The Helix Story

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As parents of a child with autism, Marjorie and Marc McMorris truly understand the challenges that face both the child and their family. Like all parents, they wanted to give everything they possibly could to their son to allow him to lead a fulfilling, connected and productive life. With that in mind, in 2014 they opened the doors to The Helix School with two students. Helix was built to offer children on the autism spectrum a chance: A chance to advocate for themselves, to grow comfortable in their bodies, to learn not only academics, but about the world and all the connectivity that comes from understanding relationships. They wanted kids to experience the joy of sharing their passions, or what Dr. Barry Prizant likes to call enthusiasms, with others.

Marjorie McMorris has helped to bring together educators, entrepreneurs and therapists who share the same vision: to change the educational system for children with autism. Ms. McMorris, who has a Bachelor of Arts in Child Development from Spelman College, has created a learning institution that looks at best practices and the latest research to ensure that students are receiving the highest quality education and therapies, every day. Also trained in TEACCH Autism Program and Kimochis: Social and Emotional Learning and Pivotal Response Training, McMorris is wholly committed to this work and the success of this school. 

Fast forward to 2022. The Helix School is a certified Non Public School and has 28 students–both private and through one of the seven districts with whom we contract. Each day, students have access to their teachers, teaching assistants, occupational therapies, speech therapy and behavioral therapy. With our new Transition Program, Helix is able to serve students through age 22. One of the most exciting changes is that in September we moved into a newly renovated building at 161 Mitchell Blvd in San Rafael. As I write this, the wall of windows in my office overlooks the serene marsh of Gallinas Creek. With this move, we have had the opportunity to redesign our occupational therapy space, open up play space for our elementary students, and have dedicated spaces for a library and art. Perhaps most importantly, we have room to grow. 

As the new Head of School, I spent the summer visiting with families. “This school has changed our lives,” was the common chorus. For many families, Helix became the place where their student learned to love school again. “They really get my child,” parent after parent reported. 

The Helix School values partnerships with the community. One of the most important partnerships has been with WOW! Music Studio of Mill Valley. The studio owners, Tommy Toy and Emily Siskin-Toy, wanted to introduce music classes to neurodiverse students and we took them up on it! After a successful year of practice and learning our students performed a benefit concert at none other than Sweetwater Music Hall. The partnership is valuable and strong and will continue here in San Rafael.

The Helix School is a vibrant community full of professionals who love what they do. It all started with a dream. Marjorie McMorris was looking for a school for her son. Certainly there are a lot of choices in the Bay Area, but she had something particular in mind, and when she could not find it anywhere in the greater Bay Area, she built it herself.

Reach out, we’d love to have you visit.

by Deanna Wylie Mayer, Head of School

The Play’s The Thing

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When I first moved to California, I was struck by how seriously adults in the Bay Area took Halloween. From the decked out revelers in the Castro to the costumed-in-earnest chaperoning parents, it seemed like children no longer held the monopoly on the holiday. My years in theater certainly gave me a window into the delight of inhabiting a different persona. Still, it wasn't until I began my studies as a drama therapist that I learned the significance of dramatic play to child development. Now, twenty years later, I find myself spouting the necessity of play to anyone who will listen, namely for all ages on the autism spectrum. 

Children learn by playing, by trying on and taking on roles; it's how they come to understand themselves and the world in which they live. Play is the outward manifestation of each child's inner life. It contains the conflicts they are attempting to resolve and the challenges they are trying to master. And play is intrinsically relational. It is the meshing of at least two worlds and negotiation, compromises, and at times, heated debates. It is at its heart, collaborative. 

