Our Mission
We create and elevate opportunity, enrichment and community for individuals with an autism diagnosis, intellectual or developmental disability, their families and the therapists that help them progress.
After several years helping my older son Owen progress following his autism diagnosis, I am still learning and adjusting to best meet his current needs. But I know so much more now than I did originally. After years of sitting through appointments, meetings and evaluations, asking questions and thinking about how it all fits together, I truly am an expert…in Owen. When my younger son Leo was also diagnosed six years later, I was able to hit the ground running with interventions. However, though my learning curve on suggested therapies was less steep, I had to learn about Leo: What makes him tick? What did he like? What would motivate him? It underscores how crucial individualized intervention and support is even if you are growing up under the same roof.
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As Owen entered his teen years, and we were starting to build his resume, we began to host bake sales, ultimately raising $5,000 for Simmons University Applied Behavior Analysis students. Giving back to the science that paved the way for so much of Owen’s success also gave him the chance to gain valuable work and life experience: he set up and worked events; talked to the public; and simply practiced self-regulation in numerous settings. Then the pandemic hit, making bake sales tricky. We paused and adjusted course, leading us to form Museum of Leo’s Art, or MOLA for short. Not only did this give us a stronger product for fundraising (via Leo’s art), but it also honors Leo’s interests and creativity. MOLA gives Leo something to take pride in, and it's a vehicle for him to learn skills in a safe and supportive way. Truly, it is incredibly enriching for all of us.
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Enabling my sons to achieve is really the common thread touching every aspect of my life. I am passionate about giving my sons the best possible chance to progress and overcome the challenges they face while preserving quality of life for my entire family. It takes a tremendous amount of hard work, and I could not do it without the support and expertise of tremendous therapists and specialists, across multiple disciplines. It is this high quality, multi-faceted, customized support that we strive to share with the MOLA community. We create and elevate opportunity, enrichment and community for individuals with an autism diagnosis, intellectual or developmental disability, their families and the therapists that help them progress.
We are inclusive: every person’s path is unique and therefore when we include all, we are enriched. We are motivated by the belief that every person on the planet has the chance to progress from the point they are now to something more.
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-Heather
