Program offers those with disabilities a chance to create
something of their own
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – The 10 students in the South County Post Secondary program have long faced challenges unique to the severely disabled.
Now that they are between 18 and 22 years old, they spend their last few years of school learning life skills, such as how to identify the men’s and women’s restrooms in a new place.
And they sew. They don’t just learn the basics of how to sew, they fall in love with it. Their Gilroy classroom is full of sewing machines, bits of fabric and blankets stored in large plastic containers. Small homemade pillows can be found in corners and on desks.
Ever since a teacher’s aide for the program, run by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, began teaching students to sew about three years ago, they’ve been hooked, said teacher Steve Fortino. It keeps them focused and busy for hours on end, and allows them to create something of their own, from scratch.
“She found there was a huge interest in the entire class, both among the young men and the young women,” Fortino said. “Out of that developed this fairly extensive sewing program.”
On Tuesday, Dale Holley bent over his sewing machine in the back of the classroom, placing stitches in what will become a quilt.
“There’s something about the machine, when you put your foot down – dun, dun, dun, dun – you just go,” Holley said, imitating the sound of the sewing machine. “Just put a piece of material in front of me and I can sew for hours.”
At home, Holley has a stash of completed projects, from pajamas to hats and mittens. His favorite blanket is camouflage on one side, with footballs and football helmets on the other, with a border of stars and stripes, Nemo from “Finding Nemo” and My Little Pony. Most of the clothes he’s made are camouflage, too, because he wants to go into the Navy.
His mother taught him to sew when he was younger, Holley said, but he found his passion as the “pillow master” only recently. He sometimes whips out pillows in minutes.
Holley, 21, will graduate from the program Thursday, along with six other classmates. They are each creating a pillow with their picture printed on it, which will be on display at their banquet.
The Gilroy Elks Lodge donated $800 to the students, which they used to purchase several machines for their classroom, along with scissors, cutting mats and other materials.
Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts in Morgan Hill is one of the students’ favorite spots for buying fabric. Cipriano Ponce, 22, looks for anything with horses.
“I like cowboy stuff,” Ponce said.
He recently sold a blanket with horses on it to one of his dad’s friends for $20.
“I’m going to have to make some more and sell some more,” he said.
Although people often offer to purchase the students’ work, Fortino said they rarely do, preferring to keep them or give them to friends and family members.
He’s not sure why sewing speaks to the students – whose disabilities include Down Syndrome and brain damage – the way it does.
“It’s very personable. They make their own decisions 100 percent: they pick the patterns, materials,” Fortino said. “It’s also something they can make with their hands and they see it immediately. When they sew two pieces of fabric together, they see the fruits of their labor immediately.”
Whatever the reason, the students have made it clear they won’t give sewing up. Some – like Holley, whose parents gave him his own machine – will continue to sew after graduation. Those who remain in the program will show off their creations during the school’s twice-yearly fashion shows. And their teacher, who didn’t even know how to thread a needle three years ago, will continue to pry them away from their machines for other lessons and activities.
“We have to tell them, ‘No, you can’t sew right now’,” Fortino said.