For many children, play comes easily. Infants are intrinsically motivated to pay attention to the faces of their caretakers and can see their feelings and experiences reflected back to them. This process, known as affective attunement, sets the stage for an infant beginning to recognize himself both physically and psychologically. Child psychiatrist Claudia Gold coins this beautifully as "holding the child's mind in mind" - leaving the child to feel seen and understood. In addition, the infant is looking to the caretaker to provide him with all the information he needs to navigate his world. This social-emotional coursework is not given in French, Swahili, or Portuguese, but through the universal language of affect. On any given day, a toddler may receive a stern look upon crawling towards the hot stove, a warm chuckle when she hugs her sister, and calm reassurance when she tries to walk on her own but falls. Through her mother's facial expressions and gestures, the toddler begins to learn that the hot stove is dangerous; affection is encouraged, and falling is part of learning. In addition to building schemas, these interactions also give personal significance to objects in the child's everyday life- like the rocking chair where the child was once nursed but is now the haven of mother and child during bedtime stories. In essence, the parents color the child's world with meaning.

While these emotional exchanges are educational, they also foster other essential capacities. Not only is the infant receiving all the good stuff his parents are putting out, but he is also learning that he can have an impact - when I smile, mommy smiles back; when I reach out for daddy, he picks me up. Just watch the mutual delight of Peek-A-Boo to see this phenomenon in action. This back and forth communication blossoms into social reciprocity and solidifies the bond between parent and child. When an infant can come to depend upon his parents to meet his needs, he will internalize that bond as a mental representation. In time, he can conjure up that mental image of Mommy or Daddy during a period of separation and project it onto on object- like a blankie- to soothe himself. British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott calls this "the child's first creative act."

 So when a little boy takes his fork and pretends it's an airplane, he is trying his hand at coloring an inanimate object with emotional meaning -marking the beginning of pretend play. Over time, the child can project a mental image of a person or fictional character onto himself and pretend to be Daddy or Superman or Darth Vader. All of these playful moments are integral to the acquisition of symbolic thinking and relational capacities. Taking on pretend roles is a precursor for perspective-taking and empathy. Turning one object into another lays the foundation for playing with ideas – the genesis of hypothesizing and complex problem-solving. 

Infants and toddlers on the spectrum can struggle to attend to their caretakers due to a variety of factors, including sensory overwhelm, interest in inanimate objects, inability to prioritize faces in the visual field. Due to slower processing and motor challenges, the baby with ASD may also have difficulty getting into the rhythm of the back and forth exchanges. Even the maternal gaze- the source of attunement and mirroring can be overwhelming for a little person on the spectrum. This means that although the attachment bond is formed, the autistic child is not getting the full benefit of the caretaker's lens to color the world with meaning for him. By missing much of the coursework, the social world can appear random, mystifying, and unpredictable. It is for this reason that as kids on the spectrum grow up, they are often found playing by themselves. Without some of the foundational capacities of social reciprocity, imaginary play, reading social cues, they cannot negotiate the complexity of playground interactions. And here we have the Catch 22: children on the spectrum need to play to develop these capacities but are kept from this experience due to a lack of basic play skills. This can get misinterpreted as the autistic child not being interested in playing or friendships. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

So how do we, at Helix, teach our students to play? The work of autism pioneer, Stanley Greenspan, provides the underlying theory for the answer. For a neurotypical child, adults who are willing to play are elevated to rock star status, just by giving their time and attention. But with our students, you may not get admission to the clubhouse so easily. We need to learn the password- the child's special interest. Depending on the student, it might be Super Mario, In-n-Out Burger, Scooby-Doo, Light Switches, or Sharks. Once granted access, we don't just nod politely in the direction of the interest– we actively engage. In one moment, this may mean donning a hula-hoop in red, white, and blue scarves with a teen, or in another, it may mean sitting quietly with a student, watching the way the light reflects on the ceiling. By holding the "child's mind in mind" and aligning with their interests, we see the magic happen. The dancing light becomes a song sung by a child and their speech therapist; the hula-hoop becomes Captain America's shield in a play session. The interest shifts from a solitary focus to something relational - it becomes playable. Through this mutual enjoyment within the play, reciprocity emerges organically. The teen is no longer scripting the Avengers but is now standing proud as Captain America, and what was once a stim is now a duet. The enthusiasm that was initially reserved for the special interest is transferred onto the relationship. Now on the student's radar, they are naturally motivated to read our emotions and social cues. By taking on various roles, exploring emotions, and creating stories- the student is getting to practice all the skills from early childhood but at his current developmental level. This can also give us traction throughout the day to introduce pockets of social-emotional learning. A student read my emotions perfectly when I was the Hulk, now let's see if he can read my cue that I want him to finish his math. We can start to encourage students to veer from the scripts and think symbolically, like coming up with a new ending for Indiana Jones. Transferring these play skills to structured peer interactions is the next step in the process. Last year, our school play was a great example of students sharing each of their special interests but working in collaboration as a team.

