Article published on February 28, 2008 by the Poughkeepsie Journal.

"Prematurely born teen defies odds"

by Larry Hertz

WAPPINGERS FALLS - Amtoj Aujla can't sit still. He greets a visitor at the front door of his home in Wappingers Falls, then joins him, briefly, on the couch for some introductory small-talk.

Then the rambunctious teen - everybody calls him by his nickname "Ams" - bounds into the kitchen, fetching a collection of compact discs and pops into the CD player one of his favorites, an old Stevie Wonder album.

"Ams has learned how to tell one CD from another, just by their feel," his mother, Tapinder Aujla said, shaking her head. "It's been a miracle, really, the things he's learned to do."

Over the past 16 years, a lot of people have used the word "miracle" to describe Amtoj Aujla. Born at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie four months prematurely be-cause his mother was suffering from a serious infection, he weighed barely one pound and was less than a foot long. His weight later dropped to only 15 ounces, and doctors told his parents their son had no more than a 10 percent chance of survival.

Aujla beat those odds, growing to 5-foot-6 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds - albeit with some serious disabilities. The retinas of both his eyes were detached at birth, limiting his sight to a slight recognition of light and dark in one eye and no sight at all in the other, and he has symptoms of autism. But he has thrived at a series of schools, starting when he was 21/2 at an early education program in Beacon run by Rehab Programs Inc.

Several programs attended

Since then, he has attended special education programs in schools in the Hyde Park and Arlington districts. And for the past year and a half, he has attended the New York School for the Blind in Batavia, Genesee County, in western New York. The teen's transportation to and from the school is paid for by the Wappingers Central School District, his mother said. The state pays his tuition to the school.

School Administrator Steven Hagen calls Aujla "one of our success stories.

"Physically, he's a heal-thy, normal kid," Hagen said in a recent interview. "He has virtually no vision, but he's able to get around our campus on his own without any problems."

Hagen said the teen has been a "whiz" at the computer (he uses an audio program that "talks" to him about what is on the screen) who is able to complete most of his assignments effortlessly. He's especially adept at math and music, and he recently finished first in his school in the junior varsity division of a statewide Braille competition, Hagen said.

Aujla even travels to Batavia High School twice a week for a history class, and he excels in physical education classes.

Academics are only a part of his activities at the school. He and his fellow students spend several hours a week at a workshop where they learn to use common tools to assemble various products, earning money they may spend at the school store, Hagen said. The students also visit work places, most recently a local hotel and the offices of the Batavia Daily News, to learn about future employment opportunities.

Far-off school a hardship

His parents said they wish he could attend a school closer to home but say they're generally satisfied with the education their son is receiving there. When he was going to school locally, he was able to take advantage of other opportunities offered by local agencies, such as a weeklong stay at the Briggs Farm in Hyde Park, a fully operating farm, complete with horses, cows and chickens. The farm is owned by New Horizons, a Poughkeepsie-based agency that provides services to children and adults with various disabilities.

"Ams isn't home very much to take advantage of these things now, and the travel back and forth from Batavia is difficult," his mother said.

But she added she has learned not to react too emotionally when her son is upset.

"One time he was crying because he didn't like the journey from home to Batavia and I told him, 'You know, when you are 5 percent upset, your, mother gets 500 percent upset,' " she said. "Ams laughed and said he'd try not to let things bother him so much."

Lynn Deslandes, a caseworker at Dutchess ARC, the agency that helped the family find the school in Batavia, said she had been working closely with special education officials to ensure the Aujlas were receiving the services they needed.

"We were able to refer him to the Briggs Farm and provide other services and support," Deslandes said. "[Amtoj] is really a remarkable kid."

The teen's father, Harminder Aujla, said he can still remember the anguish he felt when doctors told him his son's chances of survival were slim.

"It was really painful when he was born," he said. "All parents want their children to be perfect, and he wasn't the perfect child. Now we are happy. He wasn't perfect, but he was a gift from God."

Harminder and Tapinger Aujla said they remain hopeful their son's sight can someday be restored.

"There has been so much research in this field that there is certainly hope he will one day be able to see," his mother said. "That's why we have kept all the pictures and videos we have taken of him, so he can see them someday. But whether or not that comes to pass, he has learned so much and has become so independent, we are very proud."

Harmider Aujla agreed.

"Being blind is one thing," he said. "We see children all the time who can't walk or talk, who can never be independent and we realize we're lucky.

"The doctors told us when he was born to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and that's what we been doing for 16 years now. He learns things every day. He's amazing."

Reach Larry Hertz at lhertz@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4824.

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