Student gets vote of confidence from peers

Election fever has migrated from town halls to local schools, and for one kid, being voted co-president of his class has opened a whole new set of doors.

Austin Lennon, an eighth-grader at Thurston Middle School, has learned much more than campaign techniques in his quest to lead the school — he’s also learned a lot about himself.

Austin has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with a severe speech and language disorder, said his mother, Aimee Phillips.

Phillips said that her son only became markedly aware of his condition since running for president.

“He didn’t realize, I think, how special he was,” Phillips said. She recalled that he asked several questions about it while they were in the car one day.

Today, he shares presidential duties with student Taylor Preston, who said he has no hard feelings about sharing the presidency.

“He’s the co-president,” Taylor said, without missing a beat. “We divide it right down the middle.”

“He’s great for Austin, and Austin’s great for Taylor,” leadership advisor Gay Pivaroff said.

At Thurston’s Halloween costume parade contest, they divided emcee responsibilities; Austin also sometimes performs announcements over the school’s loudspeaker, and leads the pledge of allegiance at special events.

Phillips is a massage therapist; Austin is her only child. They live in Aliso Viejo, within Laguna school district borders.

Austin attended a school in San Juan Capistrano until his fifth-grade year, when he began attending El Morro Elementary.

“I was definitely really apprehensive about his running,” his mother said. “I tried to sway him to run for something else, but he just said, ‘I’m gonna be president.’ ”

Phillips also considered having him run as a “buddy” candidate with someone else, but said that Pivaroff told him that he could do it on his own.

Austin chose to focus on shorter lunch lines and the introduction of more clubs and contests on campus, he said.

“Later he said, ‘It’s okay if I don’t win, mom. I’ll just congratulate whoever does,’ ” Phillips said.

ASD encompasses a range of disorders, from a severe form called autistic disorder to a milder form known as Asperger syndrome.

Children with ASD experience difficulties of varying degrees in social interaction, communication, emotional regulation and repetitive interests.

Each child’s range of difficulties is unique; in Austin’s case, he is very socially engaged.

“He’s definitely always reached out to everybody to make friends,” his mother said. “He’s got a huge heart.”

During election season, he received “campaign advice” from janitor Todd Foote, who escorted him at breaks around the arena of sociability known as the Thurston lunch tables.

“He wanted to start [campaigning] last year, so we walked around and talked to kids at all the different lunch tables. He would go around every day — every day,” Foote said.

On Nov. 14, he will be joining other student leaders at a leadership conference at the Anaheim Convention Center.