Playing well with others has far-reaching implications for your child's future. At Helix, we take play seriously. In fact, you may walk in one day as I did, and see Kelly Checo teaching multiplication. But you will not recognize her because she is dressed from head to toe as Darth Vader. And no, it was not Halloween.

Written by Liz McDonough, MFT

Beyond Hashtags and Likes: Moving to Action

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A week from today is #GivingTuesday.  This year, The Helix School is participating in this campaign.  And, it got us thinking: What’s this all about, anyway?

Thanksgiving.  Giving Thanks.  #Gratitude.  #Blessed.  The season is now upon us where we are reminded to be grateful for what we have, to help those less fortunate, to be generous in our donations, in our hearts, minds and our worldview.  

In overly simplified terms, we celebrate Thanksgiving because almost four hundred years ago two groups of people, the Plymouth colonists, and Wampanoag Indians, came together to share an autumn harvest feast.  These two groups had vastly different backgrounds, life experiences, and visions for their futures. And yet, amidst their differences, this group gathered to share meals and stories.  

What a different world it is today. Or is it?  Sharing a meal and telling stories is still one of the primary ways that people come together to learn and listen.  Because when you sit with people, and you are open to sharing your story and hearing theirs - even with people who appear to be so different from yourself - you soon see how much more alike we all are than different.  The key here is sharing.  Sharing what we have and what we know with others so that they might benefit.

The practice of generosity in heart and mind leads people to pause, park their judgments, give to people less fortunate and to organizations working to improve the lives of others.  When working with children with autism, there is an abundance of opportunity to practice generosity and share in each other’s worlds. People with autism take in their surroundings differently.  They focus on different pieces of their environment that many neurotypical people may simply skip over or never notice.  At The Helix School, we work to build bridges between their world and ours by finding what is interesting and exciting to our students, using that as a catalyst to guide their learning, whether that be in reading, math, or social-emotional-life skills.  Once you begin building that “Shared World Bridge”  with students with autism, you realize how much we all have to learn from each other.  And in the end, understanding each other leads to a fuller, more harmonious life for us all.  As Harry Stack Sullivan so famously said “We are all more simply human than otherwise.” 

The reminders this season to be generous can be helpful, but the simple act of liking a social media post or typing a hashtag before a word is not an act that impacts.  Giving of yourself, your resources, and time for the betterment of others is indeed what changes the world.  So tell your stories, connect with others, and give to organizations that are making a difference. And if you have given to The Helix School, thank you. Generosity is what keeps our doors open. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.


Purpose & Intent

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It’s finally officially autumn, though the signs of summer being ushered out have been all around us.  Did you notice the shadows that now cross your path that only weeks ago were not there? Or the low light that is now cast through the afternoon windows that just minutes before seemed brighter?  Change.  It’s always happening, whether or not we are paying attention.  

Deliberate, purposeful change is altogether different than the inevitable changes like growing older, the weather and the seasons.  Deliberate change takes thought, effort, flexibility to take risks and the willingness to adeptly shift course.  At The Helix School this year, as was discussed in last month’s blog post, we made growth our keystone habit after reading Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit.  We are working to grow with purpose and intention and along the way, we are embracing the messy business of change.

