BY DARRELL HALEN

Frustrated by the problems her son, Kenny, was having in school several years ago, Cheryl Andrews told one of his teachers, “Oh my God, if we ever make it through high school, it will be a miracle.”

There was no miracle. But thanks to a lot of hard work on his part, and a “triangle of support” – parents, friends and teachers – Kenny Andrews has done well. Eagle Scout. National Honor Society member.

Soon-to-be college engineering major.

“He’s a good guy. He’s had a lot of support over the years,” said Andrew Lepore, who has known Kenny through school and Scouting. “He’s done well.”

Kenny, 19, has Asperger syndrome, a neurobiological disorder, along with attention deficit disorder and characteristics of sensory integration disorder.

People with AS perceive the world differently, and have deficiencies in social skills, prefer sameness, are often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells and sights, and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest.

“Teachers understand why he doesn’t look you in the eye all the time,” Cheryl said. “Why he’s quiet. Why he might not like loud noises. Why group work is not always positive because of the social dynamics of working in groups.”

When he was in preschool, Kenny was diagnosed with speech and language delay and auditory processing – he couldn’t get together all the words to formulate a sentence quickly. Until third grade, he was on an individual education plan.

He was diagnosed with ADD in third grade and diagnosed with AS during the summer before his freshman year.

During the four years he has spent at Pelham High School, Kenny has been on a 504 plan, which identified his disorder and indicated he needed help in the classroom.

He graduates on Friday, June 15. His success, in and out of school, his parents said, demonstrates that a person with his conditions can succeed.

“I just want people to know that disabilities don’t have to be all gloom and doom and negative,” Cheryl said. “I don’t even like to call it a disability. He has different abilities. His gift will get him somewhere else.”

A big triangle

During Kenny’s academic career, Cheryl stayed in touch with his teachers. She and her husband, Scott, constantly stayed on top of the situation.

“Everyone has to be on board,” Cheryl said. “Teachers looking out for him, and his father and I ... supporting him constantly, and he has a great group of friends. It’s a big triangle.”

Accommodations were made for Kenny in school, but he was expected to do the same amount of work as everyone else.

In elementary school, he was situated with his back to the window overlooking the playground so he wouldn’t be distracted.

When he and his classmates were taking notes at Memorial School, Kenny would receive study guides to fill the gaps of any notes he missed due to attention and processing issues.

Cheryl made sure he had directions for projects.

Because of Kenny’s need for routine and sameness, his chemistry teacher at Pelham High, Bob Moore, alerted Cheryl when there was going to be “a surprise” – a code word for a pop quiz – the next day.

Cheryl wouldn’t tip off Kenny, but knowing the anxiety the quiz could cause him, she would encourage him to look over his notes.   

“Sometimes, when we’d have a pop quiz, he’d be a little surprised, a little worried,” said his friend Stuart Robertson, who was in the same class.

A stickler for time

That desire for routine is important to Kenny. When he was younger, to-do lists ruled the day.

Stuart said Kenny is a “stickler for time.” He remembers driving Kenny to a friend’s house and Kenny
complaining they were going to be late.

Kenny starts his car at 7 every morning, even if his sister, Amanda, 16, isn’t ready to leave for school.

He wants to take his daily shower – always immediately following dinner – even if guests are in the house.

“He’ll never be late for anything,” his mother said.

But Kenny has difficulty with his ability to organize. Sometimes, he would put completed homework assignments in his backpack, but not turn them in at school.

He’s also a bit naive, very “black and white,” and factually driven.

“He can tell you anything about Egyptian mythology, History Channel stuff or anything to do with robotics,” Cheryl said.

Kenny is drawn to math and science and fact-based subjects. He likes science fiction and watches the Discovery Channel. He is fascinated with video games, and he and Stuart teach video game design to kids at RoboTech Center in Nashua.

One area where he struggled in school is language arts. Interpretation of literature was a challenge.

“I work really hard and, if possible, I do some extra credit,” Kenny said.

Supportive friends and family

Friends like Stuart are important in Kenny’s life. When a boy was teasing and kicking Kenny at Memorial School, Stuart told his mother, who notified Cheryl.

Another friend, Ryan Koehler, told the bully to back down.

Kenny’s parents say his friends look out for him, and let them know how he’s doing.

“My friends have stuck by me ever since first grade,” he said. “They basically support me through school. I don’t think I’d (be) where I am now without them.”

As someone who has Asperger syndrome, Kenny has difficulty in group settings. He does better in dealing with people one-on-one.

His friends describe him as quiet and shy but friendly.

“He’s a very caring and sincere individual,” said Andrew. “He means well.”

Before he appeared before the town’s selectmen and a Scout group to talk about his Eagle Scout project to clear town-owned land, Kenny and Scott engaged in role-playing.

“They ran through it several times so he would be comfortable with these individuals,” Cheryl said.

“Going before the selectmen, I had to really focus and really communicate with them,” Kenny said.

He also has trouble discerning body language, expressions, sarcasm and innuendo. He doesn’t pick up the cues.

“I would have to be very explicit with him when he was young,” Cheryl said.   

He’s been bothered by seams in socks and tags in shirts. Noise has bothered him, too.

Kenny never liked liked the commotion of a school bus, so his mother drove him to school. He wanted his mother to shut off the refrigerator because it bothered him while he was doing his homework.

Overwhelmed by the noise while sitting in a school cafeteria when he was younger, he wouldn’t eat. Jackie Karl, an instructional assistant, would put pieces of food in front of Kenny while talking to him in order to get him to eat.

Accomplished student

Kenny has a superior IQ, according to his mother. He has competed in Quiz Bowl and Academic Decathlon in high school. He earns As and Bs.

“I’m very pleased with what I’ve accomplished,” he said.

Before he goes to school, Kenny takes Concerta, medication that helps him focus. The medicine is important.

Cheryl remembers the day she picked him up at school and he was very upset. He had forgotten to take his medicine and it “almost hurt” to concentrate so much.

“He was exhausted by the time we got home,” Cheryl recalled. “It took so much of his energy to focus.”

Although he takes medicine for his ADD, there is no medication he can take for Asperger.

“There’s no pill that makes it better,” she said. “There’s nothing you can do.”

Kenny does not go out of his way to tell people about his disorders. But he doesn’t avoid the subject with people, either.

“I’m pretty open about it,” he said. “If they have a question, I answer it to the best of my ability.”

Kenny’s parents held off on letting their son take a vocational class at Pinkerton Academy.  They worried that he wouldn’t catch up on material he would have missed by leaving a class early to make the trip.

But the tremendous growth Kenny has made since his freshman year was one of the reasons why they allowed him to leave his physics classes early to take a drafting course at Pinkerton.

“There’s a lot of things he’s learned differently. How to compensate,” Cheryl said.

This fall Kenny, who hopes to work in robotics, begins commuting to Daniel Webster College in Nashua, where he will major in mechanical engineering.

He is excited to embark on a new phase of his life.

“By the grace of God it all worked out, with a lot of effort on a lot of people’s behalf, and him helping himself,” his mother said.