MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

By Shelly Newman

This Spring, Jake Cirella, a 10th grader at North Shore High School, wanted to make a difference in the lives of children with autism. He took the initiative to help organize a fundraiser to help Autistic children learn how to ride bicycles. The event took place at Power Pals in Glen Cove benefitting the Nassau-Suffolk Autism Society.

Jake stated, “I have a cousin that has a form of autism and he's not able to ride a bike and I thought to myself that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. So when they grow up, they will be able to ride a bike and be happy.”

Jake continued, “This was my first time doing an activity like this. I thought it would be a very nice thing to teach kids how to ride bikes that aren't able to learn on their own.” He added, “I was able to get my whole team to participate. There were 17 kids from North Shore involved, a mix of tenth, ninth, and some eighth graders. We had to help keep the children on their bikes and also teach them how to peddle. Additionally, some kids weren't able to even turn the wheel, so we had to demonstrate and show them how to turn.´

He concluded by saying, “At the end, one of the kids even learned how to ride on his own! “It was a great day!”

Information for this article prepared by Jake Cirella


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