Anderson Mar is currently the General Manager of Paul Greens School of Rock in Boston, MA. Anderson brings a wide array of talent and a wellspring of ability to our organization.

Ms. Mar is a December 1992 graduate of the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where she earned a B.A. in European History, and a 1995 of WCM, where she obtained a Certificate of Ordination with a focus on youth work.

Involved in various aspects of the music industry, from on-air disc jockey to booking agent and talent scout since the tender age of 17, Anderson is the founder and CEO of Dark Sky Productions, an artist management and promotions agency which currently has a roster of 22 clients. An 11-year-veteran of the radio industry, she recently functioned as the full-time booking agent for The Skybar in Somerville, MA and currently has subsidiary-booking contracts with six Boston-based live music venues, producing several shows weekly.

Past endeavors include lead vocals for the bands Solace, Gallows Hill, and Strangeways, co-organizing the 2005 & 2007 New England Punk, Goth, and Metal Festivals (http://www.nepgmfest.com) with partner Matthew Marchesi, the annual New England Darksidewalkers Ball in Arlington, MA; Co-Owner of the annual New England Metaphysical Faire; the yearly Halloween-themed MASS MORGUE with Lauri Murphy of the band Lucretia's Daggers, and co-founder of the classical theatre troupe The Swan Stage Company in 2003. Anderson was recently featured in the October 2007 issue of "The Noise" magazine, a Boston-based local music scene publication. Polled noise subscribers recognized Anderson Mar as a Boston's top ten in 2007.

photo T Max from The Noise Magazine

Anderson Mar was chosen as an ILN official for her proven track record in dedication to service to her industry. Diplaying exceptional standards in ethics, spirited community involvemnent, and the proof evident of matriarchs oin mentorship, Anderson is a respected advisor on the ILN board. She leads the networking and mentorship programs.

The best things about 'Anders' is: "When you bring her your need, she puts it in one pockets and pulls your answer out of the other."

E-mail Anderson Mar

I will be assisting with (the) Autism Awareness Event on April 5th. Many of you think you know a little bit about autism, but there is an actual full-range spectrum of autism disorders. Many of us walk among you and you don't even know it.

In April of 2006, I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. My diagnosis was hard to come by, since I don't fit the stereotype of the "Aspie" - I'm very outgoing (thanks to involvement in theatre classes starting when I was 14). Many of you do not know the struggle I deal with daily to communicate with the world. One characteristic of Asperger's people are that they have usually only one or two interests that they focus on. Mine is obviously music, and I have used this and put it to work for me. Nobody knows until I tell them.

I am not ashamed about having a disability. For a long time I was. It is hard to function when people can't understand you. I learned one thing that has kept me afloat and able to blend in all these years. It is good advice from a friend I've known since childhood. He said, "Play the role, and eventually you BECOME the role."

There is nothing I can do about being autistic. It is GENETIC. My father has it also. There is a slight chance that it might be connected to his exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam, according to some research my mother has done.

Life is very hard when you can't communicate. I speak 4 languages, and I have a MENSA-level IQ (not to brag...just stating facts, okay?) It is especially hard in relationships. Other people perceive you as cold and uncaring. Also, I have had to tell my partner that I'm never going to be "Miss Personality" and that if someone is going to love me, they are going to have to love me for looks/talents/abilities/achievements, because that is all I have to offer. Some people think that is shallow. But it is not "shallow" if I am up front and honest letting people know not to expect something I can't deliver. If someone is to pick their friends based solely on personality, I wouldn't qualify. But I can help people, and I work hard, and I want to do great things for the scene because I care about music and musicians. So if someone can see that, and love me for that, and appreciate it, that to me is someone who can love me for what is REAL.

Please read the following. It is my hope and prayer that it will bring light of understanding if someone in your life has Asperger's.

XOXO,
~Anders Othniel

*****

The Six Characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome

Difficulty with Reciprocal Social Interactions
Those with Asperger's syndrome display varying difficulties when interacting with others. Some children and adolescents have no desire to interact, while others simply do not know how. More specifically, they do not comprehend the give-and-take nature of social interactions. They may want to lecture you about the Titanic or they may leave the room in the midst of playing with another child. They do not comprehend the verbal and nonverbal cues used to further our understanding in typical social interactions. These include eye contact, facial expressions, body language, conversational turn-taking, perspective taking, and matching conversational and nonverbal responses to the interaction.

Impairments in Language Skills
Those with Asperger's syndrome have very specific problems with language, especially with pragmatic use of language, which is the social aspect. That is, they see language as a way to share facts and information (especially about special interests), not as a way to share thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The child will display difficulty in many areas of a conversation processing verbal information, initiation, maintenance, ending, topic appropriateness, sustaining attention, and turn taking. The child's prosody (pitch, stress, rhythm, or melody of speech) can also be impaired. Conversations may often appear scripted or ritualistic. That is, it may be dialogue from a TV show or a movie. They may also have difficulty problem solving, analyzing or synthesizing information, and understanding language beyond the literal level.

Narrow Range of Interests and Insistence on Set Routines
Due to the an Asperger child's anxiety, his interactions will be ruled by rigidity, obsessions, and perseverant (repetitious behaviors or language) transitions and changes can cause. Generally, he will have few interests, but those interests will often dominate. The need for structure and routine will be most important. He may develop his own rules to live by that barely coincide with the rest of society.

Motor Clumsiness
Many individuals with Asperger's syndrome have difficulty with both gross and fine motor skills. The difficulty is often not just the task itself, but the motor planning involved in completing the task. Typical difficulties include handwriting, riding a bike, and ball skills.

Cognitive Issues
Mind blindness, or the inability to make inferences about what another person is thinking, is a core disability for those with Asperger's syndrome. Because of this, they have difficulty empathizing with others, and will often say what they think without considering another's feelings. The child will often assume that everyone is thinking the same thing he is. For him, the world exists not in shades of gray, but only in black and white. This rigidity in thought (lack of cognitive flexibility) interferes with problem solving, mental planning, impulse control, flexibility in thoughts and actions, and the ability to stay focused on a task until completion. The rigidity also makes it difficult for an Asperger child to engage in imaginative play. His interest in play materials, themes, and choices will be narrow, and he will attempt to control the play situation.

Sensory Sensitivities
Many Asperger children have sensory issues. These can occur in one or all of the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste). The degree of difficulty varies from one individual to another. Most frequently, the child will perceive ordinary sensations as quite intense or may even be under reactive to a sensation. Often, the challenge in this area will be to determine if the child's response to a sensation is actually a sensory reaction or if it is a learned behavior, driven mainly by rigidity and anxiety.

From Parenting Your Asperger Child by Alan Sohn, Ed.D., and Cathy Grayson, M.A. Copyright © 2005. Used by arrangement with Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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