When Benjamin Philbrick was growing up, his young babysitter Janel Sia often wondered why the little boy seemed different from other kids. He was obviously bright, but lacked many of the socialization skills the rest of us take for granted.

Nevertheless, the babysitting job was hers for a number of years, and as she and Ben grew up, they became great friends in spite of, or perhaps because of, their differences.

At one point, Ben – a gifted artist at a young age who had produced dozens of paintings, drawings and sketches – spotted a school picture of Janel and reproduced it remarkably well as a portrait. Janel’s family was so thrilled that they framed the portrait and it hung on a wall in their home.

This month, the portrait was temporarily moved from that wall to a Manhattan gallery, where two of Ben’s pieces, along with art produced by 32 other young people, all with autism, are on display to commemorate National Autism Awareness Month. The exhibition, appropriately called “The Artistic Spectrum,” is on view until April 24th at the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery at the JCC Manhattan.

In addition to the portrait of Janel, Ben has a painting of Pinocchio on display in the exhibit. His works were chosen from among 250 submissions sent to the JCC Manhattan.

Ben, his parents Bill and Dinah, his teacher John Szolnoki, and Janel were all on hand on the evening of April 2, when the JCC held a gala reception for the artists at the gallery on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Ben, a student in Szolnoki’s Project AIIM class at the Hommocks Middle School in Mamaroneck, proudly posed for photos, and was sheepishly introduced to a crowd of more than 100 people attending the reception.

Ben, 14, travels each day from his home in Cortlandt to the Project AIIM class, short for Applied Intensive Intervention Model, a Southern Westchester BOCES program for students with autism spectrum disorders. The program follows methods developed by Dr. Gary B. Mesibov, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, who advocates structured teaching for children with disabilities like autism.

Szolnoki, an AIIM teacher for the past 20 years, said he has witnessed more success in students taught with a structured teaching method than students who might have been treated through medication. Students allowed to live their lives without invasive medication don’t lose the personalities that make them distinct, entertaining and gifted, he said.

“Autism has a culture of its own,” said Szolnoki, “and its own dignity. We have to respect that culture and that dignity.”

Many children on the autism spectrum exhibit behaviors, ticks or mannerisms that might not seem acceptable by strict societal norms, said Szolnoki, but are capable of being creative, fun and intelligent beyond imagination. Ben’s ability to create works of art, he said, could have been stifled had he been treated with psychotropic drugs.

Janel, the former babysitter and now longtime friend, said that even though Ben’s autism was a mystery to her for many years, his endearing sense of humor always charmed her and anyone who met him. Now 19 and a sophomore at Barnard College, Janel coincidentally declared her major on April 2, just hours before heading to the gallery reception for Ben.

“My major is neuroscience, the study of the human brain and nervous system,” she said, holding onto her friend’s hand. “Guess who inspired me?”

For more information about “The Artistic Spectrum” exhibit, go to www.jccmanhattan.org. For information about the treatment of autism, go to www.autismspeaks.org. For information about the SWBOCES AIIM program, go to www.swboces.org/css.

(Report courtesy of Evelyn McCormack/BOCES.)