Tuesday, September 11, 2012

EDUCATION - News Live From Worrall Elementary

"From the Halls of Worrall Elementary School, News by Students with Aspergers" PBS Newshour 9/10/2012

Excerpt

BETTY ANN BOWSER (Newshour): It was straight to the top for Donato Tocci. At 11 years old, he's already a television news anchor. And he's about to go live.

WOMAN: You look great, Donato.

ANNOUNCER: This is Action 7 News.

DONATO TOCCI, Action 7 News: I'm Donato Tocci, reporting live.

BETTY ANN BOWSER: News has an agenda at Worrall Elementary School in Broomall, Pennsylvania. The reporters aren't simply young and driven. They also have Asperger's syndrome.

Children with this form of autism often have trouble with social cues, like facial expressions and gestures and working well with others. And that's the very reason Asperger's specialist Randy Rentz and speech pathologist Kristen Dercole developed the newscast filled with kid-friendly skits and commercials.

They wanted their students to see the world from another angle.

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