PLAY-PLACE Autism & Special Needs Center

The goal of Play-Place is to provide comprehensive services for early intervention, social development, employability, respite relief and resource management to maximize the potential for growth and development, independence, improved health, self- esteem and a better quality of life for the individual and the family as a whole.

Play-Place collaborates with many organizations in our mission to offer life-changing development opportunities. We have been working closely with the Special Education teachers and administrators from the Macomb County Intermediate School District to insure that our features and programs offer curriculum that meets their core standards. They will be continuously involved in our classes and programming offerings. We are partnering with 10 local schools that provide onsite job coaches, and employment skill training such as work experience, resume building, interviewing, and more to help with increasing the probabilities of finding and keeping a job. We
partner with Centria Healthcare that has an onsite 2,000 square foot center for autism diagnosing and ABA therapy services: critical services that are very lacking here in Macomb County. We partner with ABC Speech Therapy for onsite, reduced-rate speech therapies for our families. We conduct bi-monthly Parent Resource Nights where we partner with many, diverse local experts in their respective fields that provide one hour workshops for the parents on a variety of topics (special needs trusts, nutrition, dental health, therapies, etc.). We partner with Warren Woods High School's Make it Work program selling their unique and varied handcrafted items in our store. We partner with the local Jet's Pizza that provides pizza, subs and salads for our families in our onsite Bistro.

Our WorkPlus Program addresses the alarming 94% unemployment rate for this group with practical yet challenging activities, classes and real –life work experiences. This program is an integral part of our center, with the ability to accommodate over 40 participants at a time in an inclusive layout. Play-Place presents experiences that offer the transformative power of learning in a safe, supportive, inclusive atmosphere.

Until now, with our WorkPlus program, these individuals had no access to any of these critical components of successful, independent living. Progressing through our curriculum culminates in an individual who is well-prepared to be a contributing member of society, with a greater quality of life, independence & self-esteem.
Our participants are getting valuable job training and are developing skills and confidence that will propel them in their job searches & future employment.
Our "Get Healthy & Fit" physical education programming address the alarming 32% obesity rate for this group with fun, enjoyable yet challenging activities and classes. This program is an integral part of our center, with the ability to accommodate over 60 participants at a time in an inclusive layout. Play-Place presents experiences that offer the transformative power of healthy, physical play in a safe, supportive, inclusive atmosphere. Our CBI (Community-Based Instruction) education curriculum (multifaceted lesson plans directed towards local area schools) is a premier attraction and education/therapeutic source for educators and therapists seeking life skill development and classroom reinforcement through scheduled visits. Play-Place compliments this programming with CBI extensions (after school life skill & education activities) for children and siblings.

Play-Place collaborates with many organizations in our mission to offer life-changing development opportunities. We have been working closely with the Special Education teachers and administrators from the Macomb County Intermediate School District to ensure that our features and programs offer curriculum that meets their core standards. They will be continuously involved in our classes and programming offerings. We are partnering with 10 local schools that provide onsite job coaches, and employment skill training such as work experience, resume building, interviewing, and more to help with increasing the probabilities of finding and keeping a job. We conduct Parent Resource Nights where we partner with many, diverse local experts in their respective fields that provide one-hour workshops for the parents on a variety of topics (special needs trusts, nutrition, dental health, therapies, etc.). We partner with Warren Woods High School’s Make It Work program selling their unique and varied handcrafted items in our store. We partner with the local Jet’s Pizza that provides meals for our families in our onsite Bistro.

Play-Place also has a varied, multi-level fundraising strategy set out for the next three to five years.

• Program Partnerships
• Business Advertising/Sponsorships: ongoing
• Six annual Internal Events: raffle, gala, family events (Spring Dance, Halloween, Christmas)
• Third party events (NAPA Auto stores fundraiser)
• Naming rights campaign for our programs and features
• Grants: local, regional and national
• In-kind donations
• Online peer to peer fundraisers
• Volunteer program (over 2,717 volunteers donating 12,718 volunteer hours in 27 months)

Michigan is the nation's fourth state most affected by autism with over 16,000 students enrolled in Michigan schools and approximately 50,000 individuals living in Michigan with an autism spectrum disorder. Located in the heart of Macomb County, and including the surrounding county communities of Wayne, Oakland & St. Clair, Play-Place's service area incorporates Michigan's three largest counties, which house approximately 8,000 school-aged children affected by autism. In Southeast Michigan, there are currently 87,641 students enrolled in Special Education programs!

There is nothing like our center anywhere in the world! We attract children, young adults, adults as well as special education classes from Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, St. Clair, Genesee and Livingston Counties, and from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and Canada!

Play-Place History:

The vision for this amazing nonprofit center was born out of the desire of a mother with a son with autism for a safe, inviting, welcoming place for him to play, learn and develop. She realized if there was no place like this for him, other families were struggling just like her. And so, Shell set out to create such a place! Her dedication, determination and strength inspired others in the community to get involved. An example of her innovation is in the renovation of the 25,000 square foot building that houses our programs and features. The estimated dollar cost to have the necessary changes made to the existing building was $1.5 million dollars. This massive renovation was done almost entirely by volunteer union tradesmen (licensed plumbers, carpenters, electricians, sheet metal workers, pipe fitters, etc.) who would donate their time and talent in the evenings and weekends and also by building product donations, tool and equipment usage (drywall, framing, cement, duct work, paint, carpeting, etc.) donated by local construction companies, community organizations and businesses. This amazing community-wide volunteer effort is almost unbelievable in its scope and achieved in just 3 years!