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“Gentle Giant” JU student Ian Jordan Chaille highlighted in Folio Weekly

JU student Ian Jordan Chaille, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is the subject of a lengthy Folio Weekly article this week on his successes as he has faced his challenges, highlighting his current role running the soundboard for the school’s upcoming productions of “Laundry & Bourbon” and “Lone Star” directed by his mother, JU theatre arts professor Deborah Jordan.

MAREN TITH/JU -- JU student Ian Jordan Chaille and his mother, JU theatre arts Prof. Deborah Jordan, go over the soundboard prior to the school's upcoming production of the one-act comedies "Laundry & Bourbon" and "Lonestar"

Chaille, 21, a computer animation major, is described as “a typical student at Jacksonville University” who thinks a lot about his life after graduation, studies hard, listens to heavy metal and hits up his Xbox 360 for some occasional gaming.

Asperger’s is an autistic spectrum disorder; those with it are more typically high-functioning with normal language abilities, but also “have social skills deficits and some idiosyncratic tendencies,” Dr. Michael J. De La Hunt, division chief of psychology and psychiatry at Nemours, told Folio.

MAREN TITH/JU -- JU student Ian Jordan Chaille and his mother, JU theatre arts Prof. Deborah Jordan, go over the soundboard prior to the school's upcoming production of one-act comedies "Laundry & Bourbon" and "Lonestar."

The article looks at the challenges and hurdles overcome by Chaille and others with the syndrome.

“If I were to describe [him], it would be my ‘gentle giant,’” Jordan is quoted as saying of her son, who is 6 feet, 4 inches tall. “He’s a very sweet boy; where he got that sweetness, I don’t know; it didn’t come from me.”

The two one-act comedies run 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21-23, 7:30 p.m. March 1 & 2 and 2:30 p.m. March 3 in the Swisher Theater on JU’s campus. Chaille said he’s having a blast on the production.

“I love interacting with actors, with the stage manager and with the director herself.”

The Folio piece quotes Chaille as he gives tips to those who don’t understand his condition, telling them to limit children’s exposure to violence and create more awarenes of Asperger’s.

“We’re not really like everybody. … don’t be clueless and continue to be clueless about it,” he told Folio. “There’s no cure for autism, and I’m really glad there isn’t, because if we were all the same, the world wouldn’t be very much fun.”

To read the entire article, click here.

For a Wave Weekly article about “Laundry & Bourbon” and “Lonestar,” click here.

Tickets for the two plays cost $10 for general admission, $7 for seniors & military and $5 for students. They are free to JU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 256-7374.