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Volunteers of America Southeast's Little Tree Playground Project

Dan and Shelby from the 95KSJ Breakfast Club are teaming up with Volunteers of America Southeast to help rebuild a playground for The Little Tree, a school for children with autism, and also typical kids.  The event takes place on Saturday, November 15th from 8-5. The Little Tree School is located at the old Kate Shepard School on the corner of Azalea and Burma Roads (off Government Blvd). We are looking for volunteers to help rebuild playground equipment, and to paint, clean up, and basically make the playground usable again.  The biggest thing we need is a privacy fence, because the existing chain link fence is too short and too dangerous for the kids being so close to a road.  We are also accepting donations to buy supplies … or call us if you have extra supplies such as outdoor primer and paint, brushes, sand paper, new wood, etc.  We would also love to have an experienced contractor to volunteer some time to oversee the work done by the other volunteers.  If you can spare your time or a donation for the kids, please sign up to volunteer, donate online, or call us to tell us how you would like to help.  You can call Keith Ferguson at 421-3380 for more information. See below for more information on the Little Tree.

Event date: Saturday, November 15th ... 8am - 5pm. Find out more at www.wksj.com

If you would like to donate to this cause, please click HERE. If donating online by credit card, please let us know that your donation needs to go to the Little Tree Project. You can indicate this in the "additional comments" section.

To VOLUNTEER for the event, please click HERE.

Sponsored by:

The Little Tree Learning Center of Mobile opened in August 2007 and is located at the former Kate Shepard Elementary School on Azalea Road. The Little Tree is an innovative preschool program serving children with autism alongside their typically developing peers. The Little Tree offers the children served a rich and nurturing environment where learning opportunities are maximized and diversity is valued. The school currently serves 24 students, 12 typical children and 12 children with autism. Children attend The Little Tree year-round, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Friday.

In response to great demand in the Mobile area for highly specialized instruction for children with autism, The Little Tree will expand to serve 36 children for the 2008-2009 school year. Community involvement is vital to sustain and further develop this new and innovative school. Please continue to support The Little Tree Learning Center of Mobile, and watch us and the children that we serve “grow up”!

What is autism?

Autism is a complex developmental dis­ability that typically appears during the first three years of life. Autism is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with a form of autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabe­tes, and AIDS combined. Autism is four times more likely to occur in boys than girls. Autism is a spectrum disorder and it affects each person differently and at varying degrees. Autism impairs one’s ability to communicate and relate to others, may cause cognitive deficits, and is also associated with rig­id routines and repetitive or odd behav­iors. In some cases, aggressive or self-injurious behavior may be present.

 How do programs like The Little Tree help children with autism?

Many studies have proven that the leading method of choice for treating individuals with autism spectrum disorders is the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is a combi­nation of psychological and educational tech­niques that are utilized based on the needs of each individual child. The intent of ABA-based programs like The Little Tree is to increase skills in the areas of language, play, socialization, and cog­nitive skills, while decreasing be­haviors that interfere with learning. The Little Tree Learning Center of Mobile, and its sister program, The Little Tree Learning Center of Auburn, are unique in Alabama and are setting the standard for progressive, ABA-based education for children with autism.