By Piper Wallingford
Christina Torres does not usually bring her son, Daniel, to storytime at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble. But April 2 is different because the day’s story promotes awareness and acceptance of autism, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate and relate to others.
In the sunny conference room, Torres plops her son next to a young man sitting on a pillow. The two boys slurp apple juice and munch on animal crackers while waiting for the story.
“Daniel this is Raymond. Raymond, this is Daniel,” says Torres.
“Hi Daniel, I’m 13,” says Raymond Reyes. “How old are you?”
Despite being autistic, Raymond is articulate and mature. Like Raymond, many autistic children learn to cope with autism and can overcome behaviors associated with the disorder. Torres has brought her son to meet Raymond because she wants him to learn that autism children are the same as he is. .
Many people do not understand what autism is or the challenges that families affected by autism face. But the United Nations declared April 2 the first World Autism Awareness Day in the hopes of promoting acceptance and understanding. Daniel and Raymond met at an autism storytime event, hosted by Barnes & Noble and Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism advocacy group. According to Autism Speaks Executive Vice President Peter Bell, awareness is the first step toward eliminating autism, a disorder with no known prevention methods, treatments, or cures.
The program’s goal was to raise autism awareness among children by providing a comfortable setting where autistic and non-autistic children could interact.
“It’s important for children to understand that some people are different, but too often only the differences are talked about,” said Bell. “Children should understand the similarities they have with autistic children as well. The reality is almost everything is the same.”
Barnes & Noble and Autism Speaks organized the storytime, where actress Kim Raver read “Since We’re Friends,” by Celeste Shally. Like Raymond and Daniel, the book tells the story of two friends, one of whom is autistic.
“It’s a story about people with autism and people without autism,” said Barnes & Noble’s Creative Director Glen Kaplan.
Autism Speaks recommended the book because children could easily understand the message of acceptance and aid.
Raver, who appears in ABC’s “Lipstick Jungle,” brought her son Luke to the event. “It’s good that he’s being exposed to people who are different,” said Raver, adding that the event was important because it taught acceptance to children.
Luke, 6, thought that helping others, even if they are different, was important. “It’s a good story because the boy helps his other friend,” he said.
After the United Nations created World Autism Awareness Day on November 27, 2007, Autism Speaks contacted Barnes & Noble. According to Barnes & Noble employee Carolyn Brown, Kaplan and Bell both have autistic sons, which is one reason that the program came together. “Autism awareness is obviously very important to Glen,” said Brown. “Because he’s passionate about the issue, everything came together as an organic whole.”
Bell wanted to work with Barnes & Noble because families affected by autism would feel comfortable at bookstores. “Bookstores are popular among autistic families because of the availability of books that are easy to understand,” explained Bell. He added that his 15-year-old son will stay in a bookstore reading Dr. Seuss books for hours.
Because bookstores are a place where autistic and non-autistic people interact, they are also the perfect place to raise awareness.
“Anytime people come together, it’s going to help bring awareness. You never know who you are going to touch next,” said Bell. “It could be the parent who brought her children, or the man sitting outside who sees something going on and sticks his head in.”
For Bell, awareness is important because autism can affect any family. “Autism isn’t a disease with cultural boundaries,” said Bell. “It’s a global disease and needs global recognition. Once people are aware of autism, they can start to help.”
Torres, who works at the National Institute for People with Disabilities, sees the event as a sign of progress. “I’ve worked at the institute for six years,” said Torres. “When I asked people ‘What is autism?’ They would say ‘what’s that?’”
That is why it is important to teach awareness to children, said Torres, because they will be the ones who stop autism. “If we understand what causes autism, how to cure it, then there never has to be another event like this,” she said.
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