la Sunday, April 20, 2008 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 TSS specialist. EXTRA Continued from Page 1 past all the diagnosis, doctors and therapists, though, it all comes down to the amount of at- tention children with autism get. That attention can stimulate them to respond, suggest the ex- perts at Autism Speaks, the ol- dest organization to advance awareness of autism. “It’s amazing the spontaneous language we heard today,” Su- zanne remarks. “Did you hear Bradley introduce you to his teacher?” she gushes. “We started the shop to pro- vide a warm accepting atmo- sphere for young people with dis- abilities to learn,” Suzanne adds. “We know they can learn if they have a chance.” The boys greet Mike Naper- kowski and Jim Youkoski, Wilkes-Barre Public Works De- partment workers and regulars whom they remember from the previous week. A pot full of hearty hellos begins and the boys aré'drawn to the’encouragement from the burly men. 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The shop, on New Street, opened last September. “People in the community have been very welcoming and stop in regularly,” says Lee Sekora, a 30- year veteran learning support teacher at Lake-Lehman High school who takes the boys to the shop every Monday. Sekora heard about the coffee shop from Regina Modrowsky and ‘Susan Ryan, ‘a ‘nurse’ and guidance counselor, respectively, ix | JOHN DEERE at Lake-Lehman. They suggested the boys visit and the Lake-Leh- man School District and parents have approved the coffee shop for the weekly work session. “Everybody is ecstatic (with the results),” Sekora says. Hugs, smiles and encourage- ment are routine here, making the boys relax and helping them to learn the ropes. “It’s kind of like ‘Cheers,” says Judy Gildea, a retired teacher who, along with her husband, Barry, volunteers at the shop. Once people visit the coffee shop, they are drawn in, the Jo- sephs say. They want to become more involved. And it’s easy to understand why. These boys with autism light up the restaurant, engaging everyone there. They are already neighbor- hood personality hits. There are children with autism -kids who are supposed to be able to do very little and speak even less. Yet here on a cozy hillside in the Heights section of Wilkes- Barre a bunch of these kids, along with some retired teachers, have the neighborhood bubbling with coffee and the warmth of conver- sation and friendship. MAME Continued from Page 1 acters and getting to show peo- ple this little window in someone else’s life.” Last summer, Thomas attend- ed the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts where she majored in theater. She has also " been a member of the Choral So- ciety of Northeastern Pennsylva- nia. Thomas will major in thea- ter next year at Muhlenberg Col- lege. “Mame” is set in the 1920s and 30s and is about a woman, Mame, who gains the guardian- ship of her 10-year-old orphan ne- phew, Patrick. Eventually, Pa- trick goes to college, becomes a different person and, once again, Mame steps in to save him. One of the more famous songs from the musical is “We Need a Little Christmas.” Another star performer in the Lake-LLehman musical is 15-year- old Jake Baker. The freshman, whois playing the role of Patrick, first became interested in theater when he was a Christmas pre- sent in his school play in kinder- garten. “I like being in front of an audi- ence,” Baker said. “It gives me a rush of energy.” Baker was active in local thea- ter as a child in his home state of Maryland. After moving to the area at age 10, he got involved in the Little Theater and the Music Box Dinner Playhouse. At the school level, Baker has played Winthrop in “The Music Man,” Dodger in “Oliver” and is currently filling a role for a show at Meyers High School. But this young thespian has no plans of majoring in theater in college. Instead, he wants to be an orthodontist. Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School chorus director Jo- nathan Pineno says he chose “Mame” because it allows him to feature his three strong female students, Emily Thomas, Kiri Koziol and Leah Conklin, who have been active in the chorus throughout their high school ca- reer. Koziol, 15,..a, sophomore, is playing the role of Vera. She first CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTO Kiri Koziol (Vera), Emily Tho- mas (Mame), Jake Baker (Pa- trick) and Joseph Johnson (Ito) practice their lines. Fine Arts Exhibit: display of student works Thursday, April 24 through Sat- urday, April 26. The exhibit will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. each night. Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School lobby performed in a Lake-Lehman High School play while in the sixth grade. Pineno was in need of elementary children for “The Music Man” that year and Koziol volunteered. Since then, she has played Bet in “Oliver” at Lake- Lehman and Mrs. Bedwin in “Ol- iver” at the Performing Arts In- stitute at Wyoming Seminary. “I like doing it live and per- forming in front of people,” Ko- ziol said. During her role as Mrs. Bed- win, Koziol was forced to improv half a scene when the curtain did not go down like it was supposed to. Vera will be her first big role in a musical. Due to the small number of boys in the chorus at Lake-Leh- man Junior/Senior High School, some male roles will be played by females in the upcoming produc- tion “Mame.” Ralph Devine has been changed to Ruth Devine, Uncle Jeff to Aunt Jess, Cousin Fan to Cousin Fran, Mr. Upson to Marie Upson, doorman to doorperson and elevator boy to elevator girl. Pineno says about 10 boys in the chorus graduated last year and, since then, the chorus has mainly been composed of girls. Although it is uncommon for high schools to present “Mame” because of the many middle- aged characters, Pineno says Dal- las High School performed the show about 10 years ago. THEN LET THEM PAY YOU. When you do what you love to do, it's not really work at all. Now you can find the job you love, where you love to live. Your calling is calling—find it at timesleader.monster.com. timesleader.com Monster: a timeslieader.monster.com
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