Alex is a young adult with autism

He was diagnosed before age two. In the first few years after his diagnosis, Alex stimmed, cried alot, hated going to places, and generally needed help in all aspects of his life. We tried mainstream programs and special classes in more than five different placements.

We begin to see some hope

Through medication, therapies, and patience Alex begins to come into his own. In order to avoid constant picking, we give him stickers, pencils, tiles, clay, squeeze balls, and anything else that will calm his sensory needs. As a teenager, with minimal language, he begins to make himself heard.

Art becomes expression

After years of training, Alex becomes more open to life. He is able to learn simple pottery, weaving, mosaics, beading and painting. We put him in front of a computer. He learns to press a button to communicate with his IPOD.

Your generous purchases help Alex give back to the community. Thank you!

These cards are available individually on Alex’s Zazzle Shop.

 

Without your generous support through purchasing of Alex’s artwork, none of the following would be possible. Thank you.

Today we launch a new, revised and social media-friendly website. This has been three long years in the making and we couldn’t have done it without a grant from the Think Alive Foundation. Our improved website lists our new art classes for teens and adults with disabilities as well as videos chronicling Alex’s progress in learning his business. We would also like to thank the Orb Factory for providing us with commercial license to allow Alex to sell their dinosaur collection as tiles on Zazzle.

Thanks to the Orb Factory for giving us commercial copyright to sell tiles on Zazzle.

Although we continuously struggle to break-even with sales, we believe that providing individuals with disabilities a way to interact with the community, learn a business and express themselves is important to society

As most parents know, the road to getting services is difficult, if not impossible in some states, so we are grateful to those agencies that support us.  In addition, Alex’s Art Loft continues to give back to the community. Recent events include sponsoring a hole at a golf tournament for Feed the Hungry, donating mosaic prints to both Sunrise Assisted Living’s Alzheimer’s Unit and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital’s Pediatric Unit, and donating prints to the Jewish Social Services Agency which helped them raise $18,000.

I remain hopeful that this year will bring new adventures, friends and challenges.

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