OC A&D's Accessibility Considerations for Arts Patrons with Autism

The Orange County Arts and Disability Collaborative, in partnership with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, provides a space for arts and cultural organizations to learn, share resources, discuss challenges and keep current on best practices for creating and maintaining accessible spaces and programming so that people with disabilities can fully participate in and enjoy the arts!   Our upcoming presentation will focus on Autism. We will receive a short presentation from Carol Basile, a phycologist, professor, and parent of an adult Autistic son, followed by a panel discussion with Carol , Lauren Nicole, an Autistic visual artist and Kathryn Hass, a therapist with SCFTA's Studio D team. Please read about each of our panelists below.  

- Panelist Bios -

• Carol Basile, Ph.D. is the mother of an adult autistic son. When her then 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism in 1972 little was known of autism and techniques to teach the autistic child. In 1973, Carol was advised to place her only child in an institution. Carol saw in her son what the medical and educational professionals failed to recognize---the positive aspects and abilities of autism. She refused to place her autistic son in an institution and, instead, assisted him in achieving academically and learning to function in society. Today, her son, Joe, has a master’s degree. Carol has been in the field of education for over 40 years as a K-12 teacher, a high school counselor, school psychologist, and family therapy group facilitator specializing in at-risk children and adolescents. Carol developed counseling programs for the Superior Court of Orange County. She implemented those programs at an Orange County family therapy clinic where she facilitated groups with adolescents recently released from juvenile hall, adults on probation, and parents experiencing custody difficulties during divorce proceedings. Carol presently teaches psychology at a Southern California college. She conducts presentations, workshops, and trainings for college professors, K-12 teachers, parents, medical professionals, and staff at local and national organizations. Carol is the author of the award-winning book, Against All Odds: Our Life Journey with Autism and The Draco Twins children’s book series about differences. Carol’s children’s book series has been developed into Large Print for low vision children.
• Lauren Nicole is a neurodivergent, Indigenous (Tongva, Chumash), Southern California-based artist, who focuses on painting and beadwork. As an Autistic artist who survived a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a car accident, Lauren's artistic style immerses viewers in the sensations of sensory processing differences. Most recently, Lauren was named the 2024 Artist-In-Residence for The Muckenthaler Cultural Center and was awarded the California Creative Corps ‘23-’24 Artist Grant from the Arts Council for Long Beach and the California Arts Council.
• Dr. Kathryn Haas has been serving the community as an occupational therapist since 1999 and with Studio D since 2018. She is SIPT Certified. Her passion is autistic empathy. Her research revealed that autistic empathy is physically manifested by the language of stimming and hopes that, globally, neurotypicals feel empowered to learn it. Her passion informs her work with Studio D, helping students, teachers, musicians, and volunteers to foster engagement.

Please park in the South Parking Lot. 

You may ignore the sign to pay and tell the parking attendant you are there for an event. When you arrive, you may enter through the Bell Tower, and check in at the front desk to be directed to Lee Court.

Thank you and we hope that you can attend!  Sincerely,

The Orange County Arts and Disability Collaborative Team