It’s another day at school for Issac DeCuir.
The Ventura County teen likes the same things many high school age kids like, things like bowling, and video games. But, the high school junior is also a little different than most kids his age, because he’s living with autism.
He’s one of the 80 plus students at Triton Academy in Camarillo. It’s a unique campus run by the Ventura County Office of Education which is focused on helping children on the autism spectrum.
Brett Taylor, who’s the school’s principal, says Triton does something most school district can’t afford. It puts a range of specialists in one place, so children with autism can get a wide variety of support.
High functioning children living with autism can do well academically, but because of the disorder they often have a hard time with basic social skills like interacting with other people, and making, and keeping friends. Triton tries to help kids bridge that gap.
Triton recently learned it will have to move after the current school year, because the Pleasant Valley School District needs its Temple Drive campus back because of rising enrollment. The search is on for a new home, but Principal Brett Taylor says it’s the staff, and students that make triton, and not the location. He’s confident they’ll find something, and are looking for something in the central part of the county to minimize commutes.
As for DeCuir, he says he loves the school, and even a subject most of us perhaps didn’t find so fun. He loves math. The teen is enrolled in a program which exposes him to various types of jobs, but he says he’d like to go to college, and is also interested in a career as an X-ray technician.
