When FACT becomes a Client’s Customer

Linda Andron-Ostrow, Executive Director

Imagine a little boy with autism whose sensory sensitivities limit him from going in the backyard because the sound of butterfly wings is too overwhelming.

I knew this boy years ago when he was diagnosed with autism. In my book, his mother wrote a chapter on humor, imagination, empathy and autism. She demonstrated that all these things that are “not supposed” to be part of the lives of those on the spectrum are indeed supposed to be there, and are greatly needed to be there.

We can see glimpses of the future in her narrative.  Evan has never been the most verbose, but when he spoke, his comments were profound. At 13 he observed, “When I was little, life was like a badly edited movie. It jumped”. He loved to make home movies.

Over the last few years I have had very little contact with Evan & his family – I was excited to hear when he graduated high school and congratulated him when he finished his degree at the Art Institute.

Just recently, his brother applied to our university program, I learned that Evan’s passion for movie making had turned into a talent. Evan is a filmmaker and perceptive editor, creating beautiful transitions and flow. I wonder how he would visualize his early life and if this experience has led in anyway to his ability to make sure that transitions are smooth and understood by the viewer.

We hired Evan to do a recap video of one of our Los Angeles Public Library tours, and his demonstrated talent has led him to be our contractor of choice, for promotional videos, internal training videos and even photography.

This is one of the reasons that I celebrate Thanksgiving. I have deep gratitude for the families that have share their journey with us along their pathway to the best quality of life. When this journey transitions from us providing services to our clients, to us becoming the client for their services, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and joy.

I look forward to celebrating all your accomplishments of our incredibly diverse community. Keep us updated wear a long life too and your family might be in the experiences you are having by emailing [email protected]

If you are interested in any of Evan services for your own projects or have contacts for him in the film industry, please contact him at [email protected]