JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Every weekday morning as part of his routine, Jeffrey Stewart, 36, gets dropped off at his Alternatives Day Habilitation Program at The Resource Center in Jamestown, which has supported people with disabilities and other challenges for decades.

Jeffrey has Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, meaning he is on the autism spectrum but has no specific diagnosis.

As soon as he walks in the door of the program, Jeffrey makes sure he greets team leader Lisa Covey, who sets him up with a variety of activities that he can do independently or with his peers.

"It's good for him to socialize with different people and get him out in our limited community," said Covey.

Jeffrey is non-verbal and communicates through signing, yet Lisa says he has learned over the years to become more vocal.

"Using gestures to tell staff what he wants and to get his points across,” said Covey. “And he's been interacting more with different games and learning how to play the games appropriately.”

Kaitlyn Johnson is part of Jeffrey's support staff, and helps him get ready in the morning at his community residence in Jamestown where he lives with other people who have disabilities, before driving him to back and forth to the program.

Johnson says the program keeps Jeffrey active and makes their day go by a little faster, rather than just sitting home.

"I get excited to come to work because I know if the day's going bad, he's going to smile,” she said. “It rubs off on you so it makes you smile too.”

As part of his day program, like clockwork at 9:30 a.m., applied behavior science specialist Crystal Przybelinski comes to the room to get Jeffrey and brings him upstairs to spend a little time with one of the agency's newest staff members, Milo the robot.

The Resource Center acquired Milo the robot through a grant, and is programmed to work with people on the autism spectrum.

"I would consider this a breakthrough," said Przybelinski.

Jeffrey has only been working with Milo for a short time, and is still getting used to what it can do, as the robot is designed to teach him lessons, play games and practice proper social skills. 

"He’s excited to come up here,” said Przybelinski. “We're already seeing his interaction and wanting Milo to do more things. So, we're hoping just to continue to build off that."

Przybelinski says Milo will also help Jeffrey recognize feelings, emotions and calming skills that he can use when interacting with others in real-life situations.

"Our hope is that once he gets through more of the introductory lessons, it'll progress and we can start some of those social skills,” she said. “And getting him to be able to utilize those skills everywhere he's at.”

Jeffrey's mom, Barbara, got to meet Milo for the first time, as Przybelinski gave her a brief demonstration of what just may be the most effective learning tool her son has ever used.

"To me, it seems like it's going to be a really great learning experience for him,” said Barbara Stewart. “I'm actually thrilled by this. Because there have been many attempts at trying to get him to communicate with communication devices.”

And after his session with Milo is over for the day, Jeffrey heads back to his day program, where he sits down to enjoy a well-deserved snack before getting ready to head back home.

The Resource Center staff says it plans to continue to introduce Milo to more people with autism in the near future.