NEWS

Local artist thrives despite autism

Torey Sciabarra sits at his booth next to his artwork during the Autism Society’s recent Lights, Camera, Autism event.

Local artist thrives despite autism

The San Diego Autism Society held an event to showcase a potpourri of talented autistic artists and performers on Sept. 21. Scripps Ranch resident Torey Sciabarra was one of the stars of the show.

Torey’s amazing paintings of dogs drew throngs of admirers to his booth. Displayed next to him were portraits of his canine pals.

“Ritchey is a chocolate Lab, he’s my first painting. … I started painting dogs because I grew up watching Disney movies and I was amazed at the art and I wanted to follow in the steps of my greatest idol, Mr. Walt Disney,” said the 28-year-old artist.

“Torey’s success is nothing short of a miracle,” said his father Pete, a retired Navy captain. “I was deployed to Desert Storm when he was born. I didn’t meet my son until he was seven months old. It was our first kid, so we didn’t know what was normal and what wasn’t. But my wife Carol noticed the behavior of other kids at the playground having fun while Torey was in a world of his own. Just before he turned four, Torey was diagnosed with autism, that was in 1994.”

There are three most common forms of autism: Asperger’s syndrome, autistic disorder and pervasive developmental sisorder. Each differs in severity and impact; one of the most devastating is loss of speech. Sadly, Torey began losing his ability to speak at age two. By age four, he was completely non-verbal. Fearful that their son was facing a bleak future, his parents began a search for help.

“The very first therapist that we worked with was Dawn Holman,” Pete said. “She was working with Dr. Ivor Lovass at U.C.L.A., a pioneer in the field of behavior modification therapy for individuals with autism. … Dawn created a unique program for us to follow, but we had to find and pay the salary of three young interns that were willing to be trained by Dawn so they could administrate her program to our son. One of those students was Susie Jordan, who to this day continues to interact with Torey.”

Obviously, Torey’s story has a happy ending, but the odds were not good to get him from the non-verbal stage to where he is today. With the cards stacked against them, the Sciabarra’s rolled the dice. Their first task was an attempt to teach Torey how to speak again.

“Torey went through discreet trial methodology, which was basically a reward system,” Pete said. “For example, Susie would sit face-to-face with him and say a word, like book. When he eventually repeated that word, Torey would get a reward like a cookie or a toy. This went on 40-hours a week. That’s why we had to hire three individuals to administer Dawn’s program. And that is literally how we taught Torey to speak again. One word at a time, until he began to string words together and eventually spoke in complete sentences.”

Torey’s parents wanted him to be enrolled in a full inclusion class in school. He ended up getting a regular diploma, not just a certificate, from Scripps Ranch High School in 2009. After that, he attended Miramar College where he studied art.

Now, Torey holds down three part time jobs and plays the piano. He played eight years of ice hockey and is an accomplished working artist.

“He has a good life, but it’s not perfect,” Pete said. “Torey can’t drive and lives at home, but he lives a full and active lifestyle as much as anyone can that has autism.”

One in 68 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to date there is no medical cure. ASD is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the United States.

Torey Sciabarra greets guests viewing his artwork at Lights, Camera, Autism.
1,297 thoughts on “Local artist thrives despite autism”

  75. I don抰 even know how I stopped up right here, but I believed this post was great. I do not realize who you’re but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger when you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

  76. I think other site proprietors should take this web site as an model, very clean and excellent user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!

  78. Appreciating the time and effort you put into your site and in depth information you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed material. Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.

  79. I was very happy to find this internet-site.I wanted to thanks to your time for this glorious learn!! I undoubtedly having fun with every little little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.

  81. What抯 Going down i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads. I am hoping to contribute & help other users like its aided me. Good job.

  171. A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should write more about this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t talk about such subjects. To the next! Cheers!!

  427. Thanks for the points shared on your own blog. One more thing I would like to express is that weight-loss is not information on going on a celebrity diet and trying to lose as much weight as you can in a few days. The most effective way to shed weight is by taking it slowly and using some basic points which can allow you to make the most from a attempt to lose weight. You may be aware and already be following some of these tips, however reinforcing information never does any damage.

  464. Pingback: 1accessing

  479. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Drugs information sheet.
    ivermectin ebay
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.

  480. Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Everything what you want to know about pills.
    ivermectin lotion
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Get warning information here.

  550. Get warning information here. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
    tadalafil 2
    Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Actual trends of drug.

  1043. online canadian pharmacy no prescription: canadin pharmacy – canadain pharmacy
    buy drugs online no prescription – internationalpharmacy.icu Everything information about medication.