Texana Center was very pleased to receive a $10,000 donation from community partners, Fairmount Santrol. The funds will be applied to the purchase and construct a new playground specifically designed for children age 2 to 5 years who attend our applied behavior analysis autism program in Rosenberg.

For most children, the playground is typically the first place where they engage with other children and with the world at large. Play is important for developing language, appropriate emotional responses, problem solving and creative skills in children as well as the social skills that are the foundation for all relationships. Children with autism may enjoy playing, but they can find some types of play difficult. It is common for them to have very limited play skills; playing with only a few toys, or playing in a repetitive manner. Play often does not come naturally to them, so they have to be specifically taught these very important play skills that seem to come easily to most typically developing children. The Children’s Center for Autism uses applied behavior analysis to carefully assess each child’s individual skills and then develop a program to specifically teach these important activities.

Ellen Catoe, Senior Manager, Children’s Center for Autism, said “We are very excited about the possibility of having a new playground for our younger clients diagnosed with autism. The current playground has little that interests them and is very outdated and in poor condition. We plan to have a grand opening of the playground as soon as it is built.”

Fairmount Santrol has been supporting Texana’s programs since 2014 following an introduction by Fort Bend Cares Foundation. Fairmount Santrol believes in making investments in the communities where they live and work, and Texana has become a beneficiary of that investment.