Children, adults with autism give skiing a try in Lisle

Lisle Girl Scouts braved the cold Sunday to help children and adults with autism try out skiing, some for the first time, at Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports.

Troop 50796 members Maeve Doyle, Amanda Laurinec, Marley Malczewski, Emme Moore and Briana Ortiz organized the event in an effort to achieve their Silver Award, which is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.

Aside from helping the skiers, the eighth graders also handed out handmade coloring books and "super Crayons" that are easy for children with autism to use.

Four Lakes agreed to host the event and offer free admission to the autistic skiers and their families.

Lisa Sanchez traveled from Shorewood so her 6-year-old son Max, who has autism, could try out skiing.

Sanchez said "to be able to do something like this with the Girl Scouts so he can figure out if he likes it before we go find programs", referring to her son's special needs Sanchez added "if can be hard to find programs that just don't throw them in with everyone else where then he struggles to keep up with everyone else".

Many of the autistic adults and children skiers got at least one on one lessons as apposed to traditional lessons of one instructor with several students.

Some students such as first time skier Eric Larsen, 11, of Crystal Lake took to the slopes with ease and was the first in his group to head to the top of the hill for some more advanced training on how to maneuver down the slopes.