Savannah Hefty, an 18 year old girl in Portage Indiana, is very passionate about gymnastics and helping out children with special needs. She decided to try to give it a go to put a team in place for children with special needs. She now is waiting for approval from a gym to put that in place. She said she's been to many different gyms in the area and hasn't been to one that has a team strictly for children with special needs. She said children with down syndrome, autism, children with braces, or any kind of need, just wants to be like the other kids.
Some of them have siblings who enjoy the sport, and they have to sit and watch their siblings, but could you imagine how they would feel if they had the opportunity to participate? Her goal is to give more children with special needs more opportunities. Any child can be successful, and if they feel successful, it can lead to many different skills whether it be in school settings, social settings, a home setting, so if she can win confidence in individuals, it's a win for everyone. So by getting kids to roll, twist, turn, spin, change directions, it's actually making them more aware of what's going on so that they aren't overwhelmed with new environments. So if you have a child with special needs, know that your child is ACCEPTED and Savannah is doing what she can to help let your child be involved!