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<\/a><\/p>\nThe research project with a complex title \u2013 \u201cLocal Perspective on How Neurodiversity Supported by Art Therapeutic Practices can Positively Impact Individuals of the Autistic Community on a Global Scale\u201d \u2013 has a simple goal for Wilms, building awareness and acceptance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that you\u2019re more likely to have a disease or mental illness of some sort than not to,\u201d Wilms said. \u201cThat is a huge audience. It is not the neurotypical, as I referred to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI explain \u2018neurodiversity\u2019 to people as we\u2019re all biologically wired differently which leads to mental illness and all our variations, but that\u2019s a concept that\u2019s OK because we all need to be together and we need to embrace the differences in each other because it is a form of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
With help from her senior project faculty advisors in Tallwood\u2019s special education and art departments, Wilms recruited students to illustrate her point \u2013 literally.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted to bring art students together with some of our students with autism, quite a few of whom are also artists so those are the students we specifically invited out here,\u201d said Vicki Turner, program compliance support teacher. \u201cI think her hope is not only will the actual mural bring awareness but the students working together will bring awareness as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is exactly Wilms\u2019 hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the act of breaking social barriers,\u201d Wilms said. \u201cI had the seven students with disabilities get in groups with one art student and one neurotypical student. I took the first group and I had them focus on these three puzzle pieces and then the next group was to focus on this monarch butterfly. It was a collaboration piece; they would have to figure out how to work with each other despite their differences. I had a lot of people coming up to me saying, \u2018Wow, that was really cool.'”<\/p>\n
One student with autism, Xander, was particularly engaged with the mural project.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had my heart,\u201d said Wilms. \u201cHe would come up with his can of paint and say, \u2018What do I paint next?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Wilms shared it was her own experience with autistic children in her neighborhood that inspired her research project and mural design. She babysat two boys with autism whose mother \u201cwas so adamant about her sons\u2019 rights and I thought that was something so beautiful,\u201d said Wilms. It was another neighbor, Penny Morgan, who offered her AERMOR office building as the canvas for the mural when Wilms was turned away by several businesses at the oceanfront.<\/p>\n Wilms credits another invaluable partner, Welty, for responding quickly to her unsolicited email and phone call.<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinking, I need somebody to help me because I\u2019ve never done this before,\u201d recalled Wilms. \u201cI started Googling people and he came up on the top. I clicked his email and wrote a three-page long email, and I called him and I probably left a five-minute voicemail trying to explain what my weird idea was. I had no plan. He called me back the next day and said, \u2018I\u2019m in. I\u2019ll do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Also serving as an artistic mentor to Wilms was Tricia Campbell, her art teacher and a senior project adviser who saw her mural design evolve over time while her focus on success never wavered.<\/p>\n \u201cShannon acted as a true leader in executing her vision for this project. She was able to engage students and staff and community members in this action for a cause that was a huge impact not only for them but for her,\u201d said Campbell.<\/p>\n \u201cArt can often speak louder than words and its also a catalyst for conversation,\u201d Campbell added. \u201cShe really wanted everyone to have a stake in the artistic process rather than just be viewers of the final product because that\u2019s what allowed them to have the authentic experience: Now I am part of the action rather than just being able to look at the finish piece or interpret it on my own; I\u2019ve actually put a hand in it.\u201d<\/p>\n And Wilms wanted everyone who had a hand in painting the mural to leave their handprints on a wall near the building’s entrance. The prints were transformed into butterflies, which feature prominently on two other walls.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything has symbolism to it,\u201d said Wilms, turning to look at the mural as it neared completion on the third day of painting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe puzzle piece, it\u2019s the autism symbol. It\u2019s found in Autism Speaks and people usually associate puzzle pieces with autism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other side is a big butterfly,\u201d continued Wilms, \u201cand it\u2019s this neutral blue color which is something special in and of itself. The butterfly has holes in its wings, which is the idea that it\u2019s broken but it\u2019s still flying. It\u2019s beautiful on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you come to this side and you see all these monarch butterflies. My idea was that monarch butterflies are usually the first butterfly people think of and it\u2019s the most recognizable. I did a duplicate of them because they\u2019re supposed to be the society aspect \u2013 it\u2019s all these butterflies together flying away from its issue. It\u2019s the idea that we need to meet in the middle, which is where the ribbon stands.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n