Anthony's Act of Courage
By Anthony Pater
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
By Anthony Pater
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
My son Anthony was diagnosed with autism shortly after he turned two. Over the past four years, my fears and anxieties have diminished tremendously, as Anthony has made incredible progress, thanks to many caring and wonderful teachers in his verbal behavior classroom, his Montessori class, and with his awesome aide and speech therapist. Entering his kindergarten
year, Anthony did not need special education services. Three months later he was evaluated again, this time for gifted services, which he qualified for.
This past December, Anthony decided that he wanted to try out for a children's play, “Mr. Sparkle”, at our local community theater, along with his eight-year old sister Kailyn, his seven-year old stepbrother Luke, and his thirteen-year old stepbrother Howie. They all had tremendous auditions but, unfortunately, Kailyn and Luke did not get a part (there were approximately 120 children trying out with only about 70 parts). Howie and Anthony attended practice for weeks building up to the one-night-only performance. Anthony was cast as the lead part in his scene as Max, the King of the Wild Things, from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are. Witnessing his practice, it was clear that Anthony had the energy to play his role and ability to memorize his lines. During dress rehearsal, however, Anthony's nerves prevailed as he announced, “Ahh, I'm feeling a little worried” as he stepped on to stage. With the redirection of the only adult on stage, “Mr. Sparkle” (Jonathan O'Hara), Anthony proceeded, but a number of odd behaviors and comments followed. Anthony continued to respond well to Jonathan's redirection, remembered his lines, stayed in character and they made it through the scene. While most in the audience laughed because Anthony is so terribly cute and, all in all, he really did do a good job, the pride I felt for all the courage Anthony displayed was outweighed by the return of all those old fears. Would he be accepted by his peers? Would he unknowingly embarrass himself? I know that these are normal feelings for all parents but for those of us who love a child with autism, these feelings can be overwhelming. When Anthony came off stage, Howie, along with the directors, praised, encouraged, and gently coached him. Following the dress rehearsal, Luke ran to hug Anthony and, along with Kailyn, told him what a wonderful job he did. “How was it, Anthony?” we asked. “Good,” he responded, smiling ear-to-ear. That night and the following day, my beautiful wife Pam helped to keep my fears in perspective. She reminded me that “Mr. Sparkle” was not going to determine the direction of his life; that Anthony's future was as bright as any one's, and, most of all, that Anthony, along with all our children, has what it takes within him to make it in this world.
The night of the show, hundreds of people showed up for Altoona, Pennsylvania's, now famous “Mr. Sparkle”. I wished Anthony luck as he and Howie (a veteran of dozens of theater productions) went backstage. The show was going off without a hitch as Anthony's audience of a dozen anxiously awaited his part. As Anthony, I mean, Max, ran on to stage he loudly proclaimed his first line, “I'LL EAT YOU UP!” From this point on, Anthony's face was lit up with excitement as he danced and sang “Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing” with his stage mates. While he was dancing, his crown fell over his eyes but, unlike earlier in the week when this served as a major distraction, Anthony kept on going to the delight of everyone, gently adjusting it (a few times as a matter of fact), all the while maintaining that famous smile. Afterwards Anthony joined the cast, all of whom were older than him, at a restaurant and after interacting for a while, fell asleep sitting up awaiting his pizza.
The next day I took Anthony to the cast party. We were late arriving but as soon as he walked through the door, numerous kids rushed to him to congratulate him on a job well done. Anthony was so proud as they asked him to sign their “Mr. Sparkle” t-shirts. Near the end of the party, the director, Karen Volpe, requested everyone's attention as she announced one final award. The award, Karen proclaimed, was given to the performer who “had the most unforgettable ad-libs during the week but absolutely nailed his performance come show time”. Everyone rushed to congratulate Anthony once again as he received his certificate. To further put into words how I felt at this point is frivolous and to see the look on Anthony's face was beyond priceless. The kindness and talents of Karen, Jonathan, Altoona Community Theater members Ellen Lambert, Sara Slep, Gina and Rachel Volpe, along with the love and support of his brothers, sisters and entire family have made Anthony's first acting experience a memory that we will cherish in our own words and hearts forever.
