ANN

When the EMPOWER team asked me to participate in the SOBREMESA project, I didn't know what I was getting into... but my experience and that of my family in the Empower program has been so good that I immediately said yes.

I went to the first meeting with the same nerves as the first time I went to the EMPOWER team meeting. They'd explained everything very well, but I was missing a few details. When they started telling us we'd all have to sew a piece together, I thought... What am I doing here if I don't know how to sew? Thank goodness Laura told us we could ask for help and involve other people, and I immediately thought of my friend Tere, who loves to sew, is very creative, and also very committed to the cause of diversity.

On the first day, Marina told us her vision for the project and showed us beautiful embroidery throughout history, done by women from very different countries and cultures. I had no idea what we could do, but we already had to choose the colors for the fabrics, so I started choosing the brightest colors: green, orange, red, etc.

So, no sooner said than done, one day I met up with Tere, mentioned it to her, and she said yes. I showed her all the wonderful embroidery Marina had shown us, and while we were at a rural house with our families, we began to think about how we could bring our idea to life.

We wanted Carmen, my daughter, who has Potocki-Lupski syndrome, which causes her to have traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder, to be the protagonist. We wanted to capture her world, the things that make up her life. I had already tried to tell her story in a group of newspapers on the occasion of World Rare Disease Day, but it seemed easier to do it with words than with an image.

One day, Tere suggested I do it, inspired by Kandinsky's painting, "Concentric Squares and Circles." I loved the idea. So we set to work creating Carmen's circles.

We created four circles: the first, about family. The second, about her roots. Another to capture the importance of friendship for Carmen, where we included Tere's family. Aitana is one of Carmen's best friends, and the rest of her family is a huge support for ours. Finally, we wanted to capture ASD, Carmen's syndrome, and the importance of the families we support. The sense of community, which is the foundation of the Empower Parents program and also the Sobremesa project.

Finally, a central circle that defines Carmen: her smile, her birthplace Santander, her friend Aitana and the Potocki-Lupski Syndrome formed by components of the rest of the circles.
Tere has done an impressive job coordinating the colors, stitching it with her characteristic care and demonstrating her attention to detail. She has embroidered each of the names that make up the circles and added some beautiful representative figures.

In short, a unique piece that, combined with the rest of the pieces the colleagues have created, creates a very special tablecloth with a clear purpose: to foster relationships and encounters in a space for listening and learning, bringing together different experiences related to ASD, accessibility, and inclusive culture.