Comedy night Sept. 11 aids Autism Speaks

STONEHAM – Don Gavin will host and headline the seventh annual Comedy Night to Benefit Autism Speaks and Nashoba Learning Group, to be held Sept. 11 at Montvale Plaza in Stoneham.Nashoba Learning Group (NLG) is a school in Bedford that provides state-of-the-art education and intervention services to children with autism and related developmental disabilities. Autism Speaks is a national organization that provides funding for research projects that aim to uncover the cause, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.The event will start with dinner at 6 p.m. followed by the comedy show. There will also be silent and live auctions and raffles.Gavin, a Nahant resident who taught English and coached high school basketball for 12 years before making comedy his career, said he and his fellow comedians are always happy to get behind a good cause.According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 68 individuals is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic and social groups and is 3-4 times more likely to affect boys than girls. Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others.