Members of the teen band The Kingsmen raced into the Encinitas Music Therapy Center of California on Wednesday afternoon ready to rock 'n' roll.
Reid Moriarty, 15, flashing a huge grin, paused in the lobby only long enough to check whether bandmate Conor Dawson, 16, had finished his drum lesson.
Then, fast on Reid's heels came Kenton Makings, 10, he too, eager to begin the band's weekly rehearsal.
Reid, along with Conor, Kenton and Rancho Santa Fe resident Charlie Poole, 16, (who wasn't able to attend practice Wednesday) make up The Kingsmen, a band of four youths, all who have a high-functioning form of autism.
A complex neurological disorder, the autism spectrum disorder affects 1.5 million Americans.
And though autism affects each individual differently, all have considerable difficulty communicating ---- both verbally and nonverbally ---- and with social interaction.
"(Rehearsal) is the highlight of Reid's week," said Solana Beach resident Andrea Moriarty, Reid's mother. "It is the one thing that he doesn't negotiate with me about doing."
Rachel Gant, a 24-year-old music therapist with the Music Therapy Center of California, works with the boys on their music and social skills.
She said all of them have greatly benefited from band experience.
"When Reid started (with music therapy) seven years ago, our goal was to sit at an instrument for three minutes," Gant said.
Just off a gig at the It's a Grind coffee shop in Encinitas last Saturday, the teens at Wednesday's rehearsal were eager to talk about their performance.
"Who can tell me something that went really well?" Gant asked the band.
"Kenton, I thought you did great on the 'Imagine' piano solo," Reid said, fidgeting a little in his chair.
"Everybody did great on their solos," Conor chimed in, adding that he especially liked guest performer John Cooper's rendition of "Breakin' Down the Berlin Wall."
"It was broken down in 1989," offered Kenton, a Parkdale Lane fifth-grader.
The band was formed in late 2007 by Veronica May, Gant's predecessor at the Music Therapy Center.
Since then, the band has performed at Borders bookstores, Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, fundraising events and on KUSI's "Good Morning San Diego" TV show.
Last Saturday, the band raised nearly $1,000 for Banding Together, a San Diego nonprofit aimed helping raise money for music scholarships and instruments for local families with an autistic child.
On Sept. 26, The Kingsmen are scheduled to perform at the Walk Now for Autism event in Mission Bay Park and at a benefit concert at Lestat's on Oct. 23.
The band can also be contacted at www.myspace.com/kingsmensandiego.
