LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – April is Autism Acceptance Month and a Las Vegas teenager with autism is proving she has no limits.
Yaretzi Gonzalez, 18, has a lot of passions. She loves drawing, painting, animation, and performing. The senior at Las Vegas High School also has big dreams.
“She has unlimited creativity and unlimited willing to do, things, exploring things,” her mom, Ana Gonzalez, said.
Gonzalez was diagnosed with Autism at age 3. She has worked with specialists at Touro University’s Nevada’s Pierce Autism Center to help her gain confidence and new skills.
“There is such a focus on disabilities that we do not see the child’s abilities, and I tell you all the kids that I work with they have a little bit of savant in them, and the disability will overshadow that,” said Jennifer McConnell, a board-certified behavior analyst at Touro University Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
The center opened in 2008 and offers evidence-based therapy services for children 18 months to 12 years.
“It helped me with some things that I struggled with,” Gonzalez said. “Trying to be more social, and not being afraid of talking to other people.”
Gonzalez plans to attend College of Southern Nevada and then transfer to UNLV to major in computer science. Her dream is to work in animation.
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