LYNN — With Autism awareness month well underway, Lynn Classical High School continues to shed light on the spectrum disorder.
The high school held their sixth annual Autism awareness assembly earlier in the week with a slew of Lynn school administrators. Superintendent Catherine Latham, Deputy Superintendent Patrick Tutweiler, Deputy Administrator of Special Education Jessica McLaughlin, and Special Education Program Specialists Stacey Pena and Mikki Divirgilio were in attendance as Christine Lyman, Classical’s Special Education Department Head, gave a speech.
“As you learned in today’s extended mentoring, there is no known cause or cure for Autism, however the awareness continues to increase dramatically,” said Lyman during her speech. “Not too long ago, the incidence of having a child with Autism was 1 in 10,000 and today it is 1 in 50.”
During the assembly, Lyman made sure to acknowledge the high school’s Creating Opportunities for Autistic Children (COACh) program has been around since 2007. With the number of Autistic children on the rise, the program has grown to other schools like Pickering Middle School, Shoemaker Elementary School, and Lynn Vocational Technical High School.
“Our COACh students are very much a part of the LCHS community and that is because of all of you who are here today,” Lyman said to those in attendance.
