To you, the daily school note
may have sounded
matter-of-fact, but to Irene
Willis it spelled victory.In
her son Teddy's journal, his
teacher wrote that in the
Tuesday morning meeting,
Teddy's teacher read a book to
the class about Asperger's
syndrome and then let Teddy
talk about living with this
disorder.'It's a start.
F
more

To you, the daily school note
may have sounded
matter-of-fact, but to Irene
Willis it spelled victory.In
her son Teddy's journal, his
teacher wrote that in the
Tuesday morning meeting,
Teddy's teacher read a book to
the class about Asperger's
syndrome and then let Teddy
talk about living with this
disorder.'It's a start.
Finally, maybe things will get
better for him,' Irene said.
'That is what it's all about.
He just needs a little
help.'Now, Teddy, 11, is
planning on bringing his
one-boy, autism-awareness
campaign to the Council Rock
school board during the public
comments portion of Thursday
night's meeting, Irene said
Tuesday.Initially, his
principal at Goodnoe
Elementary refused the
fifth-grader's request to talk
about his autism disorder with
classmates. Principal Eileen
Dwell was concerned it might
violate the privacy of other
students.In a Courier Times
story last Sunday, Teddy
talked about his efforts to
share what it's like to live
with Asperger's syndrome.
Following publication, autism
support Web sites, listserves
and blogs posted links to the
story and an accompanying
slide show featuring
Teddy.Asperger's is a mild
form of autism, a disorder
that impairs a person's
ability to connect with the
world, form relationships or
communicate. People with
Asperger's often are described
as highly intelligent, but
they experience behavior or
social difficulties.The Willis
family and the newspaper have
been flooded with e-mails
supporting Teddy and
criticizing Dwell's decision
to not let him speak to
students during a pre-class
activity during April, which
is autism awareness month.The
Courier Times was unsuccessful
in reaching Dwell late Tuesday
afternoon for
comment.'Children with autism
spectrum disorders face many
daily challenges, but one of
the biggest is the challenge
of prejudice and
misinformation,' said Cathy
Gallagher, a Middletown
resident. 'Principal Dwell may
feel that she is protecting
students' privacy, but she is
really making a statement that
'special' education students
are different.'Not only do
students with disabilities
know they're different, but
everyone else already knows
who they are, wrote Narberth
resident Karin Fox, whose
6-year-old daughter is
autistic.'Do the kids with
peanut allergies and diabetes
have to keep silent?' Fox
said. 'He should be admired
for his attitude â?? not
pushed and shushed back into
the closet.'The support has
been overwhelming, Irene
Willis said, adding that Teddy
and the family hope by sharing
his story it will inspire
parents to talk with their
kids about people who are
'different' and promote an
atmosphere of tolerance.During
autism awareness month,
Goodnoe Elementary is making
an effort to heighten
awareness of 'invisible
differences' among staff and
students, Dwell has said. But
this is the first year the
school has undertaken the
effort. Dwell felt student
speakers shouldn't be part of
the activities.Slightly more
than 8 percent of Council Rock
School District's 1,981
special education students
last year received services
for autism disorders, more
than any other district in
Bucks County, according to
state statistics. Goodnoe has
a large population of special
education students with autism
disorders, Dwell said.Teddy,
who was diagnosed with
Asperger's at age 6, splits
time in special and regular
education classes, but school
can be hard for her son, Irene
Willis said. His behaviors
often are misunderstood.
Sometimes, he gets frustrated,
loses his temper or cries,
which makes him a target for
frequent teasing, Teddy and
Irene said.Teddy hopes his
classmates will understand him
a little better.'I feel very
good I shared because now they
know,' he said.

Category Travel & Places

Tags autism, autistic, aspergers, pddnos, christschool, teddywillis, philcommander2, thecommanders