There is Anthony Cossentino, 29, a huge “Jeopardy” fan who for years has been arriving at Lifestyles, a daytime occupational program on Staten Island for developmentally delayed adults in their 20s and 30s, every morning with a self-written question of the day, to pose to anyone who will listen.
Or take Michael Halbreich, 32, who has an uncanny ability to remember the birthday of anyone he meets, and to instantly name the day of the week that any date in history fell on.
“He has yet to get one wrong,” said Burak Uzun, a staff supervisor who runs the media program at Lifestyles, which offers vocational, social, recreational and educational services geared toward independent living.
And then there’s Anthony DiFato, 22, who is well known at Lifestyles for his obsession with mystery novels, films and television shows. He is known as the Mystery Man because he is never without a whodunit book.
“Ever since I was a kid, I was always into mysteries,” Mr. DiFato said at Lifestyles one recent weekday while holding a paperback copy of a book in the Mrs. Jeffries mystery series by Emily Brightwell.
But these quirky skills and interests can make for good radio. Just over two years ago, Mr. Uzun, along with another staff member, Joel Richardson, began recruiting participants at Lifestyles with varying degrees of autism to record brief talk show segments on a laptop. The segments were posted online as podcasts, mostly for friends and relatives of participants and staff members to listen to.
Soon, a modest radio studio was installed and more participants began asking to record shows. Now, the program is taking to the real airways: In February, Lifestyles began broadcasting on WSIA-88.9 on the FM dial, the radio station for the College of Staten Island.
Every Tuesday, three participants are taken to the nearby college campus and in the studio they engage in a discussion for a recorded hourlong show to be broadcast that afternoon at 1 p.m. — reaching most of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn — and archived through links on the Lifestyles Web site. They also continue to record podcasts in the Lifestyles studio.
Roughly 30 of the agency’s 170 day program participants have radio shows, said Mr. Uzun, who credits the program with building confidence and self-esteem, and giving participants a break from their jobs at the center’s woodworking and jewelry shops, laundry room and greenhouse.
Many chose D.J. names and themes that correspond to interests or skills — which, as is common with autism, tend to be an extensive knowledge of a particular subject.
For Chris Bungay (Totally ’80s Chris), 31, it is his love for 1980s pop culture. Steve Filoramo (Stevie Data), 39, talks about his knowledge of computers, and his love for British soccer. Michael Mignemi (Piano Mike), 33, who since childhood has been able to deliver keyboard renditions of any song he has ever heard, devotes part of his show to requests, from Mozart to Joplin to the Beatles to Lady Gaga. Joe Pellecchia (Joey Nitro), 43, talks about his culinary skill, honed by working in the kitchen of Lifestyles Caffé, the center’s kitchen staffed entirely by participants and open to the public for breakfast and lunch.
For Anthony Pabon (A-Train), 28, a New York Fire Department enthusiast of the highest order, the discussion centers on department trivia. “When you get them on their favorite topics, they’re great to listen to,” said Mr. Richardson, 32, a stand-up comedian who goes by the nickname Soul Joel. “I have friends, professional comedians,” he said, “who tell me they can’t believe how entertaining these guys are to listen to.”
On a recent broadcast, Mr. Pellecchia bantered with Mr. Richardson, who helps participants with their on-air delivery. He often pairs with them on their shows and peppers them with questions. During this session, he was asking three of the men whom they would invite on a dream date.
Mr. Pellecchia named the reality TV star Snooki and said he would invite her over to show off his cooking skills. Then Mr. Richardson turned to Mr. Bungay.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/nyregion/radio-personalities-at-lifestyles-for-the-disabled-make-their-voices-heard.html?partner=rss&emc=rss