The term “Autism” was first used in 1908 to describe a subset of schizophrenic patients who were especially withdrawn and self-absorbed. American child psychiatrist Leo Kanne later added to this definition in 1943 as children who were highly intelligent but displayed “a powerful desire for aloneness” and “an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness.”

Looking back, neither of these definitions encapsulated the vast complexities of Autism quite right. But, of course, knowledge and scientific discovery were extremely limited back then. Doctors have since come a long way, so much so that we now know that Autism is not a rigid set of conditions. Rather, Autism is best represented by a fluid spectrum of abilities in which no two cases are the same.

To better understand how the spectrum works, explore the various tabs on the interactive spectrum below.

Thinglink by Nafessa Jaigirdar

Claire Joanson (’19)

My little sister loves to dance. She spends hours twirling through the house, making up new dance routines and carefully recreating performances she sees online. My little sister is also extremely curious. Whenever I’m cooking dinner her head is peeping over the counter, investigating what I’m making her that night, and making sure that I’m aware she’s available to try a bite before dinner time. My little sister is compassionate; she’ll leave little “I love you” notes on my bed showing us holding hands with hearts all around us if she knows I’ve had a bad day. Her smile is never wider than when she is surprising me with a gift she saw at the store and begged my father to get for me. My little sister is sweet, bubbly and happy.

She also has autism. Only one of those facts should impact how you treat her.

Angelina was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old and not hitting the markers other children her age were hitting. When she was diagnosed I was eleven years old and only knew of autism what I had read in books and seen on television. I remember crying when my parents told me, wondering how my sister would adapt to a world that I knew was unkind to those who were different. Even now, people spew “autistic” or “retarded” as an insult because the idea of someone being unique is so easy to latch onto as a marker of abnormality and so difficult for them to understand. Autism isn’t a death sentence; it’s a complex disorder that makes my sister and one out of every 68 children in the United States unique.

Those with autism deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion, like every other person on the planet. Her obstacles are not faults but stepping stones that have made her one of the strongest eight-year olds I’ve ever met. She’s my little sister, and this Autism Awareness month, I want everyone to know that she’s also my hero.

Claire Tremper (’18)

I am a triplet and my two triplet brothers have autism. I do not desire to keep this information from people because I am embarrassed, it is quite the opposite. When I explain why I am the only one of the three of us who has their license, a job, and goes to a public school, it is a natural instinct for others to offer their sympathy. Although some think that growing up with autistic siblings is sad, I believe it made me the person I am today.

This past week over eighteen thousand high school students, advisors, businesspeople and alumni gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta to partake in the 2018 International Career Development Conference, better known as the DECA Nationals Competition.

The stadium was packed with students; music boomed throughout the convention center and the excitement and passion of the students radiated throughout the air.

With hundreds of competitions and events offered, DECA is one of the largest high school business competitions in the nation.

As such a large organization, they make a conscious effort to cater events towards students with autism and with learning disabilities, so as best prepare all students for a future in the business realm.

Currently DECA offers two events, Supermarket Careers & Customer Service events, for any student with an I.E.P, or an individualized educational plan. More often, students competing in these events are tested on human relations, job interview skills, personal selling, sales presentation, operations and retail math.

Though East is yet to have students compete in these events, Cherry Hill West, on the other hand, had 32 students participate in the Functional/Vocational program in this past year alone.

Of these 32 participants, is Hugo Kim (‘19), a seasoned DECA member. At this year’s New Jersey State Competition, Kim received 2nd place overall in the Customer Service event, thereby qualifying for ICDC.

“I feel very excited after make[ing] finals and winning in my event. My favorite part about DECA is making new friends, socializing and hanging out at the hotel,” said Kim shortly after coming back from the awards ceremony.

Kim was very proud of his accomplishments, and rightly so. According to Ms. Bridget Garrity-Bantle, one of the special education teachers at West, preparing for the regional, state and national competitions is a tedious process. All throughout the year, the students work on money math skills and vocabulary terms that are not only applicable to DECA, but to real life jobs. The students also work in the school store and practice interviewing skills with a variety of teachers, so as to best prepare for the new faces and the new people they will meet at competition.

