Learning her son had a form of autism first sent Selena Jenkins, of Orange, into denial before leading her to create a makeup palette designed with autism awareness in mind.
“My son was two years old when his doctor diagnosed him with ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Jenkins said.
ASD is a developmental disorder of variable severity that is primarily characterized by poorly developed social skills, difficulty with expressive and receptive communication, and the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviors.
Restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests can include:
- Lines up toys or other objects and gets upset when order is changed.
- Repeats words or phrases over and over (called echolalia)
- Plays with toys the same way every time.
- Is focused on parts of objects (for example, wheels)
- Gets upset by minor changes.
- Has obsessive interests, according to cdc.gov.
She has two daughters and with her son, she felt the need to become two different types of moms to accommodate her children.
Reaching out to support groups, she discovered a need to bring awareness of how to communicate with a person with autism.
Each of the colors in the palettes are positive words to use when communicating.
“I created a palette of love and inspiration,” Jenkins said.
With colors such as Never Give Up and Not Alone each in a high pigmentation, vegan and cruelty free color with glitter to enhance the beauty.
“Learning how to be a mom to my son was challenging,” Jenkins said. “I felt like I had to relearn everything I knew about how to be a mother. I want other moms and dads to know they are not alone.”
She added that helping make sure her son got the help he needed through Texas Children’s Hospital and Spindletop also helped her learn how to be the mom her son needed.
After his diagnosis, she changed her major in college to Psychology and while she graduated in July 2021 with her degree, she just returned to college for her degree in Forensic Psychology.
“Bring awareness to autism is one thing,” Jenkins said. “But I want to raise awareness for mental illness.”
The reaction to Beyond Artistic Eyes has been amazing according to Jenkins.
“I wanted to give back and give love,” Jenkins said. “I was nervous about creating the palettes especially as a woman who does not know how to use makeup.”
Not only did she colors, names and design but she had to learn aspects of quality makeup. She knew she wanted the makeup to be cruelty free and was excited to learn it was also vegan friendly and coconut free.
“I wanted to help others and relate to moms through colors and autism, especially those which are non verbal,” Jenkins said. “The colors and words can really make someone’s day.”
She is not ready to stop either. She is already working on a palette for mental health awareness.
Beyond Artistic Eyes is currently only available online at https://beyondartisticeyes.com/
-Dawn Burleigh, KOGT-
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