High school senior Sydney Weber had her moment in the spotlight last fall when she served as Homecoming Princess at Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish. The Issaquah student will return to center stage for the Perspectives on Autism event from 4-8 p.m. April 26 at the high school.
Weber, 18, knows first-hand about the challenges students with autism face when they try to blend in with the crowd. According to her mother, Weber transferred from public school to Eastside Catholic to be part of the Options Program.
“Having peer tutors helps me with my schoolwork,” said Weber. “They have become my friends. I think that God wanted me to go to EC and that’s why I’m here.”
Mat Maximo is a 17-year-old junior from Sammamish who has learned valuable lessons in life from sharing a classroom with students on the spectrum.
“The Options Program has given me a realistic perspective,” he explained. “I’ve learned not to be judgmental of others. It’s kind of cool to see how students can come together to support all of the other all the kids at our school.”
The Options program at Eastside Catholic can accommodate as many as 20 students, according to Charlene Kletzly, the director of admissions at the school. There are eight students enrolled in the nationally-recognized program.
The Perspectives on Autism event is being sponsored by the nonprofit organization Autism Day WA and hosted by Eastside Catholic as part of Autism Awareness Month in April. The event will feature resources for parents and experts in the field sharing their stories and answering questions during round table discussions.
The Perspectives program is free and open to the public from 4-8 p.m. Sponsors are still collecting experiences that can be auctioned off as the fundraising portion of the evening. The program on the plateau was coordinated to compliment the Third Annual Autism Acceptance Video Game Tournament at Bellevue College that starts at 11a.m. on the same day.
“The programs being planned at BC in the morning and at Eastside Catholic that afternoon have been created to be both practical and engaging for parents, caregivers and for young people diagnosed with autism,” explained Lynne Banki, the founder of Autism Day WA. “We want the items in our auction to be equally unique and engaging.”
Additional information on this year’s event is available at www.autismdaywa.org. For information on donations or participation, contact Banki directly at lynne@autismdaywa.com or call 425-802-7420.
Information about the Autism Spectrum Navigators at Bellevue College (www.bellevuecollege.edu/autismspectrumnavigators/about/program/) is available from Sara Gardner at sara.gardner@bellevuecollege.edu.
Information on the Options Program, Integrated Special Education at Eastside Catholic should be directed to the Options program coordinator, Patricia Welsh at pwelsh@eastsidecatholic.org or Charlene Kletzly at ckletzly@eastsidecatholic.org or 425-295-3014.
