COSTA MESA : Disabled Students’ Art Stands for New Choice

Red, yellow, blue and green loops twist and twirl on a pole in front of the Fairview Developmental Center, home to residents with a wide range of disabilities.

The 12-foot-tall sculpture, completed two months ago by 12 profoundly retarded resident students at Fairview to celebrate the signing of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, is now in need of a new home.

Anthony Sirianni, a teacher and creator of the sculpture, would love for the work to be displayed in front of a public building. It is called “Op/Choices,” short for “Opportunities for Choices.”

“We’ll put a plaque in front of it to say this is done by the students at Fairview, to give them the exposure,” Sirianni said.

Although he designed the piece and constructed the loops out of date palm fronds and wire, the students wrapped over 1,200 feet of duct tape around the loops and then spray-painted the taped loops. They also chose the colors for the piece.

“I have to push them a lot,” Sirianni said Wednesday, after taking a break from helping a student, Michael Donohoe, trim some loose tape off the sculpture. “Some of them are active and others aren’t. They have to be motivated by glittering and colorful objects.”

“We put our hands on their hands when we have to.”

The Disabilities Act, called the new bill of rights for the disabled, prohibits discrimination in the private sector. An employer with more than 25 workers cannot refuse to hire a qualified disabled applicant if the person can do the work with “reasonable accommodations.” President Bush signed the act into law July 26.

At the state-run center, where 750 of its 1,100 residents are enrolled in educational programs of Coastline Community College, the act gives residents and staff new hope that more opportunities will open up for the disabled.

Staff members have been attending workshops to learn new ways to give the residents more choices in their everyday lives.

“When you’re working with a student--for instance, a blind student--it’s important to find something that challenges that student but also speaks to the disability,” said Therese Gray, who teaches with Sirianni.

The passage of the federal law has made a difference at Fairview, said Lynne Panian, an instructor and coordinator for special programs at the center. “If nothing else, it makes people aware of providing choices for the people who reside here.”

The colors on the sculpture represent choices for the students, Sirianni said.

The red loops, for example, may signify that a student wants to wear a red shirt on a particular day, instead of a blue one. Or it may mean he wants to eat watermelon instead of cantaloupe, Sirianni said.

“This sculpture symbolizes the right for the disabled to choose. To choose what they want to eat, what they want to wear and where they want to work. This work is an opportunity for self-expression, self-direction and self-control for the students,” he said.

The sculpture will be offered free to be displayed at a public or private building. Anyone interested should call Sirianni at Fairview.