Giving the Gift that Gives Back: Supporting Artists with Autism

With great assurance Maathumai outlines the horizon on the large canvas. Her hands dart back and forth between her palette and the canvas as she carefully blends together the colours of the sky, turning them into a light purple.

Health

Oct 09, 2015

SAAAC

With great assurance, Maathumai outlines the horizon on the large canvas. Her hands dart back and forth between her palette and the canvas as she carefully blends together the colours of the sky, turning them into a light purple.

"Great job Maathuamai. Nice blending!" praises art instructor, Amir Akbari.

After two weeks of instruction, Maathumai had just successfully blended colours without any assistance or prompting. It was an incredible moment for Amir and his volunteers who have been heading up a pilot painting program for young adults with autism.

"That was incredible. She mixed the two colours by herself," exclaims Amir to one of the volunteers.

Excitement and optimism are intrinsic to Amir, the visual artist, youth developer and social entrepreneur who created and leads the arts program at the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre (SAAAC) - a local Toronto charity that works with South Asian and newcomer families living with autism.

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The painting program faced exceptional challenges when it first began six months ago. Many of the students who registered with the program had communication difficulties. Either they could not verbally communicate or only had a few words in their vocabulary to express their needs. Some had behavioural issues that either caused harm to themselves or to others. But all students showed some interest in visual art - and that was key for Amir.

"These guys liked drawing or spent time with their iPads playing on their painting apps," says Amir. "That's all we needed to see - some interest. I knew if we could provide lessons in understandable and engaging ways, these students would be successful."

The painting program at SAAAC is an adapted program. This means appropriate accommodations and modifications were made to the instructions and activities so students with autism could better understand the lessons and participate in the activities.

The program is built on small victories.

"To see someone come into class, gather their supplies and sit down for a lesson is worth celebrating," says Amir. "That might take us 3-4 weeks to teach. Most people won't see how complex these steps are, but it's a lot of work for someone with autism. Doing such things on their own shows growth and learning."

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But the achievements have been pretty big as well.

Over the past six months, students have developed painting skills such as colour mixing, brush techniques, blending and shading. Putting these skills together, the students have produced amazing work.

"These kids have created amazing landscapes, self-portraits, abstract paintings and I think there is even a drawing of Drake somewhere," laughs Amir.

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Maathumai has been a standout student in the program. Diagnosed with autism at four, Maathumai has had a lifelong struggle with communicating. She has a speech condition called echolalia, where she repeats words said by someone else. Unable to express herself through her own words, Maathumai is now turning to art as a means of communication.

"There is definitely a great spirit in her art," says Amir. "Her colour choices, the way she blends to get even brighter colours, and just the vibrancy of her paintings tells us something about how she sees the world."

As the six-month program comes to a close, families are looking to extend it. They see how much their children have grown through the weekly sessions. In response, Amir and his team have devised an incredible fundraising initiative - sell artwork created by students in the painting program in order to sustain the program.

The new SAAAC fundraising campaign hopes to raise $5000 this holiday season by selling unique greeting cards featuring artwork by individuals with autism. The campaign is one of several alternative fundraising strategies that are powered by the talent of individuals with autism.

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A website has been created to sell these unique holiday gifts to individuals and businesses in a simple and convenient way. Gift cards come in packages of 10 unique cards (with envelopes) and can be used for any occasion. All proceeds go directly to sustaining the arts program at SAAAC.

Supporters can visit https://behindtheline.ca/saaacartfundraiser#greeting-cards to purchase a set of greeting cards or to learn more about the initiative.