to "asian pacific america." hello, and welcome i'm robert handa, your host for our show here on nbc bay area and cozi tv. we start our show focusing on a somewhat mysterious condition that affects all communities, autism. as always, we are proud to support autism speaks walk, which seeks to enhance awareness and search for solutions. we continue that theme of the segment on a jewelry creator, a young woman with autism who generates beautiful products and inspiration. then we switch to some other inspiring people, winners of the junior league san jose volunteer recognition luncheon. we'll wrap up with information about the upcoming northern california cherry blossom festival and the immigration heritage awards. it's hard to fully explain autism and even more difficult to find solutions. the event next week, autism speaks walk, tries to do both.

with me are some friendly familiar faces, evangeline imana-iyemura, the co-chair of the autism speaks walk. and the mother of 13-year-old evan imana-iyemura, who has limited autism. they are the wife and son of our show photographer glen iyemura, who used to be bigger than evan. and also with us is the autism speaks walk co-chair caroline devega, who is also the mother of a child with autism. welcome to the show. evangeline iyemura: hi, robert. robert: good to see you again. evangeline: thank you for having us. robert: give us an idea--as i said, it's difficult to kind of explain autism. give people sort a sense of what it is if they're not familiar with it, as well as do we know more about it now since the shows that we've done? evangeline: well, it's neurological. and with the shows that we've done, i think that what autism speaks has done a great job is awareness. and we're really looking more for our community be accepted. so, acceptance is very important for these individuals with autism. robert: and i feel that is happening. i feel like more people understanding enough to accept

it when they see it in social situations. evangeline: yeah, i think so. i mean, 1 in 68, i mean, you're going to bump into somebody who is on the spectrum, whether it's a family member, or a friend, or a co-worker, yeah. robert: yeah, and something that we've touched on before. i remember when "rain man" came out and things, people do understand a little bit more about the fact that it opens up some creative outlets. it does more than just be like something that limits somebody. evangeline: yes, definitely, most definitely. robert: i'm sure, evan, you probably agree with that, don't you? evan: yes. robert: evan, you looking forward to this walk? evan: yes. robert: you're always very popular at that walk, huh? why is that? evan: because the walk, you--the walk, you get to listen to the--you listen to the mission moment, and you--then you shake your pom-poms up. robert: mm-hmm, you have fun out there. evan: yes. robert: very good. caroline, give me an idea here.

first of all, for you, how important is this event? and then talk to us a little bit about your family situation, it's a little different. caroline devega: so, with our family, my daughter is ten years old, polly. she has autism, and she's nonverbal, so she was diagnosed when she was two years old. actually, the year after she was diagnosed was the first ever year that we joined the walk. so, we've been doing the walk for almost eight years now. for me, the walk is sort of like a family reunion. so, we bring in all of our families. and our families who have friends, they bring them over. it's like--it's like a day that we can talk about, and i get to share polly too to my family, and they get to see the different ways that she's grown every single year. robert: now, she's nonverbal. caroline: yes. robert: what kind of challenge does that present not only for you, but as well as for her in overcoming it? caroline: it's very challenging to be nonverbal. what's amazing about polly is she's intentional

in her communication. so, we've used pecs, pictures to communicate, and we've transitioned to the ipad already. so, it's a challenge still, but generally like if you truly understand what she wants to communicate and you believe that she wants to communicate, you're definitely like in the same boat. robert: yes. and evan, i don't think we've ever described you as nonverbal. evangeline: you're not nonverbal, right? robert: that does help, though, right evangeline? in terms of, you know, the progress that he's been able to make over-- evangeline: yeah, he has. when he was first diagnosed, they actually said he might be nonverbal. and he's--for whatever reason, we lucked out, and he's been able to verbalize. and he keeps growing every year, and he's in junior high now, and he's starting to come up with sentences like junior high kids. robert: is he only in junior high?

evangeline: yeah, i know. robert: it looks like he's ready for college. give me an idea here for the challenges caroline was talking about. well, for the walk must be especially beneficial for parents too. they deal with it year-round, then they get a chance to kind of be around people who are dealing with maybe different forms of the same problems. evangeline: right. and what's nice about the walk is it's the community. it makes everybody feel, quote unquote, normal for the day. we have resource vendors there, so they're helping our families to see other types of resources that they can get within the community. and really it's just about having a lot of fun and celebrating our differences. and again, advocating for ourselves. these kids are amazing, and they're incredibly talented in different areas, and it's just a matter of finding that. robert: yes. caroline, what would you want people who maybe don't have that much experience, no direct experience in dealing with it but are sympathetic, what would you want to say to them and get

