Nai’la Gives Her Best of All

Nai’la, her older sister Kailea, and her mom, Lisa, attended their first GiGi’s event, Pancakes & Pajamas, when Nai’la was 11 months old in December 2018. Lisa remembers it like this: “I was nervous and had been feeling isolated for almost a year. I remember walking into the gym and a whole group of families and volunteers surrounded me, excited to see my baby!  Immediately, I felt welcomed and embraced by other parents and felt this amazing sense of relief.”

Lisa was one of the families to then speak at our Grand Opening on January 11, 2020, and shared about how at that first event, she had instantly felt a community of acceptance and how excited she was to see Nai’la develop through programs at the Playhouse.

Over the next four and a half years, Lisa, Nai’la and Kailea began participating in every GiGi’s event available to their family. They consistently attended the annual events each year: Family Picnic, GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge, Car Wash, Pancakes & Pajamas, Noon Year’s Eve and more.

Lisa brought the girls consistently to every program available to them including Language Music ‘N Our Peeps (LMNOP), Destination Discovery, Leaps and Bounds, and GiGiFIT Kid. The first few times, our programs coordinator recalls that Nai’la would often move away or sit away from the group activities, and stay in the back, usually more interested in looking at books on her own instead of participating in activities or interacting with peers or volunteers. She often got upset or cried during programs, unable to effectively communicate with others.

Her mom did not get discouraged and continued to bring Nai’la consistently to programs. Through the purposeful programming at GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster, Nai’la was able to learn about and participate in so many different experiences and themes, including Grandparents Day, Cool parties, Dr. Seuss, Easter Egg hunts, campfires, Trunk or Treat, and more. We gradually saw her start joining the group, sitting on stage with the instructor, participating in activities, echoing speech, and interacting with others.

We are so proud of the progress Nai’la has been making! Each week, we observe Nai’la becoming more independent and cheering alongside her as she is consistently achieving Best of All moments on a weekly and monthly basis at purposeful programming! Specifically, Nai’la gives her Best of All at GiGiFIT Kid. She has learned the entire routine of the program and participates with excitement and confidence for the entire hour! She will go to her spot and follow group directions from the instructor. She will imitate movements and actions as soon as she is directed, such as those necessary to reach and balance. She will follow along to a welcome song, doing the motions and saying the names of her peers. She will rotate stations and participate in each one with a small group of peers, able to do sets of 10+ push ups, squats, squat jumps, and bridges. She is becoming so strong! She will also participate in ball twist exercises side to side and over and under. She is able to communicate more effectively. For example, she asked a volunteer when she wanted to do an activity with a different peer. She previously needed physical prompting to go through each of the obstacles, but now has self-corrected and can weave through the cones independently, as well as navigate through each obstacle! We are so proud of her! Upon completion of the obstacle course each time, she will run to her mom, give a high-five and shout, “I did it!” She will also wait and cheer for her peers by name while they do their turn of the obstacle course. She will sing along with the songs that go with the movements and exercises. When it’s time to stretch and share, she shares independently and then was observed to call on the next friend to go by name. She will assist with cleaning up as soon as it is announced. Nai’la anticipates the schedule and routine of GiGiFIT and helps out with the program running smoothly!

Her mom shares, “Nai’la has made friends, become more social, learned to celebrate her own achievements and the achievements of others! Her sister, Kailea, has also been able to have the amazing experience that most typical children do not, which is engaging with, embracing and advocating for people with Down syndrome! Our whole family absolutely loves going to GiGis Playhouse Lancaster, to the point that Nai’la asks on an almost daily basis if we can go to GiGi’s today! The whole experience has made a tremendous positive impact on our family!”