Invest in Andrew's Education

Hi. My name is Leilani and this is our son Andrew. A history loving, Star Wars enthusiast, film maker and studier of the stock market. A straight A student who despite being diagnosed with autism wants to live a "normal" life and be accepted how he is.

Andrew was diagnosed with autism at the age of 9. He is considered to be high functioning, formerly called Aspergers. It is a developmental disorder affecting his social interactions and sensory processing. It shows up as anxiousness in unfamiliar settings, the inability to read social cues, and the experience of extreme panic in overwhelming sensory situations.

Andrew had a really tough start as a freshman in public high school, where services were promised for students on the spectrum. But the support they offered was minimal at best and the bully culture of the institution took its toll. After careful consideration, we opted to homeschool him the remainder of the year while we figured out next steps. It was most important to keep Andrew- SAFE, happy, and learning in the best environment for him to excel.

I began looking into schools that would not only support my child but SEE him. TRULY see him, as every child deserves to be seen. We found that school. Pacifica Christian High School school in Santa Monica is excited to have him and in their own words is a place where he is deemed "special, chosen, and seen." Pacifica offers multiple ways to enter into community, not only with their teachings and practices but also with all school camping trips to foster relationships, and peer to peer mentorships. It turns out that "adequate" education equals a private school path for us.

Unfortunately we found Pacifica after the Financial Aid deadline. And while we celebrate having a safe place for our child to land, the new challenge is paying full tuition for the entire year immediately.

Andrew continues to inspire us all with his resilience. Skills that would come naturally to most of us, he has to formulate and put into practice. Despite his hardships he has maintained a 4.0 grade point average for the past four years (even during Covid learning). He has his own unique skill sets as a self motivated learner. He wants to pursue his love of film making as well as his studies of history and psychology. Currently he has invested his own money to research his family history with the use of Ancestry.com. He is deserving of a space where he doesn't have to struggle so much to be accepted for his differences, where he can shed the need to fit into a mold and be himself. He will grow in his confidence and with support, advocate for himself when needed.

We would be so grateful to have your support in this. The balance for tuition this year is 30,000.

"Autism doesn’t come with an instruction guide. It comes with a family who will never give up.” -Kerry Magro

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and hear about our story. We are grateful for whatever anyone can contribute.

Sincerely,

The Brooks Family