When you know where you belong, it’s easier to be yourself. As an adult with autism, Sara Lamb’s search for belonging has been a long road, which is why I wanted to talk to her. Sara described herself as “quirky” and “shy.” When she attended public school as a child, she felt like a “lone wolf.” She said, “I just didn’t have a lot of lasting friendships.”

Sara was homeschooled in high school and wasn’t diagnosed with autism until she was 16. It was Sara’s Aunt Amber who first considered autism a possibility after watching the 2010 biographical film “Temple Grandin” about the autistic woman whose innovations revolutionized livestock practices for a more humane approach to cattle ranching and slaughter.

When Amber saw the movie, she could see a lot of Sara in Temple Grandin’s attributes. Sara and her mom agreed. “It was kind of a dead ringer,” Sara said, and when the diagnosis finally did come in, she said, “It explained a lot.”

After high school, Sara worked in customer service at Walgreens and took classes at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she lived. Things were going pretty well for her until COVID-19 “crashed the party,” Sara said. When the pandemic shut everything down, it left Sara feeling isolated, lonely and depressed.

Sara’s Aunt Amber once again came through with a possibility. While traveling through Kentucky, Amber happened to catch a program on Kentucky Education Television about an organization called LifeWorks for Autism — a program based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, that supports independent living and employment for young adults with autism. LifeWorks is the only program of its kind in Kentucky and one of the few that exist in the United States.

Though Sara was diagnosed as a teenager, most children with autism are diagnosed by age 7 and receive support though public schools or private special education. But once a person hits that 21-23 age range, services dry up. Young adults with autism who have low support needs and desire to live independently need help bridging the gap in adulthood.

That’s where LifeWorks steps in. Sara applied to the program and quickly scheduled an interview. She was accepted and moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, at the age of 30, in September 2023. The program welcomes applicants from all over the United States, and participants are typically a little older. Some have graduated college but have never lived on their own. Sara has her own apartment, goes to the gym and attends classes on everything from cooking and cleaning your apartment to writing a resume and sharpening interview skills. Participants also volunteer, socialize and become vital contributors to their community.

LifeWorks transformed Sara’s life. The program listened to Sara’s interests and connected her to meaningful activities accordingly. Sara has loved horses ever since she watched the animated movie “Spirit” as a child. Now, she volunteers at New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding Center where she gets to work with horses and help others every week. Sara is also going back to school this fall in Western Kentucky University’s agriculture program. She wants to learn more about the genetics of horse hair color and is curious about livestock nutrition.

Knowing Temple Grandin’s story propelled Sara’s life forward, and last year, Sara even got to meet her when Temple visited LifeWorks. Before finding LifeWorks, Sara said, “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.” She dreamed of working with horses or large animals, but “didn’t know how to get there,” she said.

Now, she has a career path and friends and feels like she belongs. That once painfully shy child sat down with me for an interview about her life. When I mentioned what an accomplishment that was, she said, “I most certainly would not have done this two years ago.”

Sara has really come out of her shell thanks to what she’s learned and experienced with LifeWorks, and she said, “Finding your people definitely helps.”

LifeWorks is an endowment-supported nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit LifeWorksForAutism.org.

Do you know anyone who’s doing cool things to make the world a better place? I want to know. Send me an email at Bonnie@WriterBonnie.com.

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