As Artist Caleb Griswold (C-ACC) Breaks Barriers Through His Art, His Mother, Laura, Uplifts Parents Through Her Recently Published Book
By Miriam Bernard
What do custom pet portraits and an uplifting book have in common? They’re both the result of years of tenacity, passion, and goal pursuit for Laura Griswold, author and mother, and her son Caleb Griswold (C-ACC), an artist known for his pet portraiture. Laura Griswold and her husband Andy are not accustomed to simply accepting what comes their way when it comes to their son Caleb. Many aspects of their lives, from the county in Wisconsin where the family has chosen to live, to the way they have approached Caleb’s blossoming art career as a young adult, have been exceptionally purposeful. They are believers in steering one’s own ship and taking advantage of the resources available to make the best life possible for their children.
Caleb is Laura and Andy’s first child. At a routine appointment two weeks before her baby’s due date in 2000, Laura was informed by the doctor that abnormalities were discovered in the tests that were taken, and she was told there was cerebral swelling. Laura recalls feeling immediately overwhelmed, but the genetic specialist she saw told her, “I’m going to draw a box, and I don’t want you to fill it in until he’s born.” At birth, it was determined Caleb had complete agenesis of the corpus callosum and colpocephaly – a brain abnormality that causes the occipital horns of the brain’s lateral ventricles to enlarge. Fortunately, knowing these diagnoses, the family started therapies for Caleb on day one, and Laura shares that the early intervention was “everything”. 16 months later, Caleb’s younger brother Jesse was born, and Laura states that their closeness in age was a huge asset to Caleb’s development and learning.
While the neurologist did not give any hope for Caleb to walk, by God’s grace and countless hours of therapy, Caleb learned how to walk independently at nine years old. His mother loves art, and spent a lot of time with him, lying on the floor, exposing him to as much art as she possibly could. She’d attend rummage sales, purchase cheap supplies, and do anything crafty. She’d sign him up for any art class she could find. Despite introducing him to other hobbies, the one that stuck was art. When Caleb got to high school, Laura wanted him to have as many art classes as he possibly could.
When the school Caleb attended began trying to veer his path away from more art classes and more toward life skills classes, Laura and her husband had to advocate firmly for Caleb’s continued pursuit of art classes. Caleb was learning dozens of life skills at home, but his parents knew how much the art instruction did for his brain development, personal joy, and creative mind. Laura shared, “I can’t encourage parents enough to advocate. You know your child the best. I knew art was Caleb’s gift. Why wouldn’t we want to pursue this for him?”
The Department of Vocational Rehab helps young adults find jobs in the community and provides a job coach. Typically, this program slots young adults with barriers into existing jobs available in the community, but Laura noticed a small snippet in their materials mentioning “self-employment”. Considering Caleb’s unique path, this title intrigued Laura, so she sought it out to turn Caleb’s passion for art into a small business. The DVR representative helping the Griswold family at first said self-employment was not encouraged because they didn’t have available resources, but that didn’t deter Caleb’s parents. They carried forward pursuing a self-employment plan over the course of several hard-fought years, and ultimately the same representative said she was glad to have watched the process unfold, because as a result she could offer the same self-employment program to other DVR young adults.
Caleb’s parents’ tenacity for creating a self-employment path for him that worked granted him $10,000 plus worth of startup equipment to set up his business and the ability for art instruction to be covered in his IRIS plan. Caleb now works out of a studio in Grafton, WI and takes art lessons twice a week with two different teachers, including one of the high school art teachers who taught him so much at school. Caleb’s teachers work with him on his signature art focus: pet portraits. Laura states, “The growth and progression have been very noticeable.” Caleb is being taught to “train his talent”, a phrase that came from a wise doctor in the area. The doctor also said Caleb has “silos of talent” in contrast to his IQ, which Laura felt was a great in regards to how kids like Caleb have certain abilities and talents that that you can tap into and may lead to something. Even if it doesn’t, the opportunities and confidence built will be priceless.
In the summer, the family sets up an art booth at festivals and art galleries. Not only does the booth feature Caleb’s signature pet portraits in the form of prints, greeting cards, and gifts, but Laura also sells copies of the book she’s written about her experience as Caleb’s mom – “Caleb the Conqueror – A Mother’s Story of Hope”. Laura carried a voice recorder with her for 20 years, from when Caleb was born until the time she began writing. She recorded the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that by the time she wrote the book, she had every detail prepared to share. She met an editor and a publisher who helped assuage her worries about helping her son start a business and writing a book in the same span of time. They helped her understand the two could go hand in hand: Those who see his art want to know his story and those who know his story want to see his art.
Laura’s goal in telling Caleb’s story was to empower parents. Laura and Andy recall clearly how overwhelming it was to raise a child with physical and cognitive deficiencies, so they wanted to give parents hope. It’s easy to see one scene on the outside, but the home life can be very different and a struggle behind the scenes. Since its publication, parents have approached Laura and Andy to express their appreciation and state they can relate to this because it’s not just the pretty picture – it’s also the meltdowns, the ugly parts, and everything in between.
The 2024 NODCC conference was very near the family’s home, and they worked with NODCC staff to become art vendors at the conference, selling art prints, greeting cards, and gift items, as well as copies of Laura’s book “Caleb the Conqueror”. Laura recalls that upon arriving they felt like “they’d met their people”. They attended with the expectation of encouraging other parents and what they found was they were so filled by the people they met and their journeys. Laura shared, “Caleb is a lover. He loves people, and he connects with people. But he doesn’t always connect with peers. It’s hard for him to find commonality with peers. At the conference, he found friends! I woke up at midnight and thought ‘Where’s Caleb?’ so I called him and he said, ‘I’m down in the lobby with my friends!’” She was thrilled for this development; that he’d found friends with whom he connected and could come and go independently.
We’re so grateful to Laura, Caleb and the entire Griswold family for being a part of our NODCC community and sharing their passions of art, writing, and love with all of us. To view or purchase Caleb’s art, click HERE. To purchase a copy of Laura’s uplifting book, “Caleb the Conqueror: A Mother’s Story of Hope”, click HERE.