The competition process is two-fold. The students first complete an online test involving  giving change, adding up bills, and applying sales tax as well as supermarket & customer service terms such as Gondola, determining needs, bagger, checker, aisles and markdown. At competition, the students complete an interview with a judge. For the Supermarket Careers event, students are asked basic interview questions for the position of a bagger at a food store and are scored based on their answers.  They also complete a timed role-play: bagging groceries. As for the Customer service event, students are likewise interviewing for a position in a department store. For their role play they are asked to sell an item to the judge using the 7 steps of selling. This past year, their challenge was to sell a pair of jeans.

DECA has been such a life changing opportunity not only for Garrity-Bantle, but also for her students.

“DECA has allowed my students to step out of their comfort zones and improve communication skills,” said Garrity-Bantle. “I have seen so much growth with all of my students.  Cheryl Melleby and Evelyn Minutolo [West’s business teachers] have opened their arms to our students and it has made such a difference. The students have gained so much confidence through our DECA program.”

Better so, Garrity-Bantle is confident that this is only the beginning for her students. With already so many state qualifiers and national qualifiers, she cannot wait to see where her students will go from here.

This year’s DECA theme was “to go limitless” and Garrity-Bantle agrees: no other theme better encapsulates all that her students have achieved than the word “limitless.”

Up until about a decade ago, eighth-grade students with autism in the Cherry Hill school district were faced with the reality that their local high school could not offer them the kind of educational support that they needed, according to former District Supervisor of Pupil Services and current East Assistant Principal Ms. Rebecca Metzger.

“We had a group of kids in middle school who wanted to go to their local high school so we developed a program at West…the program was developed at West because that was their…neighborhood school,” said Metzger.

Thus, the program for students with autism at Cherry Hill West was born, a program that has since been recognized highly by the state, according to Metzger.

The program at West is hyper-focused on ensuring that students at all levels of the spectrum are prepared for the wide world that lays ahead of them after exiting the district. Vocational job preparation courses, like West’s ShopWest program – in which students actively manage a supermarket – are an important facet of this. Vocational reading and math classes are also offered. There was even a production of Peter Pan in which students with special needs could act that was organized by one of West’s special education teachers, and some members of West’s DECA team with autism have won awards in the past.

“At West, we have a program that’s designed for students who…need more development of life skills or independent-living skills, or obtaining post-secondary employment, like getting jobs,” said Metzger. “They might have more needs.”

Another option that is available to West students with autism is to stay an extra year in high school before graduation. During this extra year, the student would receive additional help with job preparedness and would also focus on job placement. This way, the student would have a job lined up right out of high school, alleviating a common fear for most families that have students with autism. This option, however, is not commonly employed at Cherry Hill East.

“They have job placements or development out in the community,” said Metzger.

While there are programs for students at East with autism, the district does not have the resources to build East’s program up to the level of West without endangering the overall level of service that the district can provide. Before ninth grade, it is district policy that a meeting be held with parents of children with special needs to determine an individualized education plan (IEP) for that student throughout their high school career. During that meeting, the programs at both East and West are explained, and most of the time, parents and students choose which high school would fit best. Sometimes, however, a family may be referred to West, though they are not required to make that choice.  

“Students that have more significant needs…are referred to West as part of their individualized education plan because we have the teachers and the programs and the classrooms and the students…there together because it can be very isolating if you’re the only student who has…this type of significant need and there’s not other students around you that are having those same experiences and having those same needs,” said Metzger.

The services that East offers are geared more toward higher-functioning students with autism. These services include social skills classes, speech classes, and behavioral support, but do not reach into the vocational sphere, like the services at West do. Ultimately, East’s programs

“We teach behaviors that are less noticeable so that a student is better integrated into not only the high school, but also post-secondary life,” said Metzger.

While many stark differences exist between the programs at East and West, there are some prevailing similarities. Both schools try to maximize the interaction students with autism have with their peers, for one. Additionally, both schools offer varying levels of support based on scholastic need, like in-class resource classes, self-contained classes, and resource center classes (better known as Concepts classes). In-class resource classes refer to a classroom environment where a regular-ed teacher teaches in conjunction with a special-ed teacher; self-contained classes refer to a class for students whose performance in a given subject is three or more years below their current grade level – these classes are smaller and are taught solely by a special-ed teacher. Resource center classes are also taught entirely by a special-ed teacher, but are taught more at grade level than self-contained classes. Students with autism at both East and West participate in a wide range of classes from the Honors track to self-contained classes.

“We’re proud of our programs,” said Metzger. “We’re proud of what we do.”

