Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., announces that Benjamin Eric Berlin, a 16-year-old Shawnee Heights High School student, was selected for this year's Congressional Page Program.

Topeka ? A former Lawrence teen will be making history this month as a congressional page, it was announced Monday by U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka.

According to Boyda, Benjamin Eric Berlin, 16, will become the first person with autism to serve in the page program, which began 181 years ago in 1827.

Berlin, who attends Shawnee Heights High School, said he was looking forward to participating in the three-week program to show people in Washington “that people in Kansas aren’t just a bunch of hayfield people.”

At a news conference at the Easter Seals Capper Foundation, Berlin’s mother, Mari White, described her son as an easygoing young man whose motto since he was child has been “different is good.”

Berlin has Asperger’s syndrome, which is considered a milder form of autism. People with Asperger’s syndrome usually function in the average to above average intelligence range, but often have difficulty with social skills and engage in restrictive and repetitive behavior.

Berlin attended Riverside and Deerfield schools in Lawrence before moving to Topeka. He contributed as a writer to the Lawrence Journal-World as a member of the paper’s Teen Advisory Board.

He has also been through the Kansas Youth Leadership Academy, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library, and has served as a page in the Kansas Statehouse, working for Sen. Anthony Hensley and Rep. Ann Mah, both Topeka Democrats.

He was selected for the congressional page program by a board based on an essay, extracurricular activities, character and motivation. The board included representatives from Kansas, Kansas State, Pittsburg State and Washburn universities.

“Ben did not get this chance because he was autistic. Ben got the chance because he was extremely involved, mature and caring, and he demonstrated that to everyone that was around him,” Boyda said.

But Boyda said that as a page Berlin will be able to show others how people deal with disabilities.

In a prepared statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised the selection of Berlin.

“Congress is committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in this historic learning experience,” Pelosi said.

Berlin said he was looking forward to working, getting paid and seeing the sights of the nation’s capital. His primary duties will be delivering correspondence and legislative materials, and answering telephones and taking messages.

His mother, White, said she was apprehensive about Berlin being away from home for so long, but thought it would be good preparation for college life in a couple of years.

Berlin credited his mother for her support.

“If it weren’t for her, I would be just another bump on the log,” he said.