Piscataway 8th Grader Raising Autism Awareness and Fun Factor for Kids at YPCC

Laila Simmons earns her Girl Scout Silver Award.

April is Autism Awareness month, and a Piscataway 8^th grader, Laila Simmons, is raising awareness and the level of fun for some autistic children who frequent the YMCA at the Piscataway Community Center (YPCC).  Laila is a Girl Scout in Troop 81105; she dedicated her Silver Award project to making a lasting difference for some kids in her community.  She also offers all of us an opportunity to learn how we can make a difference in our communities.   

Laila was inspired by her four-year-old cousin, who is autistic.  During the pandemic, they were only able to interact using Zoom or other electronic devices.  Laila told me that was “a lot of screen time.” 

Laila loves art and making things with her friends.  She thought that her cousin and other kids of all abilities would love to come together for fun, sensory play.  Laila asked her art teacher, Teresa Michalski, to help her develop activities that include art and involve sensory play.  They worked together with Laila’s aunt, Tanaisha White, who is an early childhood specialist. 

Laila told me that it was especially important that the activities be engaging; kids should have the ability to move around and explore, using their senses to help develop language and motor skills.  Laila and her friends made sensory play mats for small children to explore different textures. She also created play stations featuring slime making, Lego building, water bins, orthopedic puzzles, and even a giant piano mat.   All the materials and activity guides were donated to the YPCC by Laila and her family. 

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest honor a girl can earn at Laila’s age.  It involves at least 50 hours of planning and management of a project that addresses a problem in their community or the world at large.  The project should also have a lasting impact on the community.  Often Girl Scouts will use proceeds from their Girl Scout cookie sales to fund their projects. 

Laila’s project certainly met the Silver Award criteria.  To raise awareness of these new materials at the YPCC, Laila hosted play workshops.  At each workshop, children were invited to play and explore.  Laila gave training talks to the staff about the benefits of sensory play and how to use the activity stations effectively.  After each event, Laila asked the parents of the children to complete a survey so they could make improvements to the program.  Laila hoped to attract 25 children to each event.  She said she was pleasantly shocked when almost 100 kids attended!   

Although the sensory play cart is in active use at YPCC, Laila hopes to host an additional workshop this Spring in conjunction with YPCC’s Healthy Kids Day celebration on April 29th.