A Greenwich mother is trying to start a farm for adults with autism in the area.
If it comes to fruition, the farm could become a large scale version of a small volunteer project going on at Eklund Gardens in Shelton.
That’s where Vanessa Darany, an autistic woman in her 30s, spends Tuesday mornings working.
Vanessa doesn’t speak, but her eyes light up in the minutes before she sets to the slow task of weeding.
She shows her excitement by pumping two fists rapidly by her chest.
Gardening calms Vanessa and gives her purpose, said her mother, Brita Darany von Regensburg.
For now, it’s just a once-a-week volunteer activity. But von Regensburg is leading an effort to create a communal farm where autistic adults can reap the therapeutic benefits of nature and animals 24 hours a day.
It’s important because services for people with autism often end when they turn 21, von Regensburg said. But the people need support beyond that.
“Parents want to think … (their children) will have a life to look forward to because they will be getting the amount of support that they need,” von Regensburg said. “That’s really what’s going to happen on the farm.”
Growing Contingent
The number of children diagnosed with autism is increasing drastically — some organizations suggest at a rate of 10 percent a year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that about one in every 150 children has autism today.
When they’re young, children with autism can often get services through their schools, von Regensburg said.
So what happens to the people with autism when they turn 21 and no longer qualify for any services?
That question looms for many parents like von Regensburg, who started the group Friends of Autistic People (FAP).
Vanessa has been diagnosed with autism and mental retardation, von Regensburg said, so she qualifies for basic state services for mental retardation. Her parents fill in the blanks by paying for music therapy, psychologists and extra autism specific care. Von Regensburg said the state provided services are minimal, and not all autistic adults get even that level of care.
That’s where the FAP Farm would help.
“Academy Farm”
Friends of Autistic People needs to raise almost $3 million to start the Autistic Persons “Academy Farm” in the southwest corner of Connecticut.
The group has been working on the project for the past four years, von Regensburg said, and so far they have a business plan, a farm model and some money gathered for the project. The plan is modeled after Bittersweet Farms, a 25-year-old farm for adults with autism located in Ohio. (To see Bittersweet Farms’ video, click play below.)
BIttersweet is one of few examples of farms for adults with autism (others examples include Lovewell Farm in Massachusetts and Full Spectrum Farms in North Carolina.)
Von Regensburg hopes to change that.
For Connecticut, von Regensburg envisions a farm with four homes, which would each house five residents. The farm would have staff on hand to help the autistic adults through their daily tasks — much like what happens at a group home.
On the farm, the autistic adults would be able to connect with nature, grow their own food and contribute to the community, von Regensburg said.
“Small shops and lots of handwork will provide the residents with a sense of self worth and community,” FAP wrote in its description of the farm.
The project would be extensive, according to the description. About 25 adults with autism would live there. Another 20 to 30 would come to the farm during the day for programs. And about 50 to 60 people would work at the farm helping the residents. Von Regensburg envisions the staff as interns or specialists in autism.
“Our kids need very intensive care,” von Regensburg said. “A loving care.”
But for now, that goal is a long way off, as FAP continues to seek grants and donations to help purchase property.
Eklund Gardens
Meanwhile, in Shelton, just one adult with autism is busy at work on the land.
The gardens occupy several tiers of earth, framed by elaborate stone walls in a fenced-in public space on Oak Valley Road. Away from the noise of the highway and shops, the garden sits in the middle of the 10 mile Shelton Lakes Greenway.
The city acquired the land when it was overgrown and still contained the ruins of an upscale log cabin, said Shelton Conservation Agent Teresa Gallagher. Now, she’s looking for as much volunteer help as she can get weeding, cleaning, clearing and maintaining the public space.
While Gallagher was looking for help, Vanessa was looking for a volunteer activity that dealt with animals or nature. The activity is arranged by Marrakech Inc., the organization where Vanessa attends day programs.
Donna Schreiber, the day program manager at Marrakech, said the gardening helps with Vanessa’s behaviors.
“It just calms her. It’s something she likes,” Schreiber said.
Flanked by two Marrakech aides, Vanessa moves between trails and flower beds, slowly picking up trash that had found its way into the emerging garden and weeds that have sprouted between the plants.
“A calm sets in,” von Regensburg says of the effects of gardening on Vanessa. “The work with the hands – it’s soothing. It’s calming.”
