By Paul Shapiro
"We do it all year," said Bracha Arnan, the autism coordinator at the JCC. "Every day and every month is like National Autism Month for us."
There are four groups that each meet once a week at the center. The Friendship Group, which meets on Sunday, has existed since 1994. That group focuses on socialization, as it teaches the children how to make new connections with their peers. The children in the Friendship Group suffer from autism, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, while those in the Recreational Group, Social Skills Group and Support Group mostly suffer from autism. All of the programs are partially funded by UJA-Federation of New York.
Ossi Goodbeer, of North Woodmere, sends her 10-year-old daughter Michaela to the autism programs at the JCC on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. "She is always so anxious to get there," said Goodbeer of her daughter who is one of eight children with special needs that takes part in these programs. "The JCC has wonderful programs that gives my daughter an afternoon of activity. It's sometimes hard for autistic kids to be social with others, but the JCC provides an opportunity for the children to meet other kids instead of staying at home."
The recreational group for children with autism meets on Wednesday while the social skills group for children with autism and support group for the siblings of children with autism both meet on Monday. Each of these three programs have been staples at the center for the past four years.
"Our programs give special needs children an afternoon to be with friends," Arnan said. "The JCC understands the needs of the community, especially for children suffering from autism. The numbers continue to increase every year and this JCC will provide help for all types of patients ranging from children to adults."
All four programs give autistic children the opportunity to take part in activities such as arts and crafts, music, drama and work on life skills while interacting with other children that are similar to them.
"Autism has become more prevalent today," said the JCC's executive director Rina Shkolnik. "More families are in need of programs addressing the issues with children with autism. At the same time, we need to raise the community's awareness in accepting and being there for these children and their families. We are developing and offering programs that respond to these needs."
For more information on the JCC's autism programs, call Bracha Arnan at (516) 569-6733 ext. 204.
Evan Nemeroff contributed to this story. Comments about this story? PShapiro@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
