Connecting two worlds socially

The Connections Club isn’t a hot new hangout spot, but students at Marina High School are still interested.

The fledgling club was started in October by 15-year-old Tara Abrams to help special-education students develop their social skills and increase students’ awareness of the special-needs community.

“It’s not the biggest club, or the most popular club, but everyone in it is so committed,” Tara said.

The club has a special meaning for the sophomore, whose older brother Adam, 17, has high-functioning autism.

Tara said she has watched her brother struggle with social situations her whole life.

“Part of what really motivates her is helping her brother,” said Tara and Adam’s mother, Abby Abrams.

Growing up with an autistic brother hasn’t been easy for Tara, but it has also given her something many people are missing — awareness, Abrams said.

“They know about these things — this is their life. Autism has been a part of their lives,” she said.

Adam was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 and has been in a combination of special-education and general-education classes.

Being in both worlds has given Adam a unique perspective.

“A lot of people look down at people with disabilities,” he said. “It’s not viewed as the discrimination that it is.”

Adam is a senior at Marina and the club’s special-education ambassador.

The community service club has more than 30 members and meets every Thursday to connect a special-education student with four or five general-education students to spend time together.

The general-education students had to fill out an application and go through an interview process to be accepted into the club, said club advisor Nicole Bakhtiari, a speech-language pathologist at Marina.

The students then underwent training on how to socialize, including asking follow-up questions, body language and joining a conversation.

Tara said when she first met some of the special-education students, they were reserved and wouldn’t make eye contact, but now they come over and have a conversation with her.

The club has also introduced some of the student body to a population they weren’t aware of before.

“It feels like they’re an invisible community,” Adam said. “[The club] made a lot of special-education students feel visible for the first time at school.”

How To Help

Donate to the Connections Club

c/o Marina High School

15871 Springdale St.

Huntington Beach, CA 92649