From Autism and Special Ed to State Capitol Steps

Kendall Collins

PORTERVILLE, Calif. -- Porterville’s Kendall Collins has come a long way since he was first diagnosed with autism at age 5 and placed in a severely-handicapped special education class.
Collins, son of Dana and Brad Collins, and brother to Candace Collins, is a local artist who has recently graduated as a Docent at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento — an intense five week training course, mostly on railroad history. He is also a Porterville High School 2012 graduate — graduating with a 3.4 GPA. But what has made him unique is that he has not let autism, or anything else, get in the way of going after his dreams while being a role model and proving that he has what it takes to be a leader.