Autistic boy's graduation speech captivates 8th-grade Plainfield, IL. classmates : June 9 2011

The Herald-News : June 9 2011

Wearing waterproof mascara and armed with a wad of tissues in her purse, Lisa Morgan attended Drauden Point Middle School’s promotion ceremony Friday night with a nervous anticipation for her son, Austin, who has autism.

“He didn’t speak until 3 and now he’s giving a farewell speech at graduation,” Lisa said. “I just think that’s the coolest thing.”

But, she was still worried. Would he be OK sitting still during the ceremony? Should she ask his teacher to sit next to him to keep him on task, just in case?

Yes, she decided.

The road to eighth grade wasn’t easy for Austin. There were a lot of adjustments as he got used to his new environment, a situation typical for autistic students.

Lisa said that looking at Austin, one wouldn’t know he had autism until seeing some of those identifiable mannerisms, such as his hand-fluttering.

Austin is also known to break out into a rap song or even repeat a commercial in the middle of the grocery store.

He has a great memory and can hear a song once and repeat it word for word.

At Drauden, Austin participated in the functional based instruction program for students with multiple needs. There, he learned life skills, such as counting money, cooking food and spelling words that one would see in a grocery store ad.

A fan of music, Austin wanted to try out for the school musical.

But Lisa worried that he would get lost going to Drama Club, the teachers wouldn’t know how to help him and the students would ignore him.

“Is he going to stay on task or sit in a corner and talk to himself and not pay attention?” she fearfully thought.

But the school adjusted his aide’s hours so she could stay after school and Austin could be an actor.

“The staff — and more importantly the students — were absolutely amazing,” Lisa said. “They were very accepting and supportive of Austin, and that just means the world to him and to us.”

Austin just found out at the end of last year that he was different when, before getting on a ride at Disney World, he overheard his dad, Brad, tell an employee that his son has autism.

“We never told him. He always thought he was like everyone else, which is a good thing,” said Lisa, who also has an 8-year-old daughter, Haley. “But as he is getting older, he has to realize that he has autism and he might have some limitations.”

Lisa asked Austin how that made him feel. He said, “Kind of strange,” and then he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

But Friday night, he told everyone during his farewell speech. He auditioned to be a speaker and was one of three students selected out of 25 teens who tried out.

On the big night, Lisa was more nervous than Austin.

“I was a nervous wreck for him. He memorized his whole speech and he didn’t need his cards,” Lisa said. “When people asked him if he was nervous, he said, ‘The nervous train has left the station — whooo whooo!’”

And, Austin nailed his speech.

“I have loved many things about Drauden Point, but my most favorite thing was being in the Drama Club,” Austin said. “You see, I have autism, which means I learn and think differently and sometimes might act differently, too.

“When I joined Drama Club everyone accepted me for who I was. They treated me like everyone else and were always there to help me whenever I needed them.

“The students in the class of 2011 aren’t just my classmates; they are my family away from home. In the cookies of life, these friends are the chocolate chips. Drauden Point will always hold a special place in my heart.”

At the end of his speech, he got a standing ovation.

“When he said he had autism, I started to lose it,” Lisa said. “He was one of three students to speak. When he was the only student who got a standing ovation. When everyone stood up, that’s when I lost it.”

She had a good cry, but Austin was smiling.

“I did very good,” he said. “It was a farewell speech. It was my opportunity to be famous.”

“Students were high-fiving him.” Lisa said. “Classmates were taking pictures with him. One of his classmates said the girl next to her was crying. A taller gentleman stopped by and said he was crying. Austin moved a lot of people.”