Hospital Shares Yule Joy With Autistic Youths : Autism: The holidays can be a time of increased isolation for the children in the developmental center at the Camarillo facility.

A boy who looks years younger than his age carefully sprinkles silver glitter on a Christmas tree ornament made of gingerbread.

The 14-year-old speaks in fragments. He says he wants a ski mask for Christmas and that he hopes he can spend the holidays with his family. He says he is lonely, he is a long way from home.

The boy, named Michael, is one of 27 autistic children, aged 5 to 17, in the developmental center at Camarillo State Hospital.

For the children at the hospital, the holidays can compound feelings of isolation.

Some will be visited by their parents, but many will not. Only a few will get to go home to see their families. As a result, staff members at the hospital go out of their way to make sure each child gets several presents and the units are decorated for Hanukkah and Christmas.

“We like to spend the holidays with the kids,” said Chris Jordan, a staff technician who works with the autistic youngsters. “The holidays are meant to be shared. They’re not just for ourselves.”

Bill Cambron, a residence supervisor, agreed.

“Some of the staff members have been with these kids for a long time,” he said. “We love them like they are our own children.”

Over the past week, the youngsters spent time making decorations, trimming a Christmas tree and putting together a train. One evening, staff members took a small group on a field trip to “Candy Cane Lane,” a street in Ventura where the houses are decorated for the holidays.

On Monday, representatives of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will arrive with toys and Santa Claus will be flown in by helicopter.

Camarillo and Sonoma are the only state hospitals in California that take autistic children. Many of the children’s families are far away, and parents find that visiting the hospital for the holidays is often unfeasible, officials say.

A few parents say they find it difficult to visit the hospital, according to staff members. They say the illness is too heartbreaking. Autism is characterized by daydreaming, hallucinations and disregard for external reality. Many of the children in the group at Camarillo cannot communicate. The exact cause of autism is unknown.

“We have an understanding of what the families have been through, and we understand how they must feel,” Cambron said.

Some of the children have been at the hospital almost all their lives, while others have been there only a few months. Whether they are discharged depends on how they react and relate to others.

Staff members hope Michael will be released within the next few months.

According to Israel Perel, who supervises the autistic children’s unit, the holiday exercises help draw out the children.

“It’s part of the learning process,” Perel said.

Cambron added: “We try to make things as normal as possible for these kids. It is important to keep the tradition of Christmas.”