Field trip for autistic student a great success

Iwould like to take a moment to thank the managers, staff and shoppers of Stop and Shop on Brick Boulevard in Brick.

My son's class went on a trip to the grocery store on Jan. 31. They went with the other two LLD classes from Lanes Mill School. To just say the trip was a great experience for all the kids would be an understatement. It was absolutely fantastic.

The managers and staff at Stop and Shop were so enthusiastic and friendly. It's not always easy speaking to a person who may not be giving you eye contact, as it is with autistic children, but the staff from each department looked beyond that barrier and explained exactly what goes on in each department.

One in 150 children that are born today will be diagnosed with autism. One in 94 and one in 60 boys are affected in New Jersey. More children are diagnosed with autism each year than cancer, AIDS and diabetes combined.

It is vitally important that these children get accustomed to their local community and for the local community to be familiar with autistic people, too. Autism is a disorder that has many different components to it.

One or more of the following are just some of the characteristics: tantrum, laugh or giggle for no apparent reason, ignore another person's presence, extreme sensitivity to light, sound or touch, lack of eye contact, no fear of danger, insensitive to pain, self-stimulating behavior like hand flapping or body rocking.

My hat is off to the Board of Education, the three LLD teachers, Mrs. Masefield, Miss Scott andMrs.McCook and their hard working paraprofessionals from LanesMill School, as well asMr. Luckenbach, principal of Lanes Mills School. Last but not least I like to thank Pudgy's Pizza for the great tasting pizza and the hospitality.

Thank you all, again and again, from top to bottom, for this trip and for all the trips that allow our kids to get out and be in the "real" world.

Kim Vaccaro

Brick