Nearly three years ago, Melissa Satterfield, the Event Director for Mansfield’s Spectrum Behavioral Solutions (SBS), a specialized school for autistic children, addressed the need for a playground.
“I asked our board [at Cookies for iPads] what they thought our greatest educational need was, and they all agreed it was a playground,” said Satterfield.
“When we started pricing the playground it seemed impossible, since just one piece of the equipment would cost over $75,000, but then we found a used playground on Craigslist from a Catholic School. We went and dismantled it and brought it here.”
Satterfield, along with volunteers from organizations like the Red Cross Response Team of Crawford County and SBS staff members, finished phase one of the project in mid-November.
Phase Two will involve fencing, mulch, and finishing the entire structure. Plans include a basketball court, a full sensory area complete with textures and lights, an outdoor cafeteria, and a full preschool playground.
“It will cost us close to $20,000 when we’re finished,” explained Satterfield.
The Make it Fit Foundation donated items for the playground and has combined resources with Cookies for iPads on many events and fundraisers. This past September, SBS and Cookies for iPads held a Swing at Autism golf outing, which raised a lot of the funding they needed.
Additional funding for the aptly named HOPE playground was raised by the Cookies for iPads organization that Satterfield started after her son, Chase, was diagnosed with autism.
“He was diagnosed in 2011 when my youngest was only four weeks old; a very emotional time as you can imagine,” said Satterfield. “I tried to deny a lot of signs, like the fact that he never slept like a typical baby; he hated to be in large crowds. The biggest ‘something’s wrong’ moment came at his second birthday party when everyone started singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ He had one of the worst meltdowns I had ever seen over the candles and song.” Satterfield said that Chase also never spoke and by age four had only a few sight words.
When Satterfield sought assistance, she was shocked at the lack of resources available to her.
“Chase never spoke until one week after receiving his iPad,” she said. That’s when Satterfield realized how effective iPads could be for autistic children and founded Cookies for iPads.
The state of Ohio has only 12-15 schools for children with autism, with a gigantic waiting list at each of these schools. Part of the problem, she noted, is making sure autistic children are included in state insurance programs.
“We need to define things like autism services in Ohio,” said Satterfield, after attending a legal summit for Medical Insurance Reform in Tennessee.
Satterfield has become a champion for children with autism and is working hard to bring new resources and services to these children.
In 2012, Governor Kasich signed a bill allowing every family on Medicaid to receive an additional 20 hours of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Though Satterfield is pleased with this bill, she says there is a need for so much more.
“Some of these children will need help into adulthood, and there are few programs available to them,” she said.
When the HOPE Playground is done, Satterfield wants to plant a tree in a large pot to signify that “hope grows.”
For more information on the playground or Cookies for iPads, visit their Facebook page.
