For many students, giving a lengthy presentation in front of Cherry Hill High School East’s entire teaching staff and administration would be more than nerve-wracking. However, this was not the case for East senior Rivi Jay (‘26).
Jay, a student who was constantly bullied for being on the autism spectrum, founded the East Autism Acceptance Club (AAC) in September 2023. Her mission was to embrace her own neurodivergence while also advocating for others and creating a safe environment for autistic students to come together during the school day.
Most recently, Jay was asked to speak in front of the East teaching staff and administration during the August 28 professional development seminar in preparation for the school year.
Jay created a presentation that represented her journey living as a teenager on the spectrum— a life flooded with questions, misunderstandings, and, unfortunately, bullying. She created a basic slideshow, one that could be adapted to fit any audience she was presenting in front of.
“I wanted to include a little bit about social skill challenges and sensory challenges, when our stimming patterns are, meltdowns versus shutdowns and what that trajectory looks like, and then also [go] into the strengths in regard to our attention to detail, our good memories and our special interests,” said Jay.
Jay first created this presentation for an elementary-aged audience when she presented to Woodcrest Elementary School on April 2, 2025, World Autism Acceptance Day. The Autism Acceptance Club was later asked to present for East’s Interact Club. After seeing the success of the presentation, special education teacher Mr. David Allen and numerous other teachers reached out to Mr. Finkle, asking if Jay could speak to the staff as part of their professional development.
“I’m very honored to have had this opportunity,” said Jay. “No part of me thought that my advocacy efforts would turn into as big of a thing as what they have become, but I’m incredibly proud of it and hope to continue.”
According to Jay, the biggest impact of this workshop was the higher levels of understanding teachers reached regarding the complexity of autism. By featuring her own unique experiences, including why she sometimes asks millions of questions within a single period, or how her brain often takes longer to grasp certain concepts, Jay encouraged teachers to look beyond the typical stereotypes that surround students on the spectrum.
“I have a son who is 22 with down syndrome and autism who has trouble articulating his emotions,” said East choir teacher Mrs. Lausi. “Through Rivi’s presentation, I was able to understand his brain better, specifically when Rivi talked about how most people are able to ‘close the tabs of their mind computers’ when they’re done processing sensory and social skill information, but those tabs are still open in her mind and just build up over time. That really resonated with me and helped me relate to my son even better.”
Jay emphasized that each individual has their own purpose in the world, and those with autism are no exception. That being said, each one has their own unique experience in that world, and therefore one cannot label one autistic individual’s experience as universal for everyone living on the spectrum.
“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism… Everyone’s different,” said Jay.
Jay hopes to share this presentation and continue her advocacy efforts throughout the year for other schools, companies, and businesses in the area. After graduating from East, she hopes to double-major in psychology and cognitive science, with a lifelong dream of becoming an industrial-organizational psychologist. She would also love to host her own TED talk someday, sharing her story with a much wider audience.
