everyone in attendance, “These are my friends.” Then, at the end of the day, he carefully packed up each plush doll into a clear storage container and loaded them into his mother’s car to take home and put into storage. “He’s ready to move on I think,” Marie said. “He won’t stop making plush dolls. In fact, he has lists all around the studio of the dozens of plush dolls he’s ready to make next. But he has finished the high school project and can focus on something else.” While Anthony may never choose to emerge from Anthony’s World, there is no denying that he finds comfort there while still being very aware of the people around him who care about him— including his studio coordinators. “I give special thanks to Beth [Bearor] and Ben [Piper],” he said. His studio coordinators are anxious to watch Anthony, whom they describe as a bright soul, move on to new projects. “Anthony is a barometer of the environment,” Bearor said. “What he is creating is always a clear indicator of what is happening around him. He’s never met a stranger and he brings a lot of joy to everyone around him.”
WHOSE C U B E ? At the OACB Spring Conference Keynote Speaker James Kane stressed the importance of knowing the people around you. One of the best ways? “Look at their workspace,” he said. “Take the time to really observe a persons work space and it will tell you a lot about them and maybe even kick-start conversation.” So it’s your turn! Can you tell whose cube is pictured below? ANSWER: Charity Jacobs, ISC
Page 1 and 2: JUNE 2018 Bringing about a vibrant
Page 3: Cain Gives Dance Attendees That Spe
Page 7 and 8: “Public and private agencies that

june 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?