We Rock the Spectrum: Gym for kids with autism, disabilities opening near GR

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A new business opening near Grand Rapids offer a play space designed for kids with autism and other disabilities.

We Rock the Spectrum Grand Rapids is celebrating its grand opening at 4550 Plainfield Ave. near Airway Street in Plainfield Township on Saturday. The all-inclusive sensory gym will officially open at 10 a.m., with festivities planned throughout the day including a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a visit from Spiderman, food from the nonprofit My Brother Rocks the Spectrum Foundation and a balloon drop.

The gym is designed with kids with autism and other disabilities in mind, though all kids are welcome. It includes swings, a trampoline, a rock climbing wall, a zip line and other fun equipment.

“The franchise itself does a lot of research on different OT (occupational therapy) equipment and different swings that can cater to those that may have physical disabilities, like sitting up or swinging,” owner and manager Autumn Wilson said. “So a lot of these can hold more weight too for some of our … young adults, older kids who may not be able to use things at a normal playground.”

There’s also an arts-and-crafts corner, a sensory room and a space only for toddlers. The lights can be dimmed and music can be turned on or off to meet the sensory needs of customers.

Available for rent are a birthday room, a multipurpose room and therapy rooms. Wilson said the spaces are welcome for field trips, private playgroups, homeschoolers, applied behavior analysis therapy and other social groups.

Wilson said she was inspired to open the business by her 4-year-old daughter, who was diagnosed with autism when she was 2 years old.

“We found it difficult to take her to public places to play where we felt that she was safe,” Wilson said, explaining that her daughter was nonverbal until late last year, and doesn’t follow directions well. “It makes me anxious, her getting lost in a sea of kids. … We wanted a place that was safe and closed and not too big to where it was easy to lose her.”

Wilson, who for the past 10 years has worked in critical care as a nurse, started looking into opening a space herself when the We Rock the Spectrum franchise came up as an ad on her Facebook.

What sold her on the brand was the slogan “Finally, a place where you never have to say I’m sorry,” she said.

“I still do it (say sorry),” she said. “And it’s hard. … Those that have kids with autism, where they make like vocal sounds, it can be kind of disruptive and a little intimidating from other families. So Dina creating that slogan really sold me because I felt that in my heart, of being sorry all the time.”

We Rock the Spectrum was first started in California in 2010 by CEO Dina Kimmel, after her son was diagnosed with autism.

“She has a similar story to a lot of the We Rock owners,” Wilson said. “They have kids with disabilities, it’s hard to take them in public places. They don’t feel really understood and welcomed when their kid is throwing a fit or doesn’t understand or is a little bit overloaded being around other children, or wanting to play independently and be OK. So she started the first gym and then once word got out from her it just has spread like wildfire.”

Wilson and her team were busy putting together the final touches on Friday. She said she couldn’t have done it without the help of her family, friends and volunteers who donated their time and supplies. As she prepared for Saturday’s grand opening, she said she’s nervous and excited.

Her daughter has had fun testing out the equipment: the trampoline is her favorite, Wilson said. She said she’s excited to have a place where her daughter can go with her ABA therapist, especially in the winter.

“Having a place in the winter that she could go to have her therapy and also have a place where she can run around and still jump on a trampoline, which is her favorite thing in the summer, was what really drove me to try to find a space — or create it myself,” she said.

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