Local Business Helps Create Autism Awareness Video

You wouldn't know it by looking at them, but 6-year-old twins Richard and Victoria Suske are children with autism.

"Because they look like a typical child, people outside don't fully understand," said their mother, Lauren Suske. "They expect a different type of behavior."

For Lauren and her husband, Peter, dealing with their children's autism is an every day process that only becomes more challenging when they go out in public.

Interactions at restaurants and other businesses can sometimes be trying, she said, because the employees at these institutions aren't trained to serve children with disabilities.

It's for this reason that one local hospital has started filming a video to help businesses with the issue.

Earlier this year, Children’s Specialized Hospital partnered with Kohl’s Care, the community relations department of Kohl’s Department Stores, to create “Make Friends with Autism,” a community-focused autism awareness program.  

The goal of the program, according to autism educator and Scotch Plains resident Adrienne Robertiello, is to build community partnerships that encourage appreciation, inclusion, support, and understanding of people with autism and their families.

As part of that initiative, Children’s Specialized Hospital is producing an educational video that will better explain autism, while dispelling fears and false perceptions and encouraging the acceptance and inclusion of people with autism within their communities.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group filming the video stopped by Sports Place on South Avenue in Fanwood to film the Suske children playing with others their age in a public setting.

"When we opened, we knew it'd be all about kids, but this just kind of snowballed," said Sports Place owner Maria Wester. "We’ve had a few kids with disabilities come in, and it's been rewarding to see them in here with their families having fun."

The Suske children were taped playing sports games and doing crafts with other children, while Wester demonstrated ways to address them that may be different from what she’d do with other children.

“You have two more minutes, two more,” Wester said, as the children finished up their crafts activity.

Robertiello explained that using specific time frames can help autistic children process their instructions.

"I hear nothing but thanks from families saying, 'No one ever thought about the businesses,'" she said. "This is every single day for them, in the context of life outside of the house. If there is one of those meltdowns, for instance, it could be because of something environmental. This will help businesses respond to that."

The video will be available on the “Make Friends with Autism” website in the fall, which will be the home for resource tools, guides, and resources to assist businesses, recreation providers, community members, and people with autism to interact with each other.  

The video will also be used during informational training sessions for businesses, organizations, and schools in the New Jersey area.

The director is Mary Olive Smith, who's the same director that worked on the local libraries' video "Libraries and Autism: We're Connected."

"Hopefully with this, places will be more understanding," Lauren Suske said.