AMBASSADOR—Zak Kukoff, a freshman at Westlake High School, developed a program that educates non-autistic children about the special challenges of the disorder and encourages them to integrate with their autistic peers. Autism Speaks, a national organization, has adopted Kukoff’s ambassador program. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn NewspapersA California high-school freshman has created a program that offers guidelines to help students mentor and better understand their peers who have autism. Zak Kukoff says Autism Ambassadors uses role-playing exercises to teach skills to students with autism that they can use in everyday school situations, and it teaches students without autism what living with the disorder is like. The program is "easily adaptable to any grade" and has been implemented at 12 schools, Kukoff said. Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism advocacy group, has named the program its national peer-leadership initiative. The Acorn (Agoura Hills, Calif.)
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