In 1996, when Landon was diagnosed at age 2 with Autism Spectrum Disorder, his parents were unsure of what the future may bring. They stuck together, firmly believing that they were going to fight and work hard to give him a fulfilling life.
They moved to North Carolina due to the services the state had to offer for children with disabilities. Eventually Landon received the Medicaid Waiver which enabled him to get the assistance he needed.
When Landon graduated from Ashe County High School, he was enrolled in the Summit STEP Day Program. He was also able to receive services through Abound Health (Formerly Turning Point). Through these programs’ goals were set in place for him to gain job, community, and home-based skills.
It was a long-term goal for Landon to have a Part Time Job. Through the Summit STEP Day Program, they explored many Micro Business opportunities. Marilyn, Landon’s mother, began learning how to create handmade greeting cards. Though Landon didn’t care for crafts, Marilyn was willing to try and see if he would enjoy learning. Landon loved learning how to create his own cards, so they created a Micro Business called Landon’s Home Run Crafts. From a template provided by Marilyn, Landon has learned skills such as cutting, scoring, and stamping. Landon and his worker sells his cards around town and also leaves them in businesses who agree to sell them on consignment.
- Landon’s Home Run Crafts can be purchased at
Three Little Bears and The Ashe County Arts Council, located in West Jefferson.
To watch Landon in action and view more photos of his handmade cards, visit
https://www.facebook.com/landonshomerunkitchen/
- This still didn’t stop the dream of Landon wanting to have a part-time job. Since Landon was a child, he has grown to love Ingles. His family shops there every week, and he has come to know the employees there. In the check-out lane, Landon would voluntarily load up his family’s grocery items and place them in the shopping cart. Bagging groceries was a job that Landon could do. One of the positive outcomes from the pandemic was the need for employees, so his family took this opportunity to see how he could be employed at Ingles. Landon wasn’t ready to work independently, so his father, Les, got in contact with Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Within time, Landon was placed with Watauga Opportunities, where he was assigned a job coach. In August 2021, Landon was hired by Ingles to bag groceries. He works once a week and absolutely loves working there. The best part of his job is when he gets to see all the people he knows from the community.