them to come out to the walk as well? caroline. oh, i would just want to say that this is a perfect opportunity to get to know us, a perfect time to actually drop by our table because it's like a picnic for our family. we got all sorts of filipino foods over there. everybody gets to see and enjoy just the way that we are. and we're actually--it's actually--what's amazing is you just come in, you don't know anything about it, and it gives us hope already to go on and continue on for another year for us. robert: very good. well, congratulations on everything, and looking forward to the walk. evan, good to see you again. evan: thank you. robert: the autism speaks walk will take place on saturday, april 14 at history park in san jose. registration opens at 9 a.m., walk at 10:30 a.m. nbc bay area is a proud sponsor, and the "today in the bay's" weather anchor kari hall will be on hand to host.

for more details, go to nbcbayarea.com. and when we come back, hopefully you understand now that autism doesn't have to hold someone back from creative pursuits. coming up, more proof of that with the founder and driving force behind the jewelry business designs by siri. that's next.

robert: our next guest show us a lot about autism by succeeding with a jewelry company, designs by siri. first with us is siri herself, siri chettipally. born with autism, it limits some of her communication skills, but not her talent for making jewelry. joining us are her parents, mom swathi chettipally, the founder and ceo of designs by siri, and dad dr. uli chettipally, who is not only the company's biggest fan, but a physician who believes in the creative power of individuals with autism. welcome to the show. uli chettipally: thank you. robert: first of all, maybe you can talk to us a little bit

about the different kinds of autism as well as i think it's very fascinating and maybe part of the reason why people seem to accept autism more than they used to, which is that they understand now that it isn't just a limiting thing. uli: yes, autism is a spectrum, which means that there's a full range of symptoms and conditions that are clumped together as autism. so, we can see the mildest forms where, you know, people are normally able to talk, communicate, you know, go to school, go to college, and hold a job. to the--to the most severe kind, where people are not able to take care of themselves or even injure themselves, you know, self-injurious behavior. and there's a whole spectrum in between with other medical problems included. robert: right. and we know that she is not part of that, the severely limited. in fact, she fully comprehends and understands things.

and if you text or write things out, it's much--she can do it completely, right? uli: yeah, siri falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. she's minimally verbal, which means that she cannot talk much, but she can say a few words. she could also text, but her understanding of language and understanding of the situation is she's very well aware of things. robert: siri, i want to make sure, am i saying your name correctly? what's your name? siri: my name is siri. robert: siri, okay. it's a very famous name now for people who use the internet. and siri gave me this, thank you very much for doing that. the--her talent for making jewelry led to this company. what made you decide to do it? what was it that sort of made you think that it was not only something that she could do well, but she could also do something in a bigger way commercially? swathi chettipally: yeah, when she was 22, she did not have a program to go to. and my son, the middle one, went into the army training. so, we came to know that they need care packages,

and they trained her to make the care packages. and then once the soldiers graduated, i didn't know what else to do because there's no more packages to send. so, that's when i trained her to make jewelry. robert: all right. now, when you trained her to make jewelry, and we have some of the jewelry on display here, can you describe for us a little bit in terms of what you saw that she was doing that made you realize that maybe it kind of helped her creatively? swathi: soon after the care packages, she was very much tuned into me. until then, i could never spend time with her. so, once she is tuned into me every morning, she would sit down to see what else i want her to do. that's when we went and bought some beads, and i got some pictures and wrote the social story. and i showed her how to do it with the pliers. that's it, she did it. robert: uli, is this a pretty good example of, like, using that as a creative outlet?

uli: yeah. i mean, siri has, you know, a good taste for color and shapes. and she's--she has good fine motor skills. and so, she can use tools and--so, she's uniquely talented that way, yes. robert: now, you're a doctor, so you probably have a little bit more insight into the whole subject than most people would have starting out. but for you as a father, what were some of the early stages like? and what would you want people to understand in terms of how to deal with that kind of situation? uli: sure. so, when siri was born and it was, you know, a long time ago, 25 years ago, there wasn't much awareness in the community, even in the medical community. but now, we know that, you know, early signs and symptoms of autism, you know, people can recognize. the sooner we recognize, the sooner they can get started on treatment, the better the outcomes. so, the first thing is, you know, that your child, baby, even at a few weeks of age may not be

