Student pens autism book

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Twelve-year-old Mac Ordetx doesn’t profess to be a perfect communicator.
But as he has worked with children with autism and related disabilities during the last five years, he has learned new ways to communicate with his friends with the disability.

Although Mac has shared his experiences with autistic children at conferences across the country, he now will share those experiences through his new book “Understanding Autism: A Sensitivity Training Guide for Kids Like Me,” released last week.

“I thought it would be interesting (to write a book) and it could help other people,” Mac said, as he signed copies of his book Dec. 7, at The Pinnacle Academy. “I’d been working with children with autism for so long, and it interests me.”

A student at Nolan Middle School, Mac visits The Pinnacle Academy, a private school in Lakewood Ranch for children with autism and related disabilities, nearly every afternoon. There, he works with the children, playing games, teaching them computer and other skills and more.

He also spends his summers working as a mentor at the school, which his mother, Dr. Kristina Ordetx founded in 2001.

“I learned how to help others and how to be compassionate with kids with autism,” Mac said of his experience at the school. “You have to be sensitive, and you have to be patient. You have to help them out when they don’t understand something.”

Mac’s new book not only explains how autism works in a simple way but also how autistic children struggle, what can be done to improve communication with them and how families can foster sensitivity toward the needs of autistic children.

Former Pinnacle Academy parents Henry and Tricia Hayter, whose son, Nicky, attended Pinnacle for more than two years, picked up several autographed copies of Mac’s book to give out to Nicky’s cousins as Christmas presents.

“They were all toddlers together,” Henry Hayter said. “As they get older, we think this will help them (understand Nicky better).”

Kristina Ordetx agreed the book is a helpful tool for teachers, family members, babysitters, neighbors, classmates and others who may deal directly with children with autism.

“I hope school systems will adopt the book as a tool so teachers can read to their kids,” Ordetx said. “Everybody’s affected by autism right now. The more kids out there promoting sensitivity and awareness of autism, the more inclusion opportunities (there are) for kids on the spectrum.”

Mac Ordetx will present his new book at a national disabilities conference in April in New York City.

“Understanding Autism” can be purchased on line at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].