We all learn in different ways.
As she described how autism affects people, LMA Lower School Principal Linda Broadway told students this morning how many successful men and women knew they were a little different, and achieved nonetheless.
Broadway welcomed Action For Autism Academy Executive Director Brad Buechler as he accepted a check for $10,805.46 from Rick and Amy Miles, parents of LMA second grader Landon.
The St. Louis-based AFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with autism while also raising awareness.
"They believe, just like we do, that any child on the autism spectrum should receive therapies help them be 100 percent and be all they can be," Broadway said. "It's not a bad thing. It's just the way we learn."
The Miles moved to the area last year from Illinois; the money donated to AFA is the basis of the Penned Con Scholarship Fund, a collaborative effort begun by Amy Miles, an author, and her husband, who owns Red Coat Public Relations.
Penned Con 2014 was held in St. Louis in September and brought together more than 85 authors and 700 fans.
Rick Miles said they first got involved in supporting AFA with the donation of five iPads, a key tool in helping non-verbal autistic children.
"As a family, we decided two years ago we would become friends and partners with AFA," he said. "We wanted to do as much as we can to help the academy."
Learning to speak and communicate with friends and family better is one of the underlying goals at AFA, he said.
Buechler said the donation will allow three children to attend the academy, which provides intensive one-on-one therapy. Volunteers have been key to the success of AFA, he said, which he started about six years ago. Many families can't afford the treatment and therapy.
"And the difference it makes in their lives is phenomenal," he said.
For more information on AFA, check out: https://www.afastl.org/To learn about Amy Miles' work, check out: http://amymilesbooks.com/
