WEBVTT 00:00:01.834 --> 00:00:04.503 Voice over: It was straight to the top for Donato Tocci. 00:00:04.503 --> 00:00:08.418 At eleven years old he's already a television news anchor. 00:00:08.418 --> 00:00:10.786 And he's about to go LIVE! 00:00:10.836 --> 00:00:13.069 Teacher: You look great Donato. 00:00:13.230 --> 00:00:16.731 Adult announcer: This is Action 7 News! 00:00:16.824 --> 00:00:18.617 Hello. I'm Donato Tocci. 00:00:18.617 --> 00:00:24.267 Voice over: News has an agenda at Worral Elementary School in Broomall Pennsylvania. 00:00:24.267 --> 00:00:30.902 The reporters aren't simply young and driven, they also have Asperger's Syndrome. 00:00:30.902 --> 00:00:35.685 Children with this form of autism often have trouble with social cues 00:00:35.685 --> 00:00:38.368 like facial expressions and gestures. 00:00:38.368 --> 00:00:40.235 And working well with others. 00:00:40.235 --> 00:00:42.284 Child: I said Mona Lisa! 00:00:42.284 --> 00:00:49.850 Voice over: And that's the very reason Asperger's specialist Randy Rentz and speech pathologist Kristen Dercole developed the newscast, NOTE Paragraph 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:54.362 filled with kid-friendly skits and commercials. 00:00:54.438 --> 00:00:58.451 They wanted their students to see the world from another angle. 00:00:58.451 --> 00:01:02.217 Randy: A lot of my kids are very black and white so to speak, 00:01:02.217 --> 00:01:05.657 where they don't understand the middle area-- the grey area. 00:01:05.657 --> 00:01:13.200 And they may know "happy", they may know "sad", but they don't know the difference in between. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:19.219 Voice over: But television journalists, even miniature ones, need to watch themselves from time to time 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:25.669 and think critically about how they present themselves. Especially how they sound. 00:01:25.669 --> 00:01:31.069 Kristen: I think that reporters in general are really good role models for students as far as good speaking skills. 00:01:31.069 --> 00:01:36.101 We always talk about how, to be on a newscast you have to over enunciate. 00:01:36.101 --> 00:01:41.418 Child: His owner, Mike Sheelan, even takes him on cross-country races. (He slurs his speech a little...) 00:01:41.418 --> 00:01:43.485 Kristen: You have to slow down your rate of speech. 00:01:43.485 --> 00:01:45.751 Child: (slurs a little)... in the world. 00:01:45.751 --> 00:01:48.501 Kristen: You have to really work on your pitch. 00:01:48.501 --> 00:01:52.101 Child: The greatest candy bar EVER MADE. 00:01:52.101 --> 00:01:53.986 Kristen: You want to emphasize key words... 00:01:53.986 --> 00:01:57.686 Child: In sports news, JETER HITS THREE THOUSAND! 00:01:57.686 --> 00:02:03.069 Kristen: So there's a lot of different parts of speech that we can work on while you work on the newscast. 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:08.867 (Child is speaking.) Voice over: That's Augie Penteles, reporting the very latest in sports. 00:02:08.867 --> 00:02:13.868 When his mother Michelle learned he has Asperger's and would need treatment, 00:02:13.868 --> 00:02:16.951 This isn't exactly what she envisioned. 00:02:16.951 --> 00:02:22.801 Mother: So I was a little angry when I first met everyone here... a little frustrated.. 00:02:22.801 --> 00:02:31.285 And you know, scared for my son. But I think that being in the program for six years has changed the course of his life. 00:02:31.285 --> 00:02:38.625 The skills that he's learned... coping skills, strategies, just how to react to people and how to read people... 00:02:38.625 --> 00:02:43.517 Voice over: It's a good perk, but the journalists themselves can think of a better one. 00:02:43.517 --> 00:02:49.600 When the half hour broadcast is complete each year, the whole school gathers to watch. 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:57.109 Child: Well I guess my favorite part about Action 7 is getting to do all the other skits. 00:02:57.109 --> 00:03:00.050 AND letting your friends envy you! 00:03:00.050 --> 00:03:03.300 Voice over: Even Donato, the anchor, feels it. 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:06.384 Donato: I've never been this famous before. 00:03:06.384 --> 00:03:15.134 Voice over: For children with Asperger's, kids who often stand out from the rest of the crowd, that feeling can be, well, monumental. 00:03:15.134 --> 00:03:23.485 Teacher: One year I was over at the middle school and there was a huge huge difference with the kids who had been through the program socially. 00:03:23.485 --> 00:03:29.418 Not just with their confidence, but with their social skills overall, as a whole. 00:03:29.418 --> 00:03:37.267 Voice over: At the moment, Action 7 is the only program of its kind in the nation. At least as far as Randy Rentz knows. 00:03:37.267 --> 00:03:46.385 But she also believes shining this kind of spotlight on kids with Asperger's could be a good approach for any school. 00:03:46.385 --> 00:03:52.667 For the PBS Newshour, I'm Betty Ann... Oh wait a minute! Let's let one of them do it! 00:03:52.667 --> 00:03:56.667 Child: Reporting live from the red streets of Spain, I'm Aaron Thomas for Action 7 news.