BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer
TALI ISRAELI Will Prewitt, 11, (l) who has Asperger’s syndrome, enjoyed playing baseball this spring in the Marlboro Little League. MARLBORO – Will Prewitt is capable of doing anything his peers can do.
After being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome nine years ago, Will, 11, has experienced many challenges growing up. However, he has never let his disorder stop him from facing those challenges head on.
Will lives in Marlboro with his mother, Carrie, his father, Sonny, and his sister, Sally, 5. Will’s recent participation in Marlboro Little League baseball has proved to be the perfect example of the benefits in pursuing new experiences.
Asperger’s syndrome (AS), a high-functioning type of autism, is a developmental disorder characterized by social, isolated and eccentric behavior during childhood, according to an AS Internet Web site.
Due to his disorder, Will was playing sports in the Challenger program, Free-hold Township, which is an athletic league that incorporates a buddy system between regular education students and classified students.
Carrie said participating in the Chal-lenger program gave Will the self-esteem and skills he needed to cope with playing Little League baseball.
“I credit [the Challenger program] with giving Will the confidence to take the leap,” she said. “It was really [learning] social skills in an athletic setting.”
Carrie described this year’s Little League team and Will’s manager, Steve Sukel, as a very positive experience for the whole family.
Will agreed with his mother and said he is glad he can play with and be like his friends.
“It’s good because my friends cheer me on,” he said. “It’s great to know that I’m felt for. I know [now] that I can do anything that I want to.”
Sukel believes other parents should follow the Prewitts’ lead by encouraging their special needs child to try new experiences.
“These kids will succeed,” he said. “Will tries hard and he should be an inspiration to any kid or parent who thinks their kid can’t do it.”
Sukel said special needs children who play Little League baseball or other sports will be in a nurturing environment with supportive coaches and teammates.
Will’s Little League teammates are the perfect example of that encouraging environment. The players are on their feet cheering for Will when he gets on base or goes up to bat, Sukel said.
Michael Silberman, Will’s teammate, said Will is a good player who always tries his best.
Another player, Justin Sukel, said of Will, “It seems like he’s glad to be on the team. He is a sweet, kindhearted kid and he really tries hard.”
Will said it makes him feel good to hear his friends on the team saying positive things about him.
Although individuals with AS are high functioning, they are often viewed as eccentric or odd and therefore can easily become victims of teasing and bullying.
As tears began to stream down his face, Will said dealing with this aspect of the syndrome is the hardest part. He added that it hurts his feelings when he knows people are making fun of him.
Although Will was diagnosed with Asperger’s when he was 2, Carrie said it was not until he reached his current age that other children began to realize there was something different about him.
It is the guidance counselor’s job at school to make sure that regular education students have the tolerance and understanding of classified students, Carrie said about her son being teased by his peers.
Children diagnosed with Asperger’s have difficulty with social interaction and understanding unspoken social cues, such as body language and body space, according to the Web site.
Carrie said her son has a hard time understanding the appropriate thing to do in a given situation. For example, Will’s parents had to teach him something as innate as picking up on people’s body language. If someone’s body is not facing him or their eyes are wandering around the room, Sonny said Will might not understand that the individual is not interested in continuing a conversation.
“Nothing comes natural to him in a social situation,” Carrie said. “He talks like a duck and walks like a duck but he just can’t socially interact with all the other ducks.”
Some Asperger’s patients experience obsessive routines, a difficulty with change, a preoccupation with certain subjects of interest and a sensitivity to sounds, tastes, smells and sights. According to the AS Web site, individuals with the syndrome typically have a normal IQ and most exhibit exceptional skills in a specific subject area.
As for Will, his parents said he has a keen sense of hearing and is able to restate a conversation his parents had downstairs while he was watching television upstairs.
“He absorbs everything and hears everything,” Sonny said.
Will also has the skill to parrot foreign languages. His Spanish teacher finds him amazing, Carrie said.
“Academically he’s phenomenal,” Sonny added.
Although Will has difficulty with unstructured time such as lunch and recess, he is a very good student. He receives all A’s and B’s and is capable of doing all the work that regular education students do, Sonny said.
Will recently completed fifth grade at the Frank Defino Central Elementary School, Route 79, and has been in a co-teaching class for the past year. The co-teaching program combines regular education and special education students in the same classroom with two teachers.
Carrie praised the program at Marlboro and said it allows for two fully qualified teachers in the classroom to look out for all the students. She noted that students in the program are not able to differentiate between the regular education and special education students.
According to the AS Web site, individuals diagnosed with Asperger’s typically perceive the world very differently than others.
Carrie agreed with this diagnosis and said her son has a different way of thinking and processing his thoughts and actions. There is nothing wrong with his way, it’s just different, she added. The Prewitts said they have taught Will the skills he needs to live in the real world.
Carrie said one of the hardest parts about dealing with their son’s diagnosis is making him understand they are the parents. Although Will is not selfish, Carrie described her son, like others with AS, as very self-focused. For example, he must be told why he has to remain at a social event for a certain length of time even though he wants to leave.
Carrie said that as Will has gotten older, dealing with the challenges of Asperger’s has eased somewhat.
Although the Prewitt family has faced many difficulties along the way, instead of perceiving Asperger’s syndrome like a disease, they believe it is a blessing in disguise.
Carrie said she and Sonny are glad Will is the way he is because they are more grounded parents because of it. When he accomplishes something, they know how hard it was for him to do it so they are that much more proud of him, she added.
“We’re lucky to have him, not the other way around,” Carrie said.
Sonny agreed with his wife and said, “Will is a very sweet child. He has a lot of heart. He really wins people over.”
When asked how he feels about having Asperger’s, Will said, “I feel special about it. It’s not a bad thing. I’m not scared of it. It makes me more special.”