Santa gets down on the floor to play with kids in an autism play group
Tegan Carlson & Aiden Jandreau playing with Santa.
Kailee Richardson- Santa was great about getting down on her level which made her feel much more comfortable with him.
Heather taking a selfie with Santa.
This is Tegan Carlson- he was telling Santa that he wants Thomas the Train.
This is Tegan Carlson- he was telling Santa that he wants Thomas the Train.
Isaac Richardson, was very interested in Santa, but would only do really quick “drive-bys”.
There was ample time for everyone to just play as well.
We finally got Isaac Richardson to take a picture with Santa by having him take a selfie with us J
Brian Farnham tugging at Santa’s beard.
Ivy Ladd & Thane Waddell hanging out with Santa.
Thane Waddell gets a chance to sit on Santa’s lap.
Aiden Jandreau gets a present from Santa.
Austin Richardson finds out what’s in Santa’s bag.
Tegan Carlson & Aiden Jandreau playing with Santa.
Kailee Richardson- Santa was great about getting down on her level which made her feel much more comfortable with him.
Heather taking a selfie with Santa.
This is Tegan Carlson- he was telling Santa that he wants Thomas the Train.
This is Tegan Carlson- he was telling Santa that he wants Thomas the Train.
Isaac Richardson, was very interested in Santa, but would only do really quick “drive-bys”.
There was ample time for everyone to just play as well.
We finally got Isaac Richardson to take a picture with Santa by having him take a selfie with us J
Brian Farnham tugging at Santa’s beard.
Ivy Ladd & Thane Waddell hanging out with Santa.
Thane Waddell gets a chance to sit on Santa’s lap.
Aiden Jandreau gets a present from Santa.
Austin Richardson finds out what’s in Santa’s bag.
WARREN—On December 22, Santa Claus made a special stop to visit some children in the Tree of Life Learning Center on Route 90 in Warren. Heather L. Nelson, who works with the Children's Collaboration Center in Warren and runs the autism play group said seven families (including her own) showed up to meet Santa.
“Last night was a great success,” she said. “There were nine children with autism and typical siblings as well. Last year my friend, Marshall Perfetto, stepped up when I was looking for a Santa to come to our group. This year, he reached out to me asking if he could play Santa again. Bobbi and Chris Young, of the Tree of Life Learning Center graciously donated the space for the evening and Marshall and I shopped for candy canes and toys for all the children. I originally started the play groups because children like my son Brian, who has autism, are usually not included or able to participate in most of the after-school activities that are offered in the area. I wanted to create a place of inclusion, where they could play how they needed to without being judged, where parents could connect with other parents and typical siblings could also meet other siblings who also get what it's like to live with a brother or sister on the spectrum.
“All of the kids had a great time last night. I'm always surprised by how busy and loud it can get and how different all the kids are. We have some severely affected by autism and some very high-functioning children, yet everyone always seems to have a great time and there are never any huge meltdowns. Our Santa is special because he doesn't just sit in a chair waiting for the kids to approach him. He gets down on the floor and he plays and he is as patient as the kids need him to be. Many of our kids aren't able to wait in lines without difficulty and they need a lot of time to warm up to approaching someone that is different, like Santa. All the kids had a wonderful time and by the end of the night each of them had at least gave Santa a high-five.”
Check out our gallery of photos taken by Heather Nelson.
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