Teachers at Pine Lake Middle School have a new pick-me-up to look forward to on Friday mornings: Steamed Lightning Espresso, after the student-operated coffee service opened this morning to the sounds of steamed milk and pulled shots.

Gail Oseran’s Communications Lab, a class that helps students with Asperger’s Syndrome practice social skills, sets up the espresso machine every Friday morning in the cooking lab to brew up lattes and mochas as a means of interacting with the community around them.

“These kids are used to having people doing things for them, and not the other way around,” Oseran said. “I wanted to put together something where they could help others and give back, but also have that community interaction going on.”

Asperger’s Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder, and people affected with it have difficulties with social interaction and communication.

Oserman’s class brings together about 12 students with the disorder and helps them develop and recognize the skills needed to be successful in their core classes.

They play games, are building a garden, and work in groups to do presentations, among others things.

“It’s tough for them in the morning, they come in real rocky,” Oseran said. “We wanted them to come in to a safe place to land and decompress before they move on to the rest of their day, and we’ve been really successful with it.”

Brewing coffee is a good way to practice those skills because it’s hands on, requires both leadership and teamwork, and successful communication, she said.

The students have been training to make and serve the coffee for about six weeks, Oseran said.

A barista from the Starbucks in Pine Lake Village donated his time and taught the students how to use the espresso machine and put together a variety of simple drinks.

Oseran was able to purchase the machine with a grant given to her by the Pine Lake PTSA.

“It was just so wonderful to receive that,” she said. “I approached them about this idea and they were

just all for it.”

Teachers pay a small fee for their drinks, which covers the price of the cups, milk, flavored syrups and other supplies. Oseran said the students are able to make about 20 drinks a day currently, but they’re hoping to buy a smaller espresso machine so they can boost their sales.

The students also deliver the

drinks to teachers ­— and then teachers report back to Oseran on how the interactions went.

“Part of the teacher’s job for getting a coffee is to engage the student in social interaction,” Oseran said. “They need to encourage them to talk and make eye contact when they’re dropping off the drinks.”

She also said that teachers love the coffee service, and helping the students out.

“Everyone’s just so thrilled with the program,” Oseran said. “It engages the students in a helpful and practical way.” w

Oseran and a parent volunteer spearheaded the Communications Lab class several years ago, citing the need to provide the students with a place to practice their social skills.

“They just aren’t so good with that social component,” she said. “They don’t know how to have a peer conversation, with that give and take. So we talk about how to work out conflicts, and work with others.”

Oseran said people with Asperger’s tend to isolate themselves, and so one of the most important parts of the class is to teach students how to be “part of the world at large”; one of the class rules is that students aren’t allowed to seperate themselves from the group.

Oseran said the class has been immensely successful, and that both the students and teachers can see a performance difference in core classes.

PLMS is the only school in the district with a program catered toward students with the disorder.

“It’s such a great program, and it’s really grown and developed with the students,” Oseran said. “It’s great for everyone involved.”