One of the ways we are cultivating our growth momentum is by looking outward.  Although we are doing plenty of work looking at our internal systems and processes, we understand how important it is to connect with others, share our story and create opportunities to make an impact within the larger community who are working and living with autism. In order to best serve children on the autism spectrum, we must reach out to other schools and organizations.  We cannot operate in a silo.  THS is an excellent, small school which must remain small in order to best serve our population.  So even if we could be a school with 100 children, that is still just 100 children with autism when there are thousands of families in the Bay Area alone who are dealing with this.  We want to make an impact, to change the way children with autism are being educated.  And so in big and small ways, we are reaching out, leading a hand, collaborating and joining forces with other organizations to learn from them, share our knowledge, and extend our impact.  

How have we started doing this? In the last few months, we joined forces with the DIR/Floortime Coalition of California, an activist group located in San Diego and lobbied with them in Sacramento to help families get insurance coverage for the developmental treatments prescribed by their doctors.  We were successful in sharing our story to the California State Assembly and now the bill sits on Governor Brown’s desk.  We are sharing our expertise by starting a training program to help public and parochial school educators better understand their students with autism by giving them a developmental perspective and tools to use inside their classrooms.  Last month, we went to the TEDx Marin conference and shared the importance of providing a specialized education to children with autism with many of the over 700 attendees.  We have joined the Marin Autism Collaborative and we are working on parent outreach with them.  And finally, we have been approached to help develop a task force on special education in Marin County.

Growth always involves change, but not all change indicates growth.  Take time to stop and ask yourselves, in the midst of your own busy lives, “Am I growing and changing with purpose?  Or am I being carried away only by the change that is inevitable?” 



The Helix Monthly: Growth

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Welcome to the Helix Monthly, a monthly (obviously!) blog about the goings on at The Helix School.  

Over the summer our faculty and staff read “The Power of Habit: What We Do In Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg.  For those of you who have not read it, and we strongly suggest that you do, Duhigg explores the science of habit formation. He takes an in-depth look at both the habits of individuals as well as organizations.  Habits in an organization are actually the precursors to processes and routines.  Duhigg uses examples from his own life to show how he changed some of his habits, but perhaps most interesting were the examples of large, well-known companies that changed their organization’s culture for the better by focusing on what Duhigg calls “Keystone Habits.”  

Keystone Habits are habits that start a momentum of change, like a domino effect. Within an organization, keystone habits alter routines to produce a positive impact on a multitude of levels.  This got us thinking:  Could THS benefit from having a keystone habit, and if so, what would it be? 

We decided the answer was yes, as an organization, Helix could benefit from focusing on one big thing this year, something that would impact many other processes and have a reverberating positive impact throughout the school.  We determined that our keystone habit would be Growth.  Growth across the organization will serve as an indicator that the different parts of our school, from admissions to fundraising to teacher trainings, are working together.  We realized that if we can increase our growth across all functions of the school, then it will be because the Helix team pulled together to strive for excellence.  Growth will be an indicator that we are making progress in changing our habits across the entire institution.  

A key to focusing on growth this year is first to acknowledge the small wins and build on each one of them.  “Small wins are exactly what they sound like, and are part of how keystone habits create widespread changes,” says Duhigg. Secondly, it is important that we have everyone involved in asking themselves, “Is what I am currently doing contributing to the growth of The Helix School? Am I stretching myself? Am I going out of my way to make things better than they were the day before?” Finally, it is essential that every person - from teacher to admissions director to board member - understand that they each hold the key to being a significant contributor to our overall growth.

As a school for children with autism, celebrating the milestones of their progress - both big and small - is what we do every day.  By noticing and acknowledging the small wins in our students as well as in ourselves, we build a culture that honors a path towards growth.  And of course, these small successes collectively lead to bigger and more significant changes. 

The famous NFL coach Vince Lombardi said, “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” Well then, with our team of teachers and administrators focusing on growth within themselves as well as for their students and the school as a whole, there leaves no doubt that The Helix School is already on it’s way.