Bells ring and horns blare from a 17-by-9.5-foot platform in a Plum basement. Recorded chatter between cab crew and station crackles in the air. Five model trains with rods churning rumble across a bridge and through tunnels with one locomotive chugging at a simulated speed of 36 mph.Among a collection of about 80 action figures roam cows, horses, pigs and goats while firefighters douse a blaze, and four skaters glide on a frozen pond. One locomotive puffs the scent of burning logs.Amid this bedlam of smoke, sound and motion stands Jason Smierciak, 29, attired like a railroad engineer in a pink bandana, denim jacket, blue jeans and a casual shirt from which dangles the chain of a gold railroad watch, a flower-embossed gift from his grandfather. Smierciak bears the calm of an airplane pilot during a storm. His love of trains has sometimes posed social problems because Smierciak has autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that often involves difficulty in communicating and building relationships with others, repetitive behavior and a specialized interest in arcane subjects. However, his involvement with Self-Advocacy Voices, a Highland Park-based group, allows him and others with disabilities to talk about their interests and stand up for themselves.“A lot...
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