This was no pity-party that teachers Kimberly McAdoo and Morgan Peaceman threw at the Connie Lekas School, P811 in Brooklyn, for Autism Awareness Day. “We didn’t want an ‘Oh my gosh, autism, how terrible, how sad’ attitude,” said Peaceman. “Our mission was to shine a bright light on autism, to show there is so much more to these students. They aren’t their disabilities and what they can’t do. Their abilities and who they are so outshine their disabilities.” Joining with the Light It Up Blue campaign to celebrate Autism Awareness Month, teachers and other staff painted their nails blue and offered to polish whoever else desired bright blue fingernails. There was also face-painting, a photo booth and a disc jockey. Some 50 students, parents and others showed up at the Brooklyn school auditorium for the April 2 event. “The parents appreciate what we do,” said McAdoo. “They were here getting information, having fun, just being with their kids in a comfortable, accepting environment.” Parents listened to a keynote speaker who discussed, among other topics, services that exist for them and their children. “I teach these kids because it’s so rewarding and exciting when the light goes on in their eyes and you know you’ve reached them,” said McAdoo, the mother of an autistic 24-year-old son. “That’s the biggest thing for me.”