sharing that social smile or, you know, looking at your eyes, where they might not be focusing at faces, those are some of the things. and then, of course, there'll be some behaviors that you might see later on. robert: right. of course, mom, you had to deal with that a little bit. it must've been really kind of tough in the beginning. but as we were saying, she comprehends everything, she understands everything, and she communicates, even if not verbally all the time. for you as a mom, how did the relationship grow as you started to suddenly maybe get more inroads and more insight into who she is as a person? swathi: once we started working together, she kind of understood that i am able to understand her. and we sit at the table for hours and we don't say much, but she wants the appreciation. she wants me to let her know that she's doing a good job. she does a very nice job. you should see on the youtube channel,

she's very good at watching us. robert: oh, is that right? swathi: i'm very proud of her. robert: yeah. well, what would you say has been maybe the biggest development that's come out of her being able to be a part of this and even be the driving force behind a business? swathi: she loves to learn, and i learned how to teach her. little steps at a time, not a huge one. and i would always try to see when she's getting bored or when she's confused, so i know exactly how to get her to do what i want her to do. and she gets bored if we ask her to do the same thing again and again. so, we need to get her new stuff. robert: oh yeah. is it important then to keep it-- uli: keep them--yeah, keep them interested. you know, one of the things that it does is it builds confidence in the kids. and you know, we have a team of other individuals with autism that help siri, you know, make stuff. and we see that the changes in their behaviors, in their attitude, and you know, they feel very proud to be

creating stuff and getting recognized for that. it also calms down their behaviors, so they're more at peace and enjoy that time in working with beads. robert: in many ways just like all children, huh? uli: yes. robert: all right, thank you very much. siri, thank you very much for coming on the show. uli: thank you, thank you. robert: for autism will be held on april 14 at the cubberley pavilion in palo alto, the same day as the autism speaks walk but at a later time of the day, 2 p.m., so you can attend both. the cubberley pavilion is at 4000 middlefield road. it will benefit autism nonprofits all over the bay area. it's for all ages and there will be dance prizes. the dj will be kristi james. you can get more information at nbcbayarea.com. well, next up, some inspiring people who will be honored by the junior league of san jose at its volunteer recognition luncheon. you'll want to meet them, so stay with us.

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the awards are some of the most prestigious you can get in the south bay community, the junior league san jose volunteer recognition luncheon coming up on april 17. and we have some honorees with us now. first, anika kumar, a 2018 crystal bowl winner nominated by notre dame high school in san jose. she's a freshman at cal, uc berkeley, and she was touched by stories of loneliness and isolation while volunteering at a senior center, and developed forget me not a program connecting students with seniors through weekly phone calls. our next winner is magesh jayapandian, a 2018 crystal bowl winner, nominated by united way bay area. he volunteers over 1,000 hours a year with a program earn it! keep it! save it! which offers free tax preparation for low to moderate income families. he also helps lead silicon valley volunteer meetup group, which encourages young people to volunteer while meeting socially. and also with us is the luncheon co-chair, amy aken, a senior public affairs rep with kaiser permanente, where she oversees grants and sponsorships to schools and nonprofits.

welcome, everyone. we almost have time for the rest of the show after listing all your credits. anika, first of all, give us an idea in terms of that is a great idea. what was it about and what did you feel when you were there? and how did you come up with that idea? anika kumar: yeah, so forget me not came from volunteer work that i did at an assisted living facility in my sophomore year of high school. and while i was there, my favorite part of the service was being able to sit down and have conversations with some of the older adults. they were incredible, they had these amazing stories. they've all lived such rich lives, had such incredible experiences to share with me. and there, i learned that many of the older adults suffered from social isolation, which is when they have such little social interaction that it can lead to loneliness and depression and things like that. and so, that's kind of where the idea for the program begin to partner teenagers like myself with these older adults in this really meaningful, intergenerational relationship. robert: you can certainly understand why seniors enjoy it, but i bet the teenagers and the students get a lot out of it too, huh? anika: yeah, definitely, totally. robert: you started a couple different things here.

first of all, the tax preparation, where did you see that need or how did that come about? magesh jayapandian: so, many years ago, some representatives from the united way bay area and the irs came to ibm, where i worked, and did a workshop about the earn it! keep it! save it! program. and i was a little apprehensive at first, but then once i found out about how important program is and the impact that it makes in people's lives in our community, i was hooked, and i've been with them for about eight years now. robert: yeah. we also talked about the social program that you started, or you're helping lead. what made you decide to do that? i mean, so obviously something that's very useful. magesh: so, silicon valley volunteers is a meetup group that a couple of folks started in 2009. and what we do is we all get together, mostly working professionals, and we have opportunities to work with various nonprofits in various volunteer activities on weeknights and weekends. robert: yes. you know, amy, i was once a board member on the silicon

