Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Asner
Hi Matthew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Matthew Asner grew up on TV sets and in the wings of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. His love of the arts and music evolved into a career as an entertainer. At the age of 15, he was performing music traveling up and down the west coast and in clubs around Los Angeles and later explored the world of acting. A natural leader, Matthew became a producer and took his place on the other side of the camera. He has produced and directed award winning documentaries and television shows for over 25 years. Asner’s interest in documentaries has brought him to all corners of the globe where he has met with world leaders, celebrities, artists and veterans. Interviewees include, President Bill Clinton; Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu; Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres; PLO leaders Hannan Ashrawi and Saib Erikat; physicist Edward Teller; countless celebrities; veterans of WWII, Vietnam and Iraq wars; and over 100 Holocaust and Hiroshima survivors. In 2008, Asner’s world was changed forever when his youngest son, Will, was diagnosed with Autism. In 2012, he left his successful film career and became the Executive Director for Autism Speaks in Southern California. Since then, he has dedicated himself to the millions of people affected by autism and related disorders in the world. Asner has combined his production talents and love of music with his fundraising prowess to co-create the annual “Light Up The Blues” concert series featuring top performers including Dave Grohl, John Mayer, Stephen Stills, Neil Young among many others. Having successfully increased Autism Speaks profile in Southern California, Asner became the Director of Corporate Development for the organization in 2014, where he created highly successful national campaigns. In September 2016, Asner became the Vice President of Development for Autism Society of America. While there he created Autfest, the first international film festival relating to autism. Autfest has honored Ben Affleck, Pixar, Sony, Atypical and The Good Doctor. In March of 2018, Asner with his wife, Navah announced the creation of The Ed Asner Family Center. An organization dedicated to providing arts enrichment to special needs individuals and at the same time providing mental health support to their families. Asner is an autism expert and spokesperson, appearing on national media and at numerous international autism and disability conferences. He has hosted a national satellite radio show. Asner resides in Los Angeles, California, and is married to Navah Paskowitz. They have six children between them, including three on the autism spectrum. this has earned them the nickname, The Brady Bunch of Autism
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is rarely smooth, and if it is, my father would be the first one to say you’re not reaching high enough. I guess the greatest struggle of learning your child has autism is the knowledge that there have been some great hurdles placed in front of that child and how are you as a father and as a parent going to make their lives better? How are you going to help them reach their dreams?
I had my own struggles as a child. I had learning disabilities and it made it very difficult for me in elementary school. I have a vivid memory of my mother going to my fifth-grade, parent-teacher conference, and having my teacher basically tell my parents was giving up that she was giving up on me. Her exact words were he just doesn’t get it. my mother, of course, thought this was crazy and immediately enrolled me in a school that could deal with my challenges. The first thing they did was give me a typewriter. This completely changed my life It opened my world and allowed me to finally put my thoughts down on paper that school was Park Century. It still operates today.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Ed Asner Family Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My wife, Navah, and I founded the Ed Asner Family Center to fill a service gap that we saw in the autism community that our kids were growing up in. For my father and I, we feel we both feel that the arts are all important and are essential for developing self-confidence. It was also important for Navah to have mental health included in our center. We named it after my father because we wanted to honor his commitment to the underdog and to people who constantly have to fight for something that they deserve- respect.
The Ed Asner Family Center, founded by Navah Paskowitz-Asner and Matthew Asner, has several goals:
1. *Arts and Therapy Programs*: Providing arts and therapy programs for children, adults and families dealing with developmental disabilities, mental health issues and trauma.
2. *Inclusive Community*: Creating an inclusive community where individuals with disabilities and their families can connect, learn and grow together.
3. *Support and Resources*: Offering support, resources, and advocacy for families navigating the complexities of developmental disabilities and mental health.
4. *Empowerment and Acceptance*: Promoting empowerment, acceptance, and inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions.
The center honors the legacy of Ed Asner, the renowned actor and advocate for social justice and disability rights.
Supports ALL special needs (not just autism)
◦ We hire neurodivergent people (currently have 30% in our staff)
◦ Matt and I created the center 8 years ago inspired by our 6 children,3 of which are autistic
◦ The ACADEMY is our FULL DAY ADULT job training program
◦ camp Ed is our seasonal expressive arts camp
◦ CampED has a 50% scholarship rate
◦ Mental health services for ALL special needs family members:low income families are never turned away based on their ability to pay .
◦ ADULT SERVICES:
◦ Dating spectrum(our one of a kind relationship course)
◦ Social clubs monthly (program created by and run by our autistic social director Chelsea Darnell here tonight!)
◦
The academy
Last year we debuted TEAFC first ever ADULT PROGRAM
“The academy “
A unique job training and expressive arts media program
For special needs adults ages 18 and over .
This unique small full day program
We started strong with
Creative writing, media and job skills and ended the year with a partnership with FUNKO Hollywood where our participants got hands on training in a real world fun environment!
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That we have this amazing new program called the Academy. It’s art based, but it’s also about life skills and employment and I described it in the answer prior to this one, but it’s a very special program and anyone who sees what we’re doing here can immediately see how special it is.
Pricing:
- our Mental health services takes insurance
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.teafc.org
- Instagram: @edasnerfamilycenter
- Facebook: @edasnerfamilycenter
- LinkedIn: The Ed Asner Family Center
- Twitter: @edasnercenter
- Youtube: @edasnerfamilycenter
Image Credits
The photo of Matt and Navah goes to Peggy Sirota
All other Photos go to the Ed Asner Family Center and the Asner Archives
