another great site to promote autism awareness....

(photo above does not do the item justice. I bought this and it is absolutely beautiful and more colorful in real life) ALL products come with text to explain more about autism to generate autism awareness. Wonderful as gifts for families, teachers, anyone.

I came across this site some time ago when I was looking to buy an autism bracelet or some item that had something about autism on it. In fact....I was hoping for a keychain or something I could hang in my car or on my keys, purse...something...that if it attracted attention and questions.....it would also EXPLAIN a little bit about autism. Then I found LUCAS WORKS.

LucasWorks is a family owned company devoted to two principles:

To offer well made, reasonably priced Safety, ID and Independent Living products that focus on autism, children with special needs and adults with developmental disabilities.

and...

To employ people with autism, special needs and developmental disabilities in the production and sales of these products.

LucasWorks was started by Lauren Padgett, mother of two terrific children, one of whom (Lucas) is autistic and mentally retarded. Lauren and her husband, Alan, saw the need for autism products that would help Lucas and other children with special needs, and the eventual need for Lucas to have employment. They decided to put these ideas together, and LucasWorks was born under the philosophy, "It works for Lucas and it gives Lucas work!"

As parents of a child with autism, Lauren and Alan were dismayed to discover that many of the products that are supposed to help autistic people are mainly focused on either medical or educational settings. Like many other parents, it was on the home front that they were seeking help. So they began to devising their own items to help Lucas if they couldn't find anything on the market.

The LucasWorks "Apparel Indicating Weather Thermometer" that helps with teaching temperature was born this way, and it is indeed the first product of its kind, hence the patent. The Child Placemat, that shows children how to set a table correctly, came along the same way, and we're working on some other things that we hope you'll like, too.

The Autism Awareness Bracelet evolved because Lauren couldn't find any sort of "awareness" item that actually helped explain autism. She designed the bracelet as a way to teach family and friends something about autism in an easy and "non-boring" way. It's been LucasWorks' best seller, and has grown into an entire line of Autism Awareness Jewelry.

As word of these autism products spread, requests began to come in for Child Safety products to help parents make the home environment safe, and for Child ID kits for children with special needs. These two lines were added to help protect ALL children with special needs, not just those with autism.

While autism is what started LucasWorks, customers have found that many of these products will benefit children with special needs of every type, and the Independent Living Aids can help children AND adults with developmental disabilities and even Alzheimer's.

Lauren has years of experience working on behalf of children, especially those with disabilities. Among other advocacy efforts, she has Co-Chaired the State of Delaware's "Partners' Council for Children with Disabilities" (PCCD), and served on the PCCD's Professional Development, Family Involvement and Inclusion sub-committees. Lauren has also devoted time to serving on the Delaware Autism Program's (DAP) Strategic Planning committee, the Kent County DAP's School Improvement Planning committee, founded the Staff and Parent Autism Resource Center at Lucas' school, and served for five years as Chair of the Kent County, DE Autism Program's Parent Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Autism Society of Delaware and the Autism Society of America. Of course, that's all worked in around the needs and schedules of Lucas and his brother, Robert!

All of LucasWorks' products either promote autism awareness, or help those with autism or other special needs. By focusing on these lines, we are able to spread the word about autism while offering items to help those dealing with these and other disabilities.

They have MANY wonderful items to buy to use for explaining autism to others......and generating autism awareness....from bracelets, necklaces, bookmarks, keychains, eyeglass chains, etc. You can check them out here:

LUCAS WORKS