Here are some community resources for students with disabilities in the bay area<\/p>\n
SNAP swim program in Berkeley and Challenger baseball leagues<\/p>\n
Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP)
\nXenophon Therapeutic Riding Center<\/p>\n
Kids Gym, Berkeley
\nThis 10,000-square-foot facility is the cr\u00c3\u00a8me de la cr\u00c3\u00a8me for indoor play when you\u2019ve got a kid who needs to get moving! Their open gym is available for kids up at 11 years old (plus their caregivers) and offers swings, an indoor zip line, toys for fine motor skills development, crash mats, pillows and more. Kids will work on skills like balance, coordination and sharing without even knowing it! Need a break from all the stimulation? Head to the quiet room for some down time. Check the schedule for special events like circle time, kids yoga and everyone\u2019s favorite\u2013the dance party.
\n2920 Seventh Street
\nBerkeley, CA <\/p>\n
Magical Bridge Playground, Palo Alto
\nTouted as one of the nation\u2019s most inclusive playgrounds, the Magical Bridge opened its Palo Alto location in April 2015 to pleased children and parents alike. With five different \u201cplay zones\u201d to choose from, kids can swing, sway, spin and slide to their heart\u2019s content. The music zone was provided to motivate interaction, facilitate socialization and improve social skills among children. Pretend play is encouraged throughout the playground but especially in the two-story playhouse that is fully accessible to all children via ramps and bridges.
\nMitchell Park
\n600 East Meadow Road
\nPalo Alto, CA<\/p>\n
Grins \u2018n\u2019 Giggles Party Space
\nEstablished by Gatepath, a nonprofit serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families for more than 98 years, Grins \u2018n\u2019 Giggles party space was designed with specialized indoor and outdoor play structures to accommodate children of all abilities and accessible for those with special needs and disabilities. Best of all, it\u2019s available year-round, rain or shine. Grins \u2018n\u2019 Giggles is staffed by credentialed early childhood educators with experience in caring for children of all abilities, who will help parents plan a fun-filled day of activities, which could include face painting, art projects, bounce house jumping, parachute games and guided play.
\n Grins \u2018n\u2019 Giggles
\nMcCarthy Center for Children & Families
\n1764 Marco Polo Way
\nBurlingame, CA <\/p>\n
Rotary PlayGarden, San Jose
\nDonated by the Rotary of San Jose in 2015, this park aims to enable children with special needs to play alongside their siblings and friends. Right near the airport (with loads of planes flying overhead!), the park offers a wheelchair accessible merry-go-round (moved by kid power!), slides, swings and all sorts of kinetic art to get kids exploring. The entire play area is fenced for safety but there\u2019s not a ton of shade there so go on a cloudy day. Read more about our visit here.<\/p>\n
Guadalupe River Park
\nColeman Avenue at Autumn Street
\nSan Jose, CA<\/p>\n
Sky High Sports, Special Needs Jump Time
\nSky High Sports turns off the music, dims the lights and dials down the distractions on Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. for the comfort of guests. Jump sessions for kids with special needs and their families is a passion project for Sky High founder Jerry Raymond. The father of a special needs son, Jerry has witnessed how jumping can help improve motor and sensory skills, social interaction and overall fitness for kids and young adults on the Autism spectrum as well as young people with Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy and other disorders. During special jump sessions, each jumper is $5 from 3pm until 6pm with one parent or therapist free. Family members who jump are also just $5.<\/p>\n
Sky High Sports
\n2880 Mead Ave.
\nSanta Clara, CA<\/p>\n
Sensory-Friendly Movies at AMC
\nOn the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, select AMC theaters offer a sensory-friendly screening of kid-friendly new releases. They turn the lights up and the sound down to make it more comfortable for kids. Everyone is free to sing, dance, shout and walk around as needed throughout the film. These theaters offer this amazing program so check their online schedule for upcoming showings:<\/p>\n
San Francisco: AMC CLASSIC Deer Valley 16, AMC Showplace Manteca 16
\nOakland: AMC Bay Street 16
\nSan Jose: AMC Mercado 20<\/p>\n
Swim and Gym Inclusion Program At the Downtown Berkeley YMCA, families with children with special needs are welcomed to participate in regular programming, but also catered to with tumbling and swimming classes for ages 2-6 and creative movement, games, and friendship building workshops for ages 4-12. Contact Rachel or Eden with questions about accommodations or these programs: 510.665.3280. <\/p>\n
E-Sports includes several Bay Area community service programs: E-Soccer, E-Karate, E-Hoops, E-Fitness, and our newest, E-Dance. Each program specializes in inclusion, which partners kids with typical and special needs alongside each other in various athletic capacities. These programs have pioneered the inclusive sports philosophy and made an impact on families from California to Kenya.<\/p>\n
E-Hoops Locations
\nUNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
\nST. MARY\u2019S COLLEGE
\nRIVERBANK
\nHERCULES
\nOAKLAND<\/p>\n
E-Soccer Locations
\nSUNNYVALE
\nSAN FRANCISCO
\nALAMEDA
\nFOSTER CITY
\nHAYWARD
\nMODESTO
\nPLEASANTON
\nWALNUT CREEK
\nPIEDMONT
\nMORGAN HILL
\nFAIRFIELD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here are some community resources for students with disabilities in the bay area SNAP swim program in Berkeley and Challenger baseball leagues Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP) Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center Kids Gym, Berkeley This 10,000-square-foot facility is the cr\u00c3\u00a8me de la cr\u00c3\u00a8me for indoor play when you\u2019ve got a kid who needs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-occupational-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}