Arthur Aston, the founder of Miracle League, is a firm believer in the idea that “anyone, regardless of ability, can achieve their goals, when given the opportunity.”

And so, with the help of a group of student volunteers, he set out to form Miracle League, a program designed to give people with disabilities the chance to partake in America’s favorite pastime: baseball.

The league is a part of Jake’s Place – a nonprofit dedicated to building all-inclusive playgrounds where both abled and disabled children can play. The program offers both a Minor League as well as a Major League, with children as young as five years old joining in on all the fun.

To play, each participant is first assigned a student volunteer, or rather a buddy. The buddy assists the player with hitting the ball, running to the bases and protecting them in the field. But to volunteers like Hope Seybold (‘19), who has been working with Miracle League for over three years now, the program means so much more.

“To me, the most meaningful part of Miracle League is the connections I make with the players. You see them every week, so you start to become friends with them. Besides, the kids and the adults really love doing it, so seeing how happy it makes them is what really keeps me coming back for more,” said Seybold.

Seybold, along with Aliyah Anderson (‘19) currently run the Miracle League Chapter at Cherry Hill East. Prior to the start of the Spring and Fall Seasons, Seybold and Anderson organize a meeting for all interested students. This year’s spring season is set to begin on April 21st and every Saturday after that from 10:00 to 12:00, around 15 to 20 student volunteers will pair off and play baseball. On average, the minor league contains ten consistent players and the major league comprises of anywhere from 15 to 20 players.

But despite its current grandeur, the club is still relatively new. In fact, it was in the spring of 2016 that Hope Seybold, her older sister Holly Seybold (‘17) and Joe Levin (‘17) decided to bring the program to East. And the results of their hard work were a smashing success. The first meeting, alone, boasted well of 90 prospective volunteers.

Now, with the weight of the club left to Seybold and Anderson, they are more than excited to see what this upcoming season has in store.

“I always look forward to the seasons starting because Miracle League really does mean everything to me,” said Seybold. “It is so important because people with disabilities, whether it be autism or physical disabilities, don’t always have the same opportunities to play on sports teams or to even throw and hit a baseball. Miracle League is able to give them that chance.”

According to the US Census, there are about 12,000 people with disabilities in Camden County. Of the 12,000, 70 are registered to play in the league. Both Seybold and Anderson hope that the percentage will continue to grow in the coming years so that one day everyone can accomplish their dream and maybe even just hit a home run.

How you can get involved: Miracle League first meeting for the Spring Season is set to take place after school on April 13th. If you are interested in helping out, be sure to attend the meeting.

Within the myriad causes East supports with its various drives and fundraisers, autism awareness has been conspicuously absent. The Interact Club, however, along with Assistant Principal Mr. Tom Storer, is endeavoring to change that.

Storer is the Vice-President and Treasurer of the Gloucester County Special Services Educational Foundation (GCSSEF), an organization which, through its funding of the Bankridge Developmental School offers multiple programs to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their parents, for a total of over 275,000 people served in all. Storer approached the faculty adviser of the Interact Club, Mrs. Debbie Jastrow, with the idea to start an in-school fundraiser for the GCSSEF. Storer also suggested the interact club participate in the organization’s annual autism walk, which occurs in October.

The in-school fundraiser will likely occur at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, according to Storer, and will model itself on the club’s candy bar fundraiser earlier this year to support hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.

“”Last year, [Interact club] had their candy sale for hurricane relief…” said Storer. “[Jastrow] thought that maybe she could run that again next year, and maybe donate a portion of that to the autism walk.”

The funds raised from the fundraiser will go to fund some of the extra-scholastic programs offered by the GCSSEF, like parent ‘Fun Friday’  nights — where parents can drop off their kids in a safe environment and go out.

“They’ll have their teachers; they’ll do their activities for two to three hours, and the parents will be able to go out to dinner, or go out and [see] a movie, and do things that they can’t normally do,” said Storer.

The organization also provides trainings for students–and parents of students–with autism.

“A lot of schools in Gloucester County don’t provide educational opportunities and services for kids with autism, sp we [rovide the extra training for them,” said Storer.

Ultimately, Storer and the Interact Club hope to create a community that is more aware of the unique needs of students with ASD while helping to raise money for programs that aid those most affected by it. So keep an eye out for Interact Club’s efforts to aid the GCSSEF next fall and beyond. )