Choral ace battles autism, faces uphill climb for college
The Autism News | English
Anthony Michael has beaten the odds throughout his childhood. Now he faces monumental odds as he nears the end of high school.
“Life is more about taking the broad road than taking this narrow strip that this is all you’re meant to be,” says the senior at Mountain View High School. “You can be anything you want to be.”
Michael is a high school senior and an All-State singer, but this is not the path he was expected to take. To understand truly who Anthony is, you must learn about who he was — diagnosed with severe autism at an early age.
He had no communication skills,” said his grandmother, Judy Michael.
Adds Anthony, “The words that I was saying would not come out right.”
Michael was placed in remedial classes and struggled to interact with classmates. Elementary school was a nightmare, and his path seemed like an all-too-familiar one for children with autism. Then, Anthony got to middle school, and two things happened.
First, he met Mr. Adams.
Darryl Adams is a special education teacher at Osborne Middle School in Gwinnett County. He leads with enthusiasm and this belief: “The opportunities need to be greater than what they are for these students.”
In Adams, Michael found a mentor and a believer.
“He was a person that didn’t say ‘no’, that wanted to have us strive for what he knew we could do,” recalls Adams’ former student.
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