VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It may be a warm December weekend but that’s not stopping Santa Claus from making the rounds.
Saturday morning, children with autism and others that are neurodiverse got a chance to meet up with Santa in an environment that’s suitable for them.
Mr. Claus stopped by Sentara Therapy Center in Virginia Beach's Redmill to say hello to families in a place without loud noise or distractions. Event organizers called it a “Sensitive Santa” visit.
Paige Ellis, a Sentara Speech Language Pathologist, explained that inviting Santa to the therapy center gives children who need a low-stress environment a chance to meet the big man in red.
“This event is so important and special to us because it’s a way for us at Sentara to give back to our families of children that may be autistic or neurodiverse that come to us for therapy,” Ellis said.
Children who attend the therapy center, and their siblings, got to take pictures with Santa and get presents in a calm, quiet, and familiar space with fewer visitors. It gives them a chance to meet Santa just like any other child, but with less stimulation and noise.
“It’s a way for children to see Santa in an environment that’s less stressful than going to the mall where there’s loud noises, there’s crowds. Everything is overstimulating,” Ellis said. “That causes high stress for children and their families.”
Ellis said this is the 5th year the therapy center at Red Mill hosted the Santa event and 42 children signed up – the most ever.
Families say events like this mean a lot to their children and it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.
“It was wonderful,” Danielle Garlitz said. “I loved seeing the smile on her face. She was talking about this all day basically. She loves Santa Claus.”
All of the Sentara workers volunteered their time this weekend to make the event happen.