Art Class for Autistic Kids Offered This Summer

An art class is being offered for the first time this summer in Southwest Riverside County for autistic kids ages 5 to 12.  

I'm excited about the class because it'll bring another social and recreational program to our area for the autistic. 

I've already enrolled my youngest son in the class and want to spread word about it to other parents. 

The class is being offered by the Autism Society Inland Empire and will be held at the MAD Studio in Murrieta.

It will run six Mondays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., June 13 through July 18.  There won't be a class on July 4. 

The cost is $60, which is $10 a session and includes materials.  The ASIE is generously subsidizing the class to make it affordable for families.

Christalyn Brooks, who owns the MAD (Make A Difference) Studio, will instruct the class and has previously worked with special needs kids.  She offers group and private instruction year-round to youth of all ages. 

I had the opportunity to meet Christalyn a few weeks ago and tour her studio that's inside a large barn on a quaint ranch. 

During my visit, I found out that she's a self-taught artist, poet and award-winning songwriter.  She's also a cordial and caring individual who loves animals. 

In fact, she boards horses on her ranch and lets students draw them sometimes when they venture outside the studio to do landscapes.  The ranch also has rabbits, chickens and cats that kids can see. 

All the animals are contained except for the cats and Christalyn has strict safety rules regarding contact with the animals and the areas where the kids are allowed to roam.

Christalyn showed me samples of her students' work and I was impressed by their talent.  One student, a high school girl with high-functioning autism, is working hard to develop animated characters in a vampire genre.  

The girl is fascinated with the "Twilight" books and movies and has created her own unique vampire characters with a storyline.  Christalyn is working closely with the girl to help market her characters. 

She wants all her students to reach their artistic potential and realize their dreams, so she's willing to help them anyway she can.

Christalyn said kids with all skill levels are welcome to enroll in this summer's class, which will teach basic color theory and value. She'll show them how to draw using materials that they feel comfortable with depending on their sensory levels.  

She has an assistant to teach the classes and her husband also lends a hand serving refreshments to the kids. 

Christalyn stressed that she teaches students to create their own work and not to imitate other artists' styles.  She said she assesses each students abilities and then writes individual goals for them to accomplish by the end of the class. 

I commented to her that this is similar to the Individual Education Plans that all special needs students have at school and it's great that she does this, too.  She posts the students goals on a wall with their photo to remind them what they're working to achieve.

ASIE's president Beth Burt hopes that the class will be successful so that more art classes can be offered at  the MAD Studio on a continuing basis. 

So, please spread the word to parents you know who might be interested in enrolling their kids in the class. This is a special opportunity for the autistic in our community, and we need to take advantage of it. 

To register for the class, visit the ASIE website at www.ieautism.org. For more information about Christalyn and her studio, visit her website at www.themadstudio.com or call (951) 252-7014.