Berkley-Huntington Woods Youth Assistance, Others Honor Whiz Kid

School:

Accomplishment: Morgan has been honored for volunteering for 2 years in a row at a summer camp for kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She received certificates of recognition from the Berkley-Huntington Woods Youth Assistance, , Judge Jamie Wittenberg, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, County Commissioners Helaine Zack and Janet Jackson, Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Bullard Jr., State Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, State Sens. John Pappageorge and Vincent Gregory, as well as U.S. Congressman Gary Peters, for her community service.

Willing to help others: In a room filled with young do-gooders being honored by the Berkley-Huntington Woods Youth Assistance program, 13-year-old Morgan stood out among the crowd as she flew across the center in a dash of excitement. As the smiling teen in a sparkly red shirt took her seat among the 67 other Berkley School District students being honored for their outstanding service during the 2011 Youth Recognition ceremony April 17 at , she beamed with pride.

Her eagerness and propensity to help others has served children with special needs well. The teen is known for reaching out to children with autism, starting a few years ago at , said Sarah Bruce, an early childhood teacher in the Autism Spectrum Disorder Program at Rogers.

“I nominated Morgan because after being a fifth-grade buddy in our peer support program at Rogers, she decided she might like to be a speech therapist,” she said. “She volunteered her time two summers in a row, coming every day to play with my class, read with my class, and help out with other things like setting up their schedules or washing hands.” 

Morgan has been useful not only to the kids at the camp, but to the teachers.

“She was especially helpful with one student who was just learning to use single words to label objects,” Bruce said. “She would work with him on basic concepts such as clothes, toys, food and other common objects.”

Reaching out to help others is a family affair, as her younger brother, , is busy at Rogers building support for Relay For Life in his grandfather's memory. It is a family of whiz kids, but Morgan's enthusiasm shines bright.

“Morgan just loves to work and help children with autism,” her mother, Jennifer Rebori said, adding that Morgan plans to pursue a career that involves working with children with ASD.

Bruce said Morgan's devotion is felt by those around around her and she recalled some fun times the children had with Morgan during summer camp.

“She truly wanted to be there for the children, and it was clear that they enjoy having her there and that they are positively affected by her presence, she said. “They would have the most fun together on the playground, on field trips and especially during water play where she would get right in the sprinkler with them and play games or squirt them with the hose!” 

Key to awesomeness: “One of the great things about Morgan was that she was both playful enough to interact with the children at their level, but also mature and responsible enough to follow directions and be a good helper,” Bruce said.

Note to readers: April is Autism Awareness Month. Look for Whiz Kids throughout the month that are making great strides in Berkley's autism community. There's a lot to be proud of!