The Arc on Television

Big thanks to Channel 2's Angela Blanchard for coming to the Art Room Monday afternoon and observing a pottery class. The station ran a short feature on Thursday's ArtFull Plate benefit, and some of the artists were putting last minute touches on plates for the event.

See a transcript of the feature here.

Good Things: disABILITIES Film Festival & Speaker Series

From Megan:

I know I'm stealing a catch phrase from Martha Stewart when I label something "A Good Thing," but there's no better way to put it.

An article in a Buffalo, NY business journal talks about a ground-breaking film festival that will feature a big-budget Hollywood release for the first time in the festival's three year history.

The film is "Snow Cake" and features Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman. The story centers around Rickman and Weaver, who plays a woman who experiences autism.

The festival has an interesting Web site that has a little background and a list of speakers.

Staff Happenings: Rebekah Moras named Fulbright Scholar

Rebekah Moras, an individual service provider here at The Arc of Anchorage, proves herself to be an amazing employee and phenomenal student with her recent award of a Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad.

Rebekah was recently honored with a "Walk The Talk" Penguin Award at The Arc's 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Read about her Fulbright award here.

Autism and the ability to discern new faces

From Megan: A story came across the wire today about new research in the way the face recognition ability works in children who have Autism. It's an interesting read, though I do have one complaint.

As an organization, we work hard to move from speaking about people with disabilities as though they weren't people first--that their disabilities should be their distinguishing trait. Our job as advocates is to make "People First Language" more mainstream and into the public's awareness.

The writer of this article does a poor job in that regard. Juxtaposing a child with Autism next to a "normal" child is a pretty poor way to speak of a person with a disability, especially a child.

But the research is fascinating and is another piece of the puzzle in understanding the complex world of Autism.

Read it here:

Children With Autism Don't Adapt As Readily To Unfamiliar Faces

Science Daily — When it comes to recognizing faces, children with autism aren't as readily adaptable as are normal kids, according to a new article. That's despite the fact that kids with autism can identify similarities among related faces just as well as other children, the researchers found.

The findings, from a study conducted by researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Florence, and Western Australia, might help to explain some of the core social deficits associated with the disorder.

"The faces we see in the world seem to be unconsciously coded in the brain as points in a 'face-space'," said Elizabeth Pellicano of the University of Bristol. "In the middle of that space is the average, or most typical, face, with more distinctive faces lying toward the periphery. Those more distinctive faces are easier to recognize than ones that are closer to average."

When people with normal abilities see a face, their brains automatically locate this new face in face-space on the basis of its deviations from the average--perhaps the face has bushier eyebrows, for example, or a greater distance between the nose and mouth. "The really neat bit is that the precise characteristics of what constitutes an average face are continuously updated based on our experiences in looking at other people," Pellicano explained.

Evidence of that flexibility stems from a phenomenon known as the "face identity aftereffect," in which looking at a particular face even briefly biases perception toward people who have the "opposite identity," she added. Upon seeing a person with thicker-than-average lips, the observer's idea of the typical face accordingly develops somewhat plumper lips. As a result, thinner-lipped people become more distinctive than they would have been before because their lips now differ more from the "norm." In practice, such shifting of facial perception occurs for all aspects of a face simultaneously, not just any particular feature.

The new study finds that children with autism don't experience the face identity aftereffect to the same degree that normal children do. In the study, kids were first introduced to two faces, those of Dan and Jim, each of whom they were told were "team captains." They were then shown faces that looked like Dan or Jim to varying degrees. Those other faces were created with a computer so that the two faces gradually morphed with the mathematically calculated average face.

The kids with autism were just as able to distinguish between faces belonging to Dan's "team" versus Jim's "team," researchers found. The children were then shown computer-generated faces representing characteristics that were the opposite of those belonging to either Dan or Jim. After seeing opposite faces, typical kids suddenly found it much easier to place Dan-like or Jim-like faces on their rightful team. But the improvement in recognition was much smaller for children with autism.

The findings suggest that autistic children don't update their perceptions in the way typically developing children do. "Since faces are important for interpersonal communication, these adaptive difficulties could help explain some of the social problems that confront people with autism," Pellicano said.

Celebrate with us at The ArtFull Plate

This month, The Arc of Anchorage will host the fourth-annual “ArtFull Plate” benefit dinner, a fundraiser for the organization’s art department and resident artisans. The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 27, 2007 in the gymnasium at The Arc of Anchorage, 2211 Arca Drive.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is showing the public that the art we do here at The Arc is quality, professional work,” said Wendy Poss, The Arc of Anchorage’s art and cultural specialist. “It’s so much more than the old-fashioned macaroni and popsicle stick projects.”

This year’s ArtFull Plate will be a barbecue dinner, complete with a pulled pork sandwich made from Poss’ secret recipe. Guests will be served dinner and their ticket price will include an artisan-made pottery plate of their choosing to take home.

Artists will be on hand to chat with guests and examples of their work will be on display throughout the venue—including stained glass, pottery, beading, oil and acrylic painting pencil drawing.

In its 12th year, the art department offers people with disabilities various art classes throughout the year and works more than 70 artisans.

For more information about The ArtFull Plate, contact Megan Baeza at 777-0340 or mbaeza@arc-anchorage.org.

Gold Pan Award Finalist: The Arc of Anchorage

Congratulations to The Arc of Anchorage on being named a finalist for this year's Gold Pan Award for Community Service by an organization. Other nominees in the category include: Municipal Light & Power, Life is For Giving Foundation, and the Anchorage Home Builders Care Endowment.

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sept. 15, 2007 at the Hilton. See all nominees here.

The nomination was written by Megan Baeza, director of public affairs at The Arc of Anchorage. Here's an excerpt:

From a small group of dedicated parents who wanted to keep their children with disabilities at home instead of in an institution, The Arc of Anchorage has grown into one of the top 100 employers in the state of Alaska, with more than 350 active employees statewide, and serves more than 550 people with disabilities throughout the state.

Today, The Arc offers people with disabilities the means to live the life of their choosing—whether it’s a job they can be proud of, a home of their own, or recreation and life skills classes at the Arctic Resource Center. Instead of being told what they can’t do or can’t achieve, people with disabilities who come to The Arc are given opportunities to explore any possibility they choose. The Arc excels at providing people who experience disabilities a way to move past others’ expectations and limits and into their full potential.