NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Keeping up with the schedules of Alison Milne’s three children is a challenge that can take her from one town to the next. She has speech therapy for Derek, 4, a social skills group for Sarah, 7, and must find a way to include Christopher, 2.
Last week, Milne was doing all three at Stepping Stones Therapy Center in Lawrence, a place that offers various types of therapy based on exploring and playing.
Stepping Stones opened three weeks ago and rents space in the mill buildings on Merrimack Street at Imagine That, an activity and birthday-party center with slides, play houses, a kitchen, art supplies and activity rooms.
Milne was able to get some rare one-on-one time playing with Christopher while Derek was getting his speech therapy and Sarah was cooking with a group of children to work on social skills, something that is hard to get at a typical clinic.
“It can be a handful finding things to do in a clinic waiting room with one kid while another is in therapy,” Milne said as Christopher zoomed around in a toy car. “Sometimes therapy sessions are short, half an hour, but then it’s all the effort to get ready and get there and then it is time to go.”
Stepping Stones offers two-hour sessions that involve different activities for a wide range of therapies and ages. Students ages 2 to 22 are signed up with diagnoses including cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, mild motor-skill delays and mild speech delays.
One session will incorporate many skills, including learning motor skills through karate, communication through sign language and social time with cooking. The sessions offer one-on-one help and group time.
Director Lynda Gallagher is a longtime occupational therapist who works at Winchester Hospital in Wilmington and worked for Amesbury Public Schools. She said she saw a need for a space where students can work on things they learn at a school or a clinic in a more relaxed setting.
At first glance, nothing about Stepping Stones hints that therapy is going on. Children are jumping in an inflatable bounce house, looking through books in the reading corner and playing with puppets and other toys.
Gallagher said the area creates what is hard to get in a regular therapy session that is just adult and child — other children and a new environment.
Gallagher said depending on the diagnosis of a child, insurance coverage for therapy can be limited, and sometimes those children can use some extra help once those sessions are up. For a long-term condition, such as autism, Gallagher said, introducing a child to an open, varied space can help the child learn how to adjust in different situations.
Kristin Butterfield, a special education teacher from Haverhill, said Stepping Stones is different from just taking a child to Chuck E. Cheese because it is geared toward kids with special needs. She is working with Caitlin Torissi, 9, over the summer.
“Here, there is a level of understanding,” she said. “They embrace her. They want to know her.”
Caitlin, of North Andover, has been diagnosed with what is called “pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified,” also referred to as atypical autism.
Butterfield said one reason Stepping Stones is good for Caitlin is it offers a specialized program that helps kids incorporate more foods into their diet. In the kitchen, Caitlin was working with a group of students to mix a recipe where everyone took turns measuring out the spoonfuls and stirring the bowl.
Amy Costa, 19, was also part of the cooking group. She was signed up through the Pelham School District, which is using Stepping Stones as supplemental therapy to what is offered through the school.
Valerie Morse, inclusion facilitator for the district, said Stepping Stones not only provides new ideas for working with students, but it also has specialists that many school districts can’t afford or don’t have access to, such as a music therapist, drama therapist and handwriting therapist.
Costa is the only student using the program so far, but the district is looking at ways to use more of the resources at Stepping Stones for things like vocational training for students and educating parents about how to work with their children.
“They are willing to work with a district to look outside the box,” she said. “They are willing to be creative.”
At left, Derek Milne, 4, and his brother Christopher, 2, of Andover play at the Stepping Stones Therapy Center inside “Imagine That” learning center on Merrimack Street in North Andover.Tim Jean/Staff Photo(Click for larger image)
