Anna M.

“ I have a sister with Aspergers, thus I have 21 years of life experience in understanding the aspects of the disorder. Also, my mother was a special needs student attendant for a student my age with Autism Spectrum Disorder and epilepsy, along with other neurological disorders, for 14 years. I babysat her for six years. In my freshman year at college, I was a College Buddy in the Best Buddies, Inc. organization,...

I have a sister with Aspergers, thus I have 21 years of life experience in understanding the aspects of the disorder. Also, my mother was a special needs student attendant for a student my age with Autism Spectrum Disorder and epilepsy, along with other neurological disorders, for 14 years. I babysat her for six years. In my freshman year at college, I was a College Buddy in the Best Buddies, Inc. organization, which matches volunteers with intellectually disabled individuals; the friendships that follow come second nature. I enjoyed visiting my Buddy and seeing her smiling face every time.

Most recently and importantly, I co-founded and co-produced the first-ever collegiate production specifically designed for children on the Autism Spectrum. I was able to work closely with part of children's theatre, to train in this unique form of theatre and then helped mentor fellow artists on my campus to create a theatrical performance. This project has been the most time and effort I have ever put into anything in my life, and watching the faces of the children (& their parents!) during the shows made every second worth it. I am staying on as Artistic Director of the organization and hope to travel it to colleges across the country.

I am passionate about caring for children with special needs because every single person affected by an intellectual or developmental disability is exactly that-- a PERSON. They deserve personal interaction, engagement, and fun just like anyone else. I know that not many opportunities exist for these individuals to engage with the arts, specifically, and I hope I can bring that exciting perspective to their lives.

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