Company donates equipment for construction of playground for autistic children

By Staff Writer

A construction company is donating its time and heavy machinery to help build a playground for children with autism and other behavioral disorders.

Holland Construction will contribute to the installation of playground equipment, basketball hoops and tetherball sets outside of an academy in Florida. The institution is designed to service children with behavioral disorders and their parents by providing specialized education.

The president of the construction company is on the board of the Center for Autism Resources and Education, which provides support for families who are facing autism or a related disability. He said that his business is happy to help the academy create an ideal environment for children with autism.

The director of the institution said that researchers, educators and parents have molded the philosophy of the program: children with developmental disorders should not be expected to mold into an environment, but instead the setting and methodology should be suited to each individual student.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that an average of one in 110 children in the U.S. have autism.