City Among First To Go ‘Autism Friendly’
May 22, 2018
By: John Reinan
Source: Disability Scoop
AUSTIN, Minn. — Seven-year-old Kayde Gustafson races into the YMCA gym, grabs a kid-size basketball and puts up a shot at one of the four hoops ringing the court.
Then he goes to the next hoop. And the next. Always in the same order, always the first thing he does at the gym.
“It’s his acclimation routine,” said his dad, Derik.
Kayde has autism. He has trouble connecting with other children at school. But for one Friday night a month, he’s just another kid letting off steam in the gym with friends.
This special “respite night” through Autism Friendly Austin is meant to give parents a break from caring for their children on the spectrum. But from the looks of it, the kids are getting even more out of it than the adults.