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“I am so proud of Gunner. He just has blossomed so much. He’s an incredible little guy, but I’m probably a little biased,” said his teacher, Penny Schafer.
Gunner’s painting, “Animal Tracks” was chosen by VSA Arts of Wisconsin to become part of a traveling exhibit of artwork. The organization’s stated mission is to “expand the capabilities, confidence and quality of life for children and adults with disabilities by providing programs in dance, drama, creative writing, music and visual art.”
VSA used to stand for Very Special Award, but the organization changed the words to “Vision, Strength and Access” in 1999. VSA promotes the creative power of people — both children and adults — with disabilities.
Gunner, who has autism, has been in the West Salem School District since kindergarten. Along with Gunner and his parents, Darin and Pam Skroch, Schafer and Nevin traveled to Madison in March for the VSA awards ceremony.
The event wouldn’t have happened if Gunner’s art teacher, Angie Johnson-Stefferud, had not sent his artwork to VSA to be considered among the best in the state.
“In my opinion, ‘Animal Tracks’ was a beautiful example of Gunner’s work and the progress he has made in the area of art over the years,” Schafer said.
Nevin is more aware than anyone of that progress. She has worked one-on-one with Gunner for much of the past five years.
“He enjoys art now, but in kindergarten he didn’t like the smell of markers or the feel of paint. We had to wear gloves at first, but he gradually got used to the smells” she said.
But that wasn’t the major problem. “At first he would never finish. He’d do only five or six strokes and then move to another page. Now he fills up the paper and he’s proud to take his pictures home to his parents.” Nevin added.
And, there were other, more serious, problems. “In the past, he would not say what he wanted, he would just run to it. We would have to tackle him because we wouldn’t know where he was going or whether he was about to hurt himself,” Schafer said.
“Now he will say spontaneously: ‘Penny, can I touch?’ We trust him enough now that he can sit through assemblies, snacks and even recess with other kids,” she added.
Gunner’s mom is appreciative of what school has meant to her son. “Gunner loves school and he loves his teachers. He looks forward to going to school and being around other kids. We’re blessed because he has such wonderful teachers. I don’t think we could have asked for a better school or support staff,” Pam said.
Nevin, who said raising a severely handicapped daughter helped her in working with Gunner, returns the compliment.
“He (Gunner) is a wonderful individual,” Nevin said. “Every day he teaches me more than I teach him. He’s just a very fun child to work with. He has a sense of humor and I enjoy going to school every day to work with him.”
As they rode into Madison Darin wasn’t even sure Gunner even knew what the word banquet meant. “He was pretty indifferent (about the awards ceremony) until we got there, but when they called his name he was pretty proud.”
He was not the only one. “I felt immense pride, of course, being a mom — I think Gunner’s immensely talented,” Pam said.
As she watched her son be recognized, Pam had some other thoughts running through her head that were hard to express. “When you find out your child is autistic, you feel like you have to give up some of your hopes and dreams. Yet, seeing Gunner get that award was the kind of thing that every parent dreams of,” she said.
Schafer was impressed with how Gunner handled himself in a situation that had to have been kind of strange. “He did well when he came back (from getting the award). He said ‘All done!’ A couple of years ago he could have never done any of that. It was an incredible experience that I was so happy to be a part of.”
Schafer said her children asked her why she had to leave them to go to Madison on a Saturday. She told them that, for Gunner, the award ceremony was like going to the state championship in basketball.
Gunner’s artwork will travel to libraries, schools and museums all over the state for the next three years. After that, it will be auctioned to provide funds for VSA programs.
“I don’t know if I will get it, but I’m definitely going to bid on it,” Pam said.
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