Courtesy of Celeste Brown
Celeste and Chance Brown
Owner Celeste Brown with her son Chance at the North County location
After experiencing the We Rock the Spectrum gym in Fenton with her son, Chance, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, Celeste Brown wanted to share that experience with the community in North County, where she's lived for 30 years.
“[North County] didn’t really have any sites where you could take your child with a developmental delay, with Down Syndrome, with ASD, to play with your neuro-typical children,” Brown says.
So, on Saturday, March 24, Brown opened We Rock the Spectrum North County, an indoor gym that provides sensory-safe equipment and activities for children with ASD, special needs, and who are neuro-typical.
This equipment includes zip lines, trampolines, climbing walls, swings, tunnels, exercise balls, and crash pads.
“It’s anything that an occupational therapist would use,” Brown explains. “And it’s not just for children that need therapy. This is stuff that’s good for anyone.”
The equipment assists with vestibular movement, helping children to develop their sense of space and movement. The gym also features creative play areas with things like play kitchens, an ice cream parlor, and puppets, as well as an area for arts and crafts. These areas help children to develop communication, relationship, and task-orientation skills.
Beyond all of the fun equipment and activities that children can enjoy during open play, the gym hosts birthday parties that are safe and fun for everyone.
“My son can’t go to all of the birthday parties that his friends have,” Brown shares, “because it has to be something in an environment that he can feel safe in and there’s something there to feed his sensory needs.”
Brown also hopes to begin classes at the gym in activities such as martial arts and yoga. She has plans to host a “Stranger Danger” class with the St. Ann Police Department, as well as a fire safety class with the fire protection district.
With these activities and classes, Brown is dedicated to more than just helping the children, but to helping parents by sharing resources with them, offering sensory-safe Melissa & Doug toys for purchase, and allowing them to play safely with their children.
“Most of all, I want to give parents a chance to play with their kids and watch their kids play,” Brown says, “because I believe that that’s something that we don’t have a lot of these days.”
We Rock the Spectrum North County is located at 10513 St. Charles Rock Road in St. Ann. It offers Open Play from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon–6 p.m. Sunday for $12 a child with available membership options.
