Expanding Social Oppotunities For Special Needs Kids

The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus made history this year when STOMP Troopers—a subkrew comprising several tweens and teens with autism—paraded with the sci-fi themed krewe while performing on homemade percussion instruments, which helped them control the noise and drown out the often unsettling environmental noises.  The STOMP Troopers were the brainchild of NOLArts Learning Center.

 

“Our mission it is to get kids with autism and other special needs out of their ‘silos’ and out into the community, experiencing and participating in New Orleans’ culture,” explains Kate Lacour, a board-certified art therapist and registered ABA line tech and co-founder of NOLArts.  And nothing screams New Orleans culture like a Mardi Gras parade.

 

Organizers arranged to have participants gather at a home—furnished with plenty of snacks and even a therapy dog—to await the parade’s start. Once the procession started, the crowds cheered and the kids smiled, waved, and passed out doubloons. The STOMP Troopers made it for the duration, and organizers are planning to return with even more participants in 2017.

 

Kate stresses that in addition to the STOMP Troopers, NOLArts has several ongoing structured groups in which kids socialize and practice visual or performing arts. They’re also getting ready to launch a Youth Music Workshop group, which will meet at Tipitina’s where kids will listen to and then jam with a live band, and will also add a Museum Explorers group, which will meet at NOMA to explore the collection and create art inspired by the exhibits.


The Acting Bug

The performing arts provide abundant opportunities for expression and interaction for “typical” kids as well as those with special needs.  The Prism Project (TPP) of Greater New Orleans is an inclusive performing arts program for children ages six to 14, with and without special needs. Each winter/spring, participants meet for rehearsals on multiple Saturday mornings from January through April, with the final performance on a Saturday afternoon.

 

For those 15 and older, the TPP has a Junior Director program that provides participants with additional responsibilities. While the 2016 season of the Prism Project is underway, you can contact Families Helping Families of Southeast Louisiana for information about the next TPP season.

It’s April, which means you’ll be seeing lots of teens in tuxes and gowns. Thanks to the Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC) in Lakeview, many kids who wouldn’t feel comfortable attending a prom—or even any school dance—can dress up to the nines and dance the night away.

 

“We wanted to do something that wasn’t available to this group of children,” says Jenny Domiano, an occupational therapist and co-owner—with Brooke Weinstein—of the TLC. “A lot of these kids go to a regular school and are in special needs classrooms and don’t feel comfortable going to their prom, so this is for them.”

 

Last year, the first “Heart and Sole” prom drew about 80 kids, with separate gatherings for younger and older kids. “This year we’re combining it because the younger kids’ was more fun—they danced more,” says Jenny.

Some of the special considerations and accommodations put in place for the Heart and Sole prom include attention to lighting, the volume of music, and providing calm corners of the room.

 

The prom is open to anyone with special needs; children must be accompanied by a parent, and brothers and sisters are asked not to come.

“These kids always have to be dragged to their siblings’ activities,” explains Jenny. “We want this prom to be just for them.”

 

Saturday, April 7, 2018

6-12 years old: 4-6 pm

13 years and up: 6:30-8:30 pm

Congregation Gates of Prayer
4000 W. Esplanade Ave. S., Metairie

$28/person; $12/t-shirt
tlcnola.com, 504.565.7300