This past December, Anthony decided that he wanted to try out for a children's play, “Mr. Sparkle”, at our local community theater, along with his eight-year old sister Kailyn, his seven-year old stepbrother Luke, and his thirteen-year old stepbrother Howie. They all had tremendous auditions but, unfortunately, Kailyn and Luke did not get a part (there were approximately 120 children trying out with only about 70 parts). Howie and Anthony attended practice for weeks building up to the one-night-only performance. Anthony was cast as the lead part in his scene as Max, the King of the Wild Things, from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are. Witnessing his practice, it was clear that Anthony had the energy to play his role and ability to memorize his lines. During dress rehearsal, however, Anthony's nerves prevailed as he announced, “Ahh, I'm feeling a little worried” as he stepped on to stage. With the redirection of the only adult on stage, “Mr. Sparkle” (Jonathan O'Hara), Anthony proceeded, but a number of odd behaviors and comments followed. Anthony continued to respond well to Jonathan's redirection, remembered his lines, stayed in character and they made it through the scene. While most in the audience laughed because Anthony is so terribly cute and, all in all, he really did do a good job, the pride I felt for all the courage Anthony displayed was outweighed by the return of all those old fears. Would he be accepted by his peers? Would he unknowingly embarrass himself? I know that these are normal feelings for all parents but for those of us who love a child with autism, these feelings can be overwhelming. When Anthony came off stage, Howie, along with the directors, praised, encouraged, and gently coached him. Following the dress rehearsal, Luke ran to hug Anthony and, along with Kailyn, told him what a wonderful job he did. “How was it, Anthony?” we asked. “Good,” he responded, smiling ear-to-ear. That night and the following day, my beautiful wife Pam helped to keep my fears in perspective. She reminded me that “Mr. Sparkle” was not going to determine the direction of his life; that Anthony's future was as bright as any one's, and, most of all, that Anthony, along with all our children, has what it takes within him to make it in this world.
The night of the show, hundreds of people showed up for Altoona, Pennsylvania's, now famous “Mr. Sparkle”. I wished Anthony luck as he and Howie (a veteran of dozens of theater productions) went backstage. The show was going off without a hitch as Anthony's audience of a dozen anxiously awaited his part. As Anthony, I mean, Max, ran on to stage he loudly proclaimed his first line, “I'LL EAT YOU UP!” From this point on, Anthony's face was lit up with excitement as he danced and sang “Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing” with his stage mates. While he was dancing, his crown fell over his eyes but, unlike earlier in the week when this served as a major distraction, Anthony kept on going to the delight of everyone, gently adjusting it (a few times as a matter of fact), all the while maintaining that famous smile. Afterwards Anthony joined the cast, all of whom were older than him, at a restaurant and after interacting for a while, fell asleep sitting up awaiting his pizza.
The next day I took Anthony to the cast party. We were late arriving but as soon as he walked through the door, numerous kids rushed to him to congratulate him on a job well done. Anthony was so proud as they asked him to sign their “Mr. Sparkle” t-shirts. Near the end of the party, the director, Karen Volpe, requested everyone's attention as she announced one final award. The award, Karen proclaimed, was given to the performer who “had the most unforgettable ad-libs during the week but absolutely nailed his performance come show time”. Everyone rushed to congratulate Anthony once again as he received his certificate. To further put into words how I felt at this point is frivolous and to see the look on Anthony's face was beyond priceless. The kindness and talents of Karen, Jonathan, Altoona Community Theater members Ellen Lambert, Sara Slep, Gina and Rachel Volpe, along with the love and support of his brothers, sisters and entire family have made Anthony's first acting experience a memory that we will cherish in our own words and hearts forever.
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