Looking for a place where all the kids can play? We Rock the Spectrum Kids’ Gym offers a unique play space designed with special needs children in mind. But all kids are welcome to visit the gym, use the unique equipment and play together! Kidding Around’s Melanie Coblentz visited We Rock the Spectrum Kids’ Gym with her kids and is bringing our readers some first-hand information about this new kids’ gym!
Current Safety Policies: The policy announcements, changes, and more can be found on the We Rock The Spectrum Corporate website.
Don’t miss our Greenville Special Needs Guide for Families where you’ll find resources, services, classes, and activities for families with special needs children.
Everyone Can Play at We Rock the Spectrum
“Finally a Place where you never have to say I’m sorry”, is the motto of the Upstate’s kid-sized gym, We Rock The Spectrum Kid’s Gym. This will resonate with a lot of Upstate parents, particularly those parents that have children with special needs.
The good news is that while it is geared toward children with special needs, everyone is welcome! With the rise of children being diagnosed with an autism spectrum-related disorder, the need for places like this is so great. Often times when spaces cater to special needs children, it may exclude neurotypical siblings from playing alongside. That is one of the many, many things I love about We Rock The Spectrum. No one feels different, even though the equipment is geared towards sensory stimulation and autistic children.
We Rock the Spectrum Gym Equipment
Each piece of equipment has been chosen with great care and consideration.
- The zip line is a great confidence builder and a way for children to challenge themselves to make it all the way to the crash pit on the other end of the gym.
- The crash pit doubles as a calming quiet space with the use of a weighted blanket.
- The trampoline helps to teach balance while building lower body strength. Also, who doesn’t love a trampoline?
- The hammock swing promotes a state of calmness and security for children, allowing them to relax and focus.
- The carpet swing is a fun way for children to get the sensory stimulation they crave. This is definitely my son’s favorite place to be in the gym.
- In addition to the equipment, there are also rooms that are unique to the gym. There is a calming down room, for children to decompress if they find themselves overstimulated. This is a really awesome thing, especially in a place where escaping the sensory overload might be hard to find. There is also a therapy room, available for children and their therapists to come and have a session. Sometimes a change of scenery can help children receiving therapy because therapists might not witness certain behaviors in a traditional setting.
Qualified and Well Trained Staff
Owners Kimberly and Chris Tolbert opened this sensory gym with the purpose of giving back to the community. As a former special needs educator, Mrs. Tolbert saw a need for a place where children could go to enjoy social interactions that they might not have an opportunity to experience otherwise. All of the adults the Tolberts have employed at the gym have a special needs education background. In addition, all of the young employees that were hired when the gym opened, received training from the Autism Society of South Carolina.
This training is important, especially since one of the many opportunities the gym offers is respite and break time care for parents and parents’ night out events. These provide families with an oftentimes much-needed break when they wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving their special needs child with a traditional babysitter.
The gym is also a great place to have a party! They offer 2-hour private party sessions, complete with a party room to use. You don’t even need to be celebrating anything, you can just arrange a private playdate time with your mom group or church group.
As they grow, the Tolberts are adding all sorts of opportunities to the things offered at the gym.
We Rock the Spectrum
2607 Woodruff Road, Suite A, Simpsonville | 864.243.8419
Admission:
$14 for the 1st child / $12 for each additional sibling