Stars bring out the brushes in Art 4 Autism event

Soap stars cast aside their stellar mantles at Marco Island's Mackle Park over the weekend, instead turning the spotlight on a group of autistic young people.

The stars participated in the Art 4 Autism event as part of the seventh Southwest Florida SoapFest celebrations that included a golf tournament, a celebrity bartender bash and a "Cruisin' Boozin' & Schmoozin' " cruise.

The early art session featured autistic students from the Fort Myers-based residential/school program organization Eden-Florida. All teamed with soap stars such as Marcy Rylan, George Alvarez, John Driscoll and Caitlin Van Zandt to produce paintings intended for later auction.

As the stars entered the auditorium, they were warmly welcomed by the festival's head organizer, Pat Berry, who quickly took Rylan aside and warned her: "Be careful, the paint is not washable."

"That's OK," said a radiant Rylan, pointing to her white Capri pants and top. "They're all from Target anyway."

Once assigned tables with students, the stars quickly broke the ice by chatting away and offering plenty of encouragement.

For Alvarez, the session was as compassionate as it was enjoyable.

His best friend, he said, has an autistic child.

"A lot of them are misunderstood and not given the right amount of attention," Alvarez said. "We live in an insensitive world. I don't know if it's our culture, but people are insensitive if things don't go the pace that we want them to go. Everything's got to be perfect or have the illusion of perfection."

Rylan said she didn't hesitate when asked to participate in the events.

She said she'd done plenty of volunteering before, but not with autistic children.

Rylan directed her attention to student Barbara Collazo, who was assisted and encouraged with her painting project by Eden-Florida Director, Dr. Vicki Isler.

"I want to be in the news," Collazo said.

"You will be," said Isler, smiling.

Eden-Florida Assistant Director of Educational Services, Staci Thompson, said funding for the non-profit organization is either privately paid, or through the school district, or by means of part-parent and part-school scholarships.

She said autism occurs on different spectrums, with the students from Eden-Florida generally not able to be successful in public schools.