SANDPOINT — No matter what disabilities a person may have, they still have a lot to teach the world and those around them.

They also have a rich capacity for personal growth — so long as they have the right environment to learn. That reality is often misunderstood by people who, lacking exposure to developmental disorders, ostracize or avoid individuals who are different.

Local resident Christine Heneise wants to change that. As the mother of a son with Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder defined by social interaction difficulties, she’s seen how he’s had opportunities taken away from him for things he can’t change, despite being qualified and capable.

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