Ahmani Peets is on the honour roll at Whitney Institute Middle School; among family members his prowess at Wii is legendary.

He’s also autistic.

As a young child he survived on a handful of items: cranberry sauce, water, apple juice, bread and macaroni and cheese with vegetarian chilli beans.

He was also fascinated by ceiling fans. His eyes would roll around and around following a single blade.

The 12-year-old will help launch World Autism Awareness Day on the steps of City Hall at 12.30pm tomorrow. The ceremony will also mark the beginning of Autism Awareness Month in Bermuda.

“[I’m doing it] so that others can see that people on the autism spectrum can do lots of things,” he said.

“I can talk, run, laugh, learn and have fun with my family just like other people. It is important to have an Autism Awareness Day so that people in the world can learn about autism.”

Ahmani’s parents, Anita and Anthony Peets, learned he had autism when he was 16 months old.

The warning signs were there but overlooked, said Mr Peets, who is now president of the charity, Bermuda Austism Support & Education.

“It’s important that people dealing with babies, it’s important that they are astute in some of the red flags, the concern areas. He seemed a bit disconnected, but I didn’t walk until I was two-and-a-half. I was a late talker as well. So we really weren’t concerned.”

Autism is a serious neurological and developmental disorder that usually appears before a child’s third birthday. It impacts a person’s ability to communicate and interact socially and it’s estimated that about one in every 150 children are affected. Scientists are still baffled by its cause.

“Autism is the world’s leading paediatric concern,” said Mr Peets. “Every 11 minutes, a family is receiving the news that their child is on the autism spectrum. Our charity is dedicated to awareness, advocacy, and education.

“Autism is not a disease and there is no cure, as it is a neurological and developmental condition. There are four areas that autism affects: difficulty with social interaction; speech and sensory needs; love of routines and special interests. Because autism is on a spectrum, no child is the same. There are similarities but many nuances.”

From the moment they became aware of Ahmani’s condition, the family knew they had only a handful of choices.

“There has to be some level road map,” said Mr Peets. “You can sit back and let nothing happen — 90 per cent of people who have children with special needs divorce — but there are directions you can take.”

Mrs Peets quit her job and spent the next ten years giving her son the extra attention he needed.

Ahmani learned to talk and was able to enter Elliot Primary School at age five. Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, helped [see sidebar]. Mr and Mrs Peets taught Ahmani and his sister Ahmya to follow those pointers as a daily guide.

“I am considered as ‘high-functioning’ because I can talk and tell you how I feel about things,” Ahmani said. “Also I do very well with my schoolwork. I do have a shadow teacher who helps me with all my subjects to make sure I understand and am organised.”

It helped that some of the parents of Ahmani’s classmates were understanding, his father added.

“He had a circle of friends. These were children whose families allowed us to give advance training. They’d look out for him and make sure he was playing with children.”

Ahmani has enjoyed academic success despite his differences.

“Autism has to do with how you do things,” he explained. “I don’t like crowds of people. I stay to myself a lot at school. I do not like dogs because when I was small a large dog jumped up on me. I am the only one on the autism spectrum at my school, Whitney Institute Middle School. I do know others my age who are on the autism spectrum. They are different from me. Some of them do not talk but I do. We all are different in this world … if you are on the spectrum or not.”

Mr Peets has been a school counsellor for 31 years, working with students at all levels of education.

“What we want to change is not those on the autism spectrum, but how the world reacts to those with autism,” he said. “It is a lifelong issue but, with intervention, we have seen many live their lives independently and make amazing contributions in the world.

“We know that with early intervention, we are able to impact the crucial areas of learning. BASE continues to work with community and government partners to improve the services to families with children on the spectrum.

“We now have three public primary schools and one middle school with trained teachers and para-educators. The students are assessed and programming is tailor-made and reassessed often as they progress.

“We work to see that these students are mainstreamed into the regular classrooms as often as possible so that they gain the crucial learning skills. Many can cope with the academic expectations with relevant modifications and support.”

He said it was his hope that residents would be inspired by his son’s speech tomorrow afternoon.

“We just want people to honour and respect all children,” he said. “When he’s at these [events] speaking, [it’s] to show hope to the world that they can find a way to do anything. The major thing I want to get out to the community is that every single person brings a level of uniqueness to life; everybody’s journey is unique.”

His family’s help has been essential to his development, Ahmani added.

“They are important to me because they study with me, teach me and encourage me. I want people in the world to show respect to all people. This means showing kindness. You say hi and ask you to do things with them.”

Asked if he was nervous about speaking in public tomorrow, the 12-year-old said: “Not really I can read really well.”

BASE holds professional development seminars for parents and professionals. For more information visit www.bermudaautism.com or see Bermuda Autism Support and Education (BASE) and Amazing Dads Autism on Facebook.