Ann Arbor high school specifically serves students with Asperger's

From myFOXDetroit.com:

A high school in Ann Arbor may look like your typical, pristine, private school, but it is the first of its kind in the Midwest.

Ross Dunlap squeezes in a little saxophone practice. In many ways he's like any other 14-year-old. He loves his video games and tolerates family game night.

But since he was a baby, his parents knew something was different.

"He had trouble acquiring language and then, of course, there was the no eye contact or anything like that. So, it all started about one, one and a half. We started to get concerned," said Gwen Dunlap, Ross' mother.

It wasn't long before Ross was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. When he started school, teachers notice his anxieties.

"Midway through the year, the teacher would come back and say, huh, I've never see anything quite like this before," said Dale Dunlap, Ross' father.

School life is about to change for Ross. He's one of the first students to enroll at a Veritas Christi in Ann Arbor, a high school for students with Asperger's or high functioning autism. The small classrooms are surrounded by soft lighting and soothing wall colors and there are many spots to socialize.

"Kids that are on the spectrum that have autism or Asperger's tend to have problems and issues with socializing and relating to each other, and so that's one of the things we want them to do and we encourage that," said Richard Nye, head of Veritas Christi.

Nick Dubin is not only the dean of students, he's also an author. He's got his Ph.D and he has Asperger's. In high school and not yet diagnosed, he remembers the tough times.

"I was bullied a lot. My interests were different from everyone else, and it was a time of great confusion," said Dubin.

That is why the Dunlaps have saved every penny to pay the $14,000 a year tuition so that Ross can learn in his own way.

We asked Ross what he wants to do after high school. He answered, "I was going to go to college, and this school's going to help me get there."

"It's much easier to start with a safe environment, expand your comfort zone from there as opposed to starting in a huge school, large classes, lots of social interactions. Then it becomes overwhelming, and if everything, every part of your school day is outside your comfort zone, it's really hard to learn," Dale Dunlap said.

"We're capable of amazing things, but also the fact that... to achieve those amazing things, we may get there following a different path," Dubin said.