By the time you read this, I will have visited three more art centers/programs for people with disAbilities in North Carolina. I've been dropping little hints here since the spring that I'm exploring creating an integrated (both artists with and without disAbilities) Creative Arts Co-op here in Nashville.
Here's the deal, folks: in the next 10 years, nationally, 500,000 youth with autism (maybe 700,000 of others with disAbilities as all developmental disabilities have been on the increase the last decade) will be aging out of schools and up to this point life-long, necessary services. Early intervention was the big buzz word at least once upon a time, like when Grace was three and just diagnosed with autism in 1997. But here we are, with all these others, who will also be standing at the precipice of an unknown and unchartered future. Not surprisingly, some states are ahead of us. Like about 40-plus of them. (I wish I were exaggerating. I am not.)
Kudos to WalGreens, Kroger and Publix. But not enough companies are jumping to hire a community of people who prove, repeatedly, to be dedicated and hard working. The future for much of our commuinty will be driven, in large part, by parental creativity coupled with the creativity (often part of developmental disAbilities) of our offspring. Here's some examples already happening here in Nashville:
We met Larry Lennen and his wonderfuly tye dye tee shirt business at the entrepreneural fair that's a feature of the Tennessee Megadisability Conference each May. I absolutely adore my shirt (shown here,) and have to remember to take it off and wash it. (Wink.) Larry's parents are no longer living, which helped qualify him as eligible for Tennessee's scarcely available Medicaid Waiver. (Thousands are on the waiting list and literally every state surrounding us has much more readily accessible service programs.) Larry came up with his business idea himself and his paid assistants have helped him launch his dream. Go, Larry!
Here on "The Journey with Grace," I featured Leo Kennedy, son of my friend, artist, writer and mother of five, Nancy Kennedy. Nancy has creatively helped Leo explore and birth his dreams, which included writing a children's chapter book, Devin and the Greedy Ferret. Go, Leo!
Leo, is pictured above with my daughter, Grace Goad. They both had tables at the Megaconference entrepreneurial fair. (Sorry, Grace, the room was dark and I didn't notice your eyes were closed.) Grace first showed her keen sense for composition and color at age four when I exposed her to dance/movement, music and art therapies as an opportunity for childhood play and intervention amid her grueling speech, educational and behavioral therapies. Grace began showing her art at age six, selling at eight, was featured on The View at age 11, has been on the cover of the American Journal of Psychiatry, a book, a conference tee and has exhibited and has been/is now featured in galleries and exhibitions from the Massachussetts Berkshires to Seattle and in between. You can also now find her work at the Tennessee Art League on Nashville's gallery row, downtown, on 5th Avenue of the Arts, among other various location. Grace's career is right where I wanted it to be at this age, and a lot of hard work has gone in it to propell her to this place. That said, it's gotten easier now that she is internationally recognized and many opportunities are flowing to her. The future is bright. The timing: spot on. There is a lot of work still to be done and balancing it all with my career aspirations, namely my speaking and next book, is challenging. But, we're keeping on keeping on.
So, stay tuned. Think BIG. Think Creatively. Think Local. Think Artisan. Think Social enterprise. What does your child…at WHATEVER age excell at? Help him or her be his or her personal best. Opportunity. It's what we all want. Eh? Some of us just need a little extra help. If you are not a parent of a children with a disAbility (or, even if you are,) what kind of help might you lend to help these many young adults succeed?
