Prospect Meadow Farm: Empowering Autistic Adults Through Vocational Training, Employment, and Community Building

BY AMY TIMMINS

AUTISM SPECTRUM NEWS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2024

 

Located in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, ServiceNet’s Prospect Meadow Farms provides vocational training and employment for more than 100 differently-abled adults aged 22 to 70, 20% of whom are on the autism spectrum.

The original farm, located on 11 acres in Hatfield, was founded by ServiceNet in 2010 as a therapeutic program to connect people with animals and nature. Prospect Meadow has since evolved into a busy social enterprise spanning a total of 100 acres at three locations: two in Hatfield and one across the Berkshire mountains in Pittsfield. These farms have become the largest producer of log-grown shiitake mushrooms in western Mass, and their fresh eggs and produce are carried by several area markets, including Prospect Meadow’s farm store.

Farmhands are all paid at least minimum wage ($15/hour) and have opportunities to advance to senior farmhand, peer mentor, or job coach as they gain experience and confidence on the job. Several have also moved on to the farm’s culinary training program and working at the farm’s Rooster Café in Northampton, while others have gone on to community employment. And some have started their own private ventures—from beekeeping to book illustration—using skills and insights gained at Prospect Meadow.

“Everyone comes here with their own interests and abilities,” said Shawn Robinson, founding director of Prospect Meadow Farm and ServiceNet’s Vice President of Vocational Services. “And each of our vocational support plans is specifically tailored to their needs. These plans might include skill development related to animal care, landscaping, carpentry, food services, or retail operations, and usually include some sort of combination.”

While farmhands have many workgroups to choose from, each set of tasks has inherent routines, which can be especially beneficial for individuals on the autism spectrum, according to Robinson. “Having clear, predictable tasks that are listed on a visual posted schedule can help people understand their daily tasks, which also helps reduce anxiety,” he noted. “At the same time, our program’s structure, which has farmhands rotating between various workstations to meet seasonal and other needs of the farm, enables people to increase their ability to be flexible.”

Another beauty of working at Prospect Meadow is that it offers individuals on the autism spectrum spacious outdoor environments in which to spend most of their day. For many farmhands who had previously worked in noisy production or commercial settings, being outdoors offers newfound relief from sensory overload. There are also a variety of quiet indoor workspaces and relaxation areas at each of the farms, and further modifications are made as needed, including noise-canceling headphones.

Because farmwork requires both gross and fine motor activities, it helps farmhands develop important physical skills. And the demanding exercise involved can serve to relieve tension and restore balance—whether people are planting, harvesting, or caring for the chickens, llamas, and goats.

Jim Seltzer, a retired psychologist, mushroom farming hobbyist, and longtime volunteer and friend of the farm, started Prospect Meadow’s log-grown shiitake mushroom operation in 2014 after he noticed that the hard work of drilling, inoculating, and hauling logs was soothing for farmhands on the autism spectrum. “While some of these individuals could become quickly frustrated with repetitive detail work, they were eager to handle power tools that required their physical strength and intense focus, and to move and stack the heavy logs into place,” Seltzer recalled. “It felt like such a positive, natural fit right from the start. And after beginning with just a few mushroom logs, we now have more than 5,000 between the three farms.”

As farmhands work alongside their peers, job coaches, counselors, supervisors, and volunteers like Seltzer, they have multiple opportunities to sharpen their verbal and non-verbal communication and improve interpersonal skills. Prospect Meadow Farm staff also create a variety of supervised, structured opportunities for social interaction and offer small group activities and peer mentorship programs to provide social support and help farmhands foster friendships.

“We are all in this venture together,” noted Robinson. “Each farm requires careful planning, lots of hard work, and handling setbacks that may be caused by storms, downed trees, hard freezes, or foxes, coyotes, and other predators attacking the livestock. None of us can do this alone, and to be an effective team, people need to communicate clearly, support and care about each other, go with the flow of what needs to be done, and have a personal stake in the outcomes.”

Farm families are another key part of this team equation—whether serving as their adult family member’s guardian or simply being a supportive presence in their lives. Program leaders and staff keep families informed about the vocational training process and provide helpful tools and strategies to ensure a home environment that supports farmhands’ learning and growth. They also plan family picnics and other social gatherings to promote involvement in the farm and offer opportunities for families to connect with one another.

Connection is a core theme running through every aspect of life at the farm: from connection to self and work and purpose to connection with fellow workers and leaders, family, and community. On the latter, farmhands may, by turns, staff the booth at area farmers’ markets or deliver eggs and produce to area grocers, work in the farm store serving customers, or participate in the culinary program and café. And because the farms each offer daily late morning tours to visitors, farmhands become well-versed in telling the story of the farm and their work there.

“Farmhands are involved in every tour we conduct,” explained Robinson. “Whether we’re hosting a small group of neighbors or a U.S. Congressional Representative, they are the experts on their work, what it means to them, and its impact. Every person on our farms understands that Prospect Meadow is a vital contributor to the local food economy, and this is a huge point of pride for all of us. Who better than the farmhands to tell this story?”

Amy Timmins (left)  is Vice President of Community Relations for ServiceNet, a large non-profit mental health and human services organization helping people throughout western Massachusetts live their lives to the fullest. To learn more about Prospect Meadow Farm, visit www.servicenet.org/prospectmeadow.