Description
For more than 30 years, Bittersweet Inc. has been dedicated to serving members of the community who have and who care for people with autism. Bittersweet also has a day vocational program that offers habilitation programming and skills development to adults with autism. The program has a wood shop, ceramic studio, weaving and fabric arts department, a horticulture department with three fully functioning greenhouses, a hoop house, and several fields of produce, landscaping and janitorial enclaves which work out in the community, kitchen and meal preparation programs, visual arts department, and an animal care program in the barn and pastures. Autism and Farming The first farm model for adults with autism was established at Somerset Court in England in 1974. Bittersweet Farms was the first of its kind in the United States. You may be wondering: What is unique or special about serving autistic adults on eighty acres of fields, gardens and woods in a rural area of northwest Ohio? Over the years, we have found that a farm setting offers rich, varied and abundant opportunities for self-paced, distraction-free activities that are perceived as immediately meaningful by our participants. They are able to see the process of their work and are able to enjoy the product of their labor. This concrete reinforcement is a positive affirmation of their dignity and worth. Farming provides an opportunity for reciprocal partnership and community. It is a bucolic, secure and safe environment in which individuals with challenging behaviors and limited social and communication skills can grow and develop into their fullest potential. All of our activities are designed to meet the wide range and abilities of persons from the entire spectrum of Autism Disorders. Such activities include ... * agriculture in all its forms, including planting and harvesting * horticulture in all its forms, including greenhouse operations * fencing and landscaping * construction * repair and maintenance * produce collection and marketing * animal feeding and care * craft-making and * woodworking Those who live here develop a sense of husbandry, accomplishment and ownership. It is their home. By happy coincidence, many of these same wholesome and holistic activities prove to be of great therapeutic value and contribute strongly to vocational training. We understand the value of nutritionally dense foods and the need for transparency from farmer to buyer! contact us and see where your food comes from.
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