We used to say look Joey is making the sad face again – what’s the matter buddy? Not realizing that these head drops were seizures our baby was experiencing at 14 months – thus began our journey of years of trying to figure out what is happening with Joey? It wasn’t until our second son Andrew was born that I realized all Joey did for fun was go to therapy! Andrew was invited to more Birthday parties by age 3 than Joey ever had at age 7. I started to look for programming for special needs swim classes and we were turned away because he needed a swim diaper and overall his needs were too intense for the programs we found. I was heartbroken, but determined.
I formulated a plan to establish a center where Joey and other children with special needs would be welcome, regardless of their language abilities, behavioral challenges or skill level. I envisioned a place where parents and children would feel comfortable socializing and learning life and recreation skills in a creative and safe environment. I worked with a pediatric neurologist, a disability advocate and a behavioral specialist to create SNACK* (Special Needs Activity Center for Kids and *Adults), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, fourteen years ago. We need to fundraise as the fees parents pay don’t cover what it costs to run our program – we fundraise to cover that gap.
SNACK successfully fills a void for over 200 children, teens and young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities on a weekly basis in the New York City Metropolitan area. We do this by providing quality programs designed and staffed to address their needs and support their families with their daily challenges. A key philosophy of SNACK is to serve people of all capabilities no matter how challenging the behavior or the degree of his/her disabilities. We have the capacity and ability to serve those with the most challenging behaviors seen in autism to give them the help they need to thrive — opportunities to make friends, have fun, improve skills, build confidence, work, and participate in activities that typical people do every day. It’s expensive to run but we are committed to a no “in-take” policy – we are proud to say we never turn anyone away. Over the years as we have grown and established ourselves in the special needs community, we are finding the population we serve really requires more of a 1:1 staff to participant ratio. SNACK primarily serves a population with challenging behaviors who require the greatest support, yet are frequently rejected from other special needs programs.
What makes SNACK so special is not only the families but the staff that work with us. Implementing our unique approach. We have a 2:1 ratio, more often 1:1 and no more than 8 kids in a class in order to provide intensive support and customized programming. All program activities are led by individuals, trained in their particular discipline, such as art, music, drama, yoga, movement, swimming and sports with various backgrounds involving special needs education, behavior therapy, coaching and instructing. The program is overseen by a supervisor and a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analysis) who works with parents and teachers to create a behavior plan that complements the goals that are being worked on at home and at school. Many of our staff started at SNACK as volunteers, we have watched them grow with our kids, developing unique bonds and becoming remarkable special needs educators. Their passion and commitment to the specials needs community is what keeps SNACK being the place that it is today. Our staff retention and high family re enrollment rate is a testimony to our commitment to our kids, their families and our staff.
As Joey continues to grow and new challenges face our community, my focus has evolved from him making friends -which now he has many- to him having a happy and purposeful life. We recently started our SNACK 21+ program where our efforts are in the continuation of their personal and professional lives after aging out of school. What we do is hard but our families are counting on us to be there 7 days week, 46 weeks year. We are grateful to those who support our mission and help us raise the funds we need so we don’t let them down.
Jackie Ceonzo- Joey’s Mom
Executive Director and Founder, SNACK*
