Once deaf, this Ceiba graduate with autism prepares for CSU Monterey Bay

June 13--WATSONVILLE -- Anthony Tapiz knows something about stereotypes. Every since he started school he's been fighting other people's perceptions of him.

"They told me I'd never go to college because I have autism," said Tapiz.

Yet Tapiz, 18, will receive his high school diploma on the Rio Theater stage during Ceiba College Preparatory Academy's commencement ceremony Friday.

When Tapiz moves on to the Cal State University Monterey Bay campus in July to study film production, he will have beaten the odds -- big time.

Tapiz was a client of San Andreas Regional Center, which provides services for Central California residents with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities. Only 1 percent of students who are clients of San Andreas Regional Center graduate directly into a four-year college.

When he began school at Mar Vista Elementary, Tapiz was keenly aware he was different.

"There have been so many challenges, mostly learning how to socialize. I have autism, which makes me isolate from society," said Tapiz.

Throughout his academic career, Tapiz encountered people who clearly did not understand how autism, a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact, presents in children.

So when Tapiz's fourth grade class consisted of other students with autism, he felt a huge relief that he wasn't alone in the world.

"I'm still friends with a lot of those kids today," said Tapiz.

Yet Tapiz was different from those students as well. After scoring above his grade level on a standardized test, Tapiz's parents were urged to place their son in a school more suitable to his high IQ.

"My mother found a brochure for Ceiba and I was the first student admitted in the lottery in 2010," said Tapiz. "So I started sixth grade there."

Tapiz was initially overwhelmed. There were vastly more students than his previous school. To complicate matters, many of them switched between English and Spanish.

Despite being Mexican-American, Tapiz never learned Spanish. In fact, Tapiz was entirely deaf until corrective surgery bestowed him hearing at the age of 7.

"I'd been deaf for half my life so it was really scary for me to not understand the language. And at the same time, I was trying to learn all these new social skills," said Tapiz.

He was also the only student with autism at Ceiba. Tapiz quickly retreated into a shell.

"I was afraid that I was never going to fit in. It got to the point that I never talked to anyone. That was a huge mistake," said Tapiz.

Fortunately, then-principal Heidy Shinn recognized that Tapiz was having a difficult time acclimating to Ceiba. During a school assembly, she introduced Tapiz to the student body and explained how autism affected his ability to socialize.

"Once people knew, they started talking to me. It helped me get over the discomfort," said Tapiz.

Seven years later, on the cusp of graduation, Tapiz considers his Ceiba classmates a second family and feels some sadness that everyone will be headed in different directions soon.

He's also excited for the future. CSU Monterey Bay possesses a highly regarded a Cinematic Arts and Technology department and Tapiz wants to make movies like his idol Steven Spielberg.

"My drama teacher, Mrs. (Lupita) Sanchez, inspired me to pursue a career in film," said Tapiz.

Throughout his time at Ceiba, Tapiz employed his classmates as actors in short movies. He is currently working on a stop-motion horror "brickfilm" using LEGO blocks. A trailer for the film, "Rise of the Resistance of Terror" can be found on his Youtube channel "SCDude1999."

Eventually, Tapiz wants to start a business to help advance the film careers of minorities.

"I want to put an end to whitewashing in movies and the same old stereotypes -- Latinos as farmworkers and maids and black people as criminals. I'm sick of it. I want people represented for what they really are," said Tapiz.

Tapiz was once deaf. He is Mexican-American and he has autism. Yet those are just aspects of a richer, larger character. Without question, this young filmmaker defies stereotype.

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