Special Artisan and Crafter Lila Morrow

Lila Morrow

Age: 7

Disorder: Down syndrome

Style of Art: beading – ID lanyards

As told to us by her mom, Lainey

Lila Morrow Lila, our youngest crafter at seven years old, makes jewelry by stringing beads for ID-lanyards. She is a “girlygirl” and loves glitter and bling. To date, she has sold nearly 150 of her lanyards.

How did you learn to do your craft? Who taught you?

Lila learned her craft of making unique, beaded lanyards in Occupational Therapy. She started

stringing beads there, and we all realized how intently she can sit and work on fine motor skills. She

is usually bouncing here and there, rarely sitting, but she focuses hard when she’s working on

stringing her beads. We started working together on her jewelry-making skills, and it will probably

be a lifelong project for us.

What is the biggest challenge you had to overcome to do your craft?

There are a few challenges:

Lila is non-verbal, so we have to work a little harder to communicate with each other. She

understands me usually, but it’s hard for her to tell me what she’s thinking.

She is young and still learning a lot of techniques. We partner together to make sure the products

she sells are high quality, and as she grows, she will learn more about doing more on her own.

Improving her fine motor skills. She struggles with smaller beads, but we just keep working on that

as a part of her skill development.

What inspired you to chose this type of craft?

Lila is a girly girl. She likes jewelry. She likes glitter and bling. She likes to strong beads. We started

by making a work ID for someone at my job as a gift. Then people started making personal orders,

and now she sells her lanyards in a shop called The Blue Umbrella in downtown Little Rock.

What do you like most and dislike most about your craft?

She loves to see people wearing her work, but she doesn’t always like how long some of them can

take to make.

Which piece are you most proud of?

She is most proud that she has sold almost 150 of her lanyards!

What are the other benefits you gained from doing your craft?

Lila gains more dexterity in her fine motor abilities, she works on her language skills, and she gets

some one-on-one time with her mom. She also gets paid for her work, and she is saving her money

for something big!

You can purchase Lila’s Lanyards at: https://www.joinlila.com/

Related: Meet Four Very Special Artisans and Crafters

Helpful Articles

• Person-Ventured Entrepreneurship: What Do You Know About Entrepreneurship
• Where to Go if Your Child Needs a Job or Help with Post High School Education
• Parenting Your Young Adult Through Their First Employment Experiences
• What Employers Can Do for Employees Whose Children Have Special Needs
• Labor Laws and Differently Abled Employees
• Why Volunteerism Matters for Individuals with Special Needs!
• Embracing Your Child’s Best Ways of Learning 12 Different Ways to Learn
• Group Homes: Can My Experience Help You?
• Financial Planning: For Those Who Are at the Starting Line
• Help Your Elementary School Youngster Learn About Work
• How Can My Child Be Independent?
• How to Find Your Special Child’s Spark?
• The Power of the Piggy Bank | Important Life Skills Teaching About Money Management
• Go Baby Go! Mobility & Sociability
• Green Jobs, Green Money!

You May Also Like

• Shining a Light on Sunflower Bakery Presented by Bus 52
• Peaceful Fruits: Paving The Way for Socially Good Partnerships
• Franky DiStefano a Vocation Success Story
• Panda’s Pantry Program
• Proud Moments: Matthew Shifrin Inspiring Lego for the Blind
• Calling all…. Engineers?
• Bob

This post originally appeared on our November/December 2020 Magazine