With all the activities and work that a high school student has, it can be difficult to step back and take stock of a larger social mission. However, students of the SEPIA Club at Newport High School have done just that.

SEPIA, Students Educating Peers in Autism Awareness, was founded by Newport students Rebecca Wong and Hannah Phelps this past year.

Autism is a set of developmental delays or disorders which cause problems with an individual’s ability to communicate and operate in a social setting both verbally and non-verbally.

The term “autism” usually refers to any one of or all of the autism spectrum disorders, a category that covers a wide range of developmental syndromes such as Asperger’s Syndrome (a milder syndrome that usually results in little to no general delay in language or cognitive development), “classic” autism, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

The club’s teacher-advisor, Christy Bateman, teaches a class for children with autism.

The club has three main goals: to provide socializing opportunities for students on the spectrum, raise money for autism research and raise awareness about autism in the community.

Connor Shull, a student in Bateman’s class as well as a member of SEPIA, recalled instances in which he had been misunderstood by other students due to communication issues arising from his spectrum syndrome.

“I literally thought people were strangers,” Shull said, “no need to make contact with them, no need to express myself.”

Shull also described the feeling that students on the spectrum may have towards school, that it is simply “a place to do studies” without ever touching on the social aspects of high school life.

In April, the SEPIA Club launched Autism Awareness Week at Newport. The club gave away over 1,000 bracelets and taught lessons in the health classes at Newport. The classes helped not only educate students about autism, but also helped teachers as well.

“Many teachers don’t know how to deal with different learners in the class,” Bateman said.

As a result of Autism Awareness Week, “teachers

were having conversations with their classes about [autism],” Bateman added.

The club also regularly organizes dinners, potlucks and other outings for students with a spectrum disorder.

The students described key points that the club seeks to promote in its actions and its events.

“Everyone on the spectrum is totally different,” Phelps stated.

Some students may be completely unwilling to communicate while others may be able to interact much more fully with other students.

As for how to interact with students on the spectrum, Wong offered, “Be friendly to everybody.”

Bateman added, “If you see somebody alone, then including them can make all the difference in the world.”

Changlin Li is a student at Interlake High School and an intern with the Bellevue Reporter. He will attend Harvard University this fall.