When the autism society invited Lebanon High School to nominate a student for its second annual awards program, Janet Gilchrist immediately thought of Pfeiffer.
“Robert is an extremely bright young man with an exceptional talent in the areas of literature and history,” said Gilchrist, a speech pathologist at the school. “He has self-published three novels already, and is working on his fourth. He has a love of history, and hopes to teach history at the college level.”
Several of Pfeiffer’s teachers agreed he was deserving of the award, with his English, biology, music and foods class teachers all contributing enthusiastic references.
Pfeiffer has Asperger’s syndrome, which is an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction, eccentric or repetitive behavior, limited range of interests, and coordination problems, according to WebMD.com. Unlike general autism disorder, children with Asperger’s have average to above average intelligence with no speech development delays.
Pfeiffer has successfully participated in theater throughout his high school career, has worked as part of the street cast at the Ohio Renaissance Festival for the last two years and at school has participated in global media to write and deliver video announcements to the student body. He has also guest taught in his English class.
The awards ceremony took place Sunday at Great American Ball Park before the Cincinnati Reds game against the Colorado Rockies. Pfeiffer will attend Otterbein College in the fall, majoring in history.
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