“We only know the worth of religion when it’s taken away from us, only know the worth of God and music when it’s not there. We’re all here for God, we’re all in health, holiness, happiness.”
It wouldn’t be hard to imagine this statement spoken by a learned old rabbi, ruminating over years of scholarly and spiritual teaching. But it’s a bit more difficult to reconcile the words with their actual source: a freckled, 15-year-old boy named Wyatt, wearing a bright purple T-shirt and Bermuda shorts. Explaining the meaning of his bar mitzvah speech, Wyatt is also divulging the ways in which he has found peace with the fact that he has autism.
Wyatt is part of Vista del Mar’s Inspired Teens, which matches more than 30 teen volunteers, ages 12-19, with autistic peers, much like the Chabad program Friendship Circle. Afternoons are spent developing theater projects and creating music together, socializing or taking classes.
Inspired Teens is anchored in the Vista Inspire Program (VIP), which offers two tracks: Nes Gadol, founded to help special-needs children prepare for their bar or bat mitzvah, and the Miracle Theater Project, established to help autistic teens create and perform musical theater. Prior to incorporating the projects into VIP, which was founded in 2009, Vista del Mar offered Nes Gadol and Miracle Project separately.
Elaine Hall, a children’s acting teacher whose son, Neal Katz, has autism, serves as VIP’s director. In addition to providing a safe atmosphere for learning, Hall said, the goal of the program is to spread the message that children with disabilities are just the same as everyone else.
It seems a lofty and earnest goal in a world of cynical teens, but it was a 16-year-old who, moved by his work as a camp counselor at VIP’s summer camp in 2009, decided to devote his free time to expanding Inspired Teens.
Before last year, Joshua Corwin had never worked with autistic kids. But he discovered quickly that he loved the work, and it was one experience in particular that, he said, “made me see things in true eyes.”
“Me and Neal were playing in the grass one day,” he said, referencing Hall’s son. “Neal was amazed by the grass,” wanting to smell it and even taste it. Rather than ignoring or correcting Neal’s behavior, Joshua joined in.
“I got to explore Neal’s world, then he got to explore mine,” Joshua said. “Both our lives were made happier by connecting in both worlds.”
Feeling “blessed” that he was granted access to Neal’s world, Joshua said he set out to help the program reach more people. He gathered a group of 12 teens who worked with him at the summer camp, and together they decided to continue their volunteer work into the school year, introducing fundraising and community outreach to the program. Through their planning, Inspired Teens took shape.
On Dec. 20, just four months after their initial meeting, the group held its first fundraiser at the American Cinematheque during a showing of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” With sponsors that included Pinkberry and Trader Joe’s, the teens raised $4,500.
Now, Hall says, Inspired Teens counts nearly 40 participants, including eight teens with autism. On a recent Thursday, several teens gathered together around a table, working on collages and art projects and standing around outside talking. Brook Botwinick, a 16-year-old with long brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail, flips through a magazine and chats with Wyatt.
“I think I remember going to your bar mitzvah,” she says. Wyatt nods, seemingly unfazed. Nearby, Tayllor Johnson, 16, talks with program coordinators and works on her own art.
Tayllor has been astonished by the program’s outcomes.
“It changes kids’ lives,” she said. “People who would not speak … are speaking [and] giving hugs.”
That Tayllor chooses to spend her afternoons volunteering with Inspired Teens at all suggests something special about the program. Her schedule has recently been packed with rehearsals for Santa Monica High School’s production of “Rent.” But the extroverted musical theater student becomes thoughtful and reflective when she explains why Inspired Teens matters to her. She doesn’t do it for college credit or for community service.
“The world is brighter and quieter through the eyes of an autistic child,” she says quietly, her face serious as she gazes down. “They are more real than [what] I see in any other human being.”
Through Nes Gadol, both Neal and Wyatt had their bar mitzvahs in Vista del Mar’s airy synagogue. Neal, who does not speak, danced his prayers and typed his speech beforehand; his stepfather read it aloud. His speech, Hall said, covered the way in which God helps him find patience.
While the program tends to attract Jewish teens, since Vista del Mar is historically a Jewish organization, CEO Elias Lefferman said it welcomes young people of all backgrounds. “We serve the whole community,” he said.
Joshua and his peers hope to continue their work, and none have let adversity stand in their way. Glancing up at what he calls his “favorite” Torah — the one with the red cover — Wyatt concurs.
“Autistic or not,” he says, “you can achieve many things.”
For more information, call (310) 836-1223, ext. 322, or visit vistadelmar.org.
