For children and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders in West Los Angeles, Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services has a whole lot of answers to the the question, “What can we do?” As CEO Dr. Elias Lefferman says, “You do everything you can whenever you can.”

On November 3, 2011, Vista hosted the Third Annual Autism Conference for professionals and families. The theme was inspiration, exploring what people are engaging in as families, individuals and schools. This year in particular, the conference served to showcase Miracle Theatre, part of the Vista Inspire Program. Headed by Elaine Hall, a renowned autism educator and children’s acting coach, Miracle Theatre is a place for children with all forms of autism to socialize and put on shows. “When you see a show, you’re seeing a point in time,” says Dr. Lefferman. “What you don’t see is what led up to it.” Children with autism and other special needs who participate in the Miracle Theatre program may have language skills and some may not, but with the help of volunteer mentors, all children find that there is a place for them in theatre.

Dr. Lefferman tells the following story “so that with one anecdote you get a sense of what goes on here.” There was one girl in the program who would arrive at rehearsals and immediately hide in a corner. Even with a mentor it was difficult for her to come out and interact with the other children, but after a six-month period this very same girl went on stage and sang a solo. This is what the audience saw. “They didn’t see the work that went into getting her to go up there, to take that microphone and do a solo. But her father knew it,” he recalls. This is just one way of bringing awareness to the community of the power of these children.

Through the Spectrum Resource Program for children with autism, Vista takes a look at what the community needs. Their 18-acre campus facilities meet many of these needs. Do these children need to have a school separate from other schools to help them learn? Vista Del Mar created a school that is safe and cultivates enrichment. In elementary school, parents are very much involved. They also have parent support groups. As students get older, there is a vocational program for the Vista Elite (young adults, ages 18-22). They go to the store to buy food together and learn to cook a meal. Children with tactile sensitivity love using the campus pool, heated to a perfect 87 degrees. Some students might find that an iPad helps them communicate. In fact, this last Halloween, many children were able to trick-or-treat for the first time using iPads to speak for them at the press of a button.

Vista Del Mar is more than a school. It was first established as a Jewish home for orphans in 1908. Over a hundred years later, the agency now includes an adoption program, relationship counseling, a residential program for troubled children and teens, internship programs, and even employs a full-time rabbi on staff who serves as a spiritual leader in social action and community involvement. With the help of Rabbi Jackie Redner, Vista also established a bar and bat mitzvah program called Nes Gadol for children in the Spectrum Resource Program.

Nes Gadol came from the idea in an old Talmudic story about a boy who blows a horn in the temple and upsets the people who are gathered until the rabbi realizes that this is how the boy prays. Dr. Lefferman explains, “Parents who have kids in the Spectrum [program] oftentimes . . . lose out on some of these transitional opportunities. In the Jewish religion, the bar mitzvah is a very important transitional moment . . . There must be something we can do.” The question became, what do these children need to do to pray? They form their names in Hebrew letters out of cookie dough and bake cookies. They make a kippah (prayer cap) and tie dye it. They create power points about being Jewish.

For the children who can write but cannot speak, there is something called the Moses-Aaron Collaborative. Following the example of Moses having Aaron speak for him because he had a speech impediment, children who participate in the Moses-Aaron Collaborative have volunteer mentors who read what the children write. Dr. Lefferman hopes to bring this program to other temples to help address the needs of those parishioners. Often children with autism are asked to leave if they are disruptive during religious services. The Moses-Aaron Collaborative informs the congregation what is going on inside the minds of these children. As one young boy with autism wrote, “I have autism. I hate having autism . . . I’m doing my best to pray but I can’t control my sounds. I hope you’ll understand and let me pray in this temple the best way I can.” It’s a powerful moment for a congregation of 300 people to realize, “That’s not a parent who can’t control his or her child.” This is a boy who is struggling to find a sense of Jewishness.

For Dr. Lefferman, Vista’s Spectrum Resource Program is truly about educating the community about autism, fostering acceptance by exposure. “Find what you can do. Introduce people to your children. Explain autism . . . Educate people. Educate yourself.”

To learn more about Vista Del Mar and their variety of programs, visit www.vistadelmar.org.