An East Flatbush teacher is celebrating World Autism Awareness Day, a cause she says hits close to home.

Andrea Gordon Smith is a teacher at Walt Whitman Middle School in East Flatbush, but her son also has autism. 

Gordon says April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day and as a way to bridge the gap between her personal experience as a mom and her role as a teacher, she wanted to educate her class about what autism is. 

She says her goal is to spread awareness about autism, admitting it was a struggle for her to come to terms with her son's disorder, but over time it got easier to accept. 

Students took time Friday to learn about autism. 

Gordon says she would like to make the class an annual event.