Holiday Party! (after Job Club featuring Autistry)

Next up for AASCEND is the December 7 Holiday Potluck Party! (following a Job Club presentation by the Autistry. ALSO check out the neurodiversity CONTEST—details below). Come join our community for food, conversation, music and good cheer. There will be Entertainment, Music, Games, Santa D.J., food, an available low-sensory space, and a selfie booth. It’s a potluck, so bring food to share if you can — but if you can’t, show up anyway!

Be there and be cool like the reindude!

When (Party): Sat Dec 7,   1 – 4 pm
Party Setup:    noon – 1:00 
Party:                  1:00 – 4:00,   Food: 1:30 on
Cleanup:             4:00 – 4:30

Where: The Arc of SF   1500 Howard St. @ 11th St.    SF, CA 94103   map


The Job Club meets at 10am before the Holiday Party, and features Autistry Studios, a program in San Rafael to help youth on the autism spectrum transition into greater adult independence. Autistry was co-founded and is run by Janet Lawson and Dan Swearingen. Janet also has a private practice as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in issues arising from autism spectrum disorders in teens, adults, couples and families. She is a frequent presenter on topics concerning ASD individuals. Janet is on the steering committee of the Marin Autism Collaborative and is a member of the board of directors of the Autism Center of Northern California.

Dan Swearingen is the Chief Operating Officer of Autistry Studios. He was educated in astrophysics and had a successful career as a software engineer and as a director of engineering guiding and overseeing large teams of software engineers. Dan was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was in his late 30’s.

Known for their humor and honesty, Dan and Janet share lessons learned as they created programs to support autistic individuals build strong, resilient identities.

When (Job Club): Sat Dec 7,   10am – noon

Where: The Arc of SF   1500 Howard St. @ 11th St.    SF, CA 94103   map

Parking is sometimes available in the garage at 255 12th Street, with a reasonable flat rate for Saturdays. There is also metered street parking for $2.25/hr.


NEURODIVERSITY CONTEST!

The Stanford Neurodiversity Project is planning a Neurodiversity Unity Event on Monday, March 16, 2020 to bring together advocates and allies in the workplace and on various campuses. For the Neurodiversity Unity Event, we are inviting the community to submit a creative expression of what neurodiversity unity means to them. The winning Expression of Neurodiversity Unity will be shared virtually and in person as a central feature of Neurodiversity Celebration Week at Stanford University on Monday March 16, 2020.

If you’re interested in participating, you can get details and submit an entry here.