David made posters and flyers which he placed around the school and he asked the children and teachers who make the morning announcements to announce the first after-school meeting, and he asked everyone he knew to come. The night before the first meeting, he worried that nobody would show up. Much to his surprise, three teachers, three parents and eight students attended the first meeting. A Bak teacher and I spoke to the group about autism. We explained that the spectrum was broad, we talked about how most people with autism are socially isolated, and we shared pictures and biographies of famous people with autism. After this general "introduction to autism" we went around the room and each person spoke about how this disability has affected his or her life.

One girl talked about what it was like having an older brother with Asperger's Syndrome and a younger brother with autism. She explained that something as simple as going to the mall usually turned into a complete nightmare for her family. She talked about the stress this placed on her mother. Another boy talked about what it was like having a younger brother with autism. With tears in his eyes, he said he hoped that there would be a cure for autism in his lifetime, so he could have a full and complete relationship with his brother. I spoke about how hard it was for me to hear that my son wandered around the cafeteria at lunch not knowing where to sit, day after day. And with each story, I looked around the room and saw that, somehow, being able to share each other's pain was an important first step for those who had opted to join the club.

After everyone shared their personal experiences with autism, the kids made additional posters to place around the school. They become excited and animated discussing the many ways they could raise money for Autism Speaks, which included a t-shirt contest, attending the Walk, making and selling bottle cap necklaces with the blue puzzle piece in the center, selling candy, selling Autism Speaks puzzle pieces in the school cafeteria and giving privileges to those who made a contribution. At the end of the meeting, we announced that we would meet again next month. But, the kids said that they didn't want to wait that long and suggested meeting again the following week to start on their fundraising projects. So, we scheduled a second meeting for the following week.

Prior to the second meeting, some interesting and wonderful things started to happen at school for David. When the next meeting was announced (on the morning announcements) several of the kids from David's first period class, yelled "Go David!" Then they high-fived him and he smiled and laughed. One of the kids from the club saw him wondering around the cafeteria and invited him to join her for lunch. Another girl told David she knew what it was like to feel different. She told David that she is African American and Christian but grew up in a Caucasian, predominantly Jewish neighborhood that has no kids. She also told David that she has ADHD, but never felt comfortable talking about these things. Another boy privately told David that he has Tourette's Syndrome. Numerous other children asked David if they, too, could join the club. So, as you can see, the first meeting and the ensuing discussions caused a ripple effect throughout the student body.

Rather than coming home from school feeling stressed and socially isolated, David started coming home talking about the social connections he was making. One night, a girl from the club called and left a message for David to call her back. David, who is anxious and uncomfortable on the phone, e-mailed her and told her that he found it hard to talk on the phone. But, she just called him right back and they spent forty minutes talking on the phone. This was a BIG first for my son.

David has been seeing a therapist to deal with the social anxiety he has at school. After the first meeting and several days of positive reinforcement from his peers at school, he went to his weekly appointment and announced that he no longer felt the need to come. He told me that he had friends and classmates he could talk to now, so it was no longer necessary to pay a therapist. Another day when I took him to the orthodontist, a beautiful young girl yelled across the waiting room, "Hi David. I want to join your club. What day is it meeting next?" And, when we returned home from that appointment, there was a phone message from a sixth grade girl who said: "I want to join the Autism Speaks Club because there is a boy in chorus with autism and he is treated differently. I don't like that and I want to work to change it."

The positive reactions of David's peers have been like a salve to the wounds he and I have from years of assaults by people who just didn't understand his disability. In the past, kids used call him many derogatory names - simply because they knew he was different - but didn't have a label for the difference. Somehow, by announcing to the world that he has autism and being able to stand proud of who he is has been life altering for him. To me, this is very exciting. But, what is even more inspiring, is to see how talking openly about his own disability has encouraged other children with challenges to come forward.

It is my sincere hope that each and every school in our nation will sponsor an Autism Speaks Student Club. The end result is the enlightenment of many - children, parents and teachers - as well as those who have autism. With each person who is so enlightened, the world becomes a better place for all of us.