valley volunteer exchange. and you know volunteering is some of the most difficult things that people can do. and one of the things that they do, they're combining like their own personal pursuits with these--that's one reason i guess why they're award-worthy, right? amy aken: absolutely. and april happens to be the month to recognize volunteers. and what better way to celebrate and to promote volunteerism by recognizing the men and women in our community that are giving so much to others to improve their lives? robert: it's nice to profile a couple of winners, but it's nice to see volunteerism in so many levels by people who maybe aren't getting awards. amy: absolutely. so, with the junior league of san jose, the 49th annual volunteer recognition luncheon, we received over 100 nominations for exceptional volunteers that are working very, very hard in the community. and you know, we--it was a very difficult process, but our distinguished judges were able to find ten that

really rose to the top, and two of them are with us today. robert: one thing i know that people who dedicate themselves like you two, you don't really do it for the recognition. in fact, you almost don't expect it. is it nice to get the recognition, though? anika: it is nice. i'm really glad that more word is being spread about this program and this cause, and i hope that it'll invite other people to participate in it as well. robert: yeah. and another thing that i thought about with your program in terms of the social aspect is it's nice for people to understand that they can meet other people that way too, huh? magesh: absolutely. it's one of my favorite parts of the program is that i get to work with such a great team of volunteers. and with the earn it! keep it! save it! program, we work with over 2,000 volunteers in the bay area, and come together to do such good for the community. a lot of people don't know that just by doing the right things, whether it's working for a living or sending their kids to school or raising a family, the government rewards this with hundreds if not thousands of dollars in tax credits. but what they don't know is that the only way they can get these

benefits is by filing a tax return. so, that's where the earn it! keep it! save it! program comes in. we have over 100--hundreds of sites all over the bay area. and what we all do is we help people prepare their tax returns, which not only saves them money on tax preparation fees, but also gives them access to these benefits. and that's what--something i find very rewarding about the program. and with only two weeks left for the tax deadline, i'm hoping that people can go out and either call 211, or visit earnitkeepitsaveit.org, and to find a site that's close to them and get access to all this. robert: kind of nice to hear somebody talking so passionately about it, huh? really quickly, are you still able to volunteer as much now that you're in college? anika: i am. even though i am at uc berkeley, i'm not physically making the calls, but i am maintaining a large role in the organization. and we've gotten a lot of interest from people across the country who are interested in participating, so we're working on expanding nationally. robert: well, you know what, you guys are inspiring people. thank you very much for being here and congratulations on the recognition, even if you weren't seeking it. amy: thank you.

robert: again, the 49th annual volunteer recognition luncheon by the junior league of san jose is on april 17 at 11:30 a.m. at the villa ragusa in campbell. for more about the event, go to nbcbayarea.com. and stay with us, we have more on some other big events coming up.

assessing any damage after our latest storm. we )ll show you the aftermath. and-- six months after the devastating deadly north bay wildfires we look at the recovery efforts underway. monday... from 4:30 to 7. monday... from 4:30 to 7. a couple of big events to remind you about. the 51st annual northern california cherry blossom festival is back in san francisco's japan town, one of the biggest celebrations of its kind in the world, april 14 and 15, as well on april 21 and 22, with the grand parade on the 22nd starting at 1 p.m. nbc bay area and "asian pacific america" will be there with games and prizes with help from tom muromoto, executive chef at the kaanapali beach hotel in maui, so come join us. also, coming up, the angel island immigration station foundation will hold its annual benefit gala and presentation of the 2018 immigration heritage awards. that's on april 19 at the hyatt regency in san francisco at 5 embarcadero center. the theme is "closing the door on exclusion,

opening the door to inclusion." we featured the group before. the foundation is building the pacific coast immigration center to connect immigration history to our current times. for more information, go to nbcbayarea.com. in fact, you can get more details about all of our guests and their events on nbcbayarea.com. and we're also on social media, twitter and facebook, so check us out there. as you can see, a busy month ahead, get out and get involved. we'll be back with another edition of "asian pacific america" next week. please join us and thanks for watching. cc by aberdeen captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com

we have a report of subject with a gun. >> we're going to be guarding our border with the military. >> there is some potential of a trade war. >> walking out for my students. >> the national championship. >> free at last. good morning and welcome to "sunday today" on this april 8th. i'm willie geist. we are waking up to another busy sunday morning starting with a deadly fire at trump tower here in new york city. one person was killed and several firefighters were injured when a blaze broke out on the 50th store. several stories below the president's apartment and above his offices. the president and his family were not home at the time. we are live on the