All Abilities Hub creates spectrum of friendships
By Whitney Alswede
Every Wednesday, kids, teens — and even adults with special needs— are invited to come as they are and join the All Abilities Hub. For some, that means sitting next to a new friend and participating in the day’s activity; for others, it looks like watching the group from the sidelines. No one pressures, no one judges. Every person, every age, every ability — everyone — is welcome.
“Sometimes, for the first time, they may just observe,” said founder Katia Mukhammadieva. “They can walk around, they can stim, they can talk and be very vocal, which would usually disrupt a regular class. Then they may join us at the mat, and some kids can just sit. It doesn’t look like they’re participating, but sometimes it’s great progress because two weeks ago they wouldn’t come in and use the space. In our club, families are used to this behavior, and it doesn’t bother anyone.”
The Wylie resident started the nonprofit two years ago after searching for a social group for her profoundly autistic daughter, Nastasia, now 16. Driving to therapies and activities throughout the Metroplex was taking a toll on Mukhammadieva’s health, so she began looking closer to home. When she couldn’t find a good fit for Nastasia, she started the All Abilities Hub. Today, the group has about 15 members, ages 6 to 25, with a range of conditions and abilities.
Club members regularly create art, explore textures, build with LEGOs, play outdoor games behind the Rita and Truett Smith Public Library, participate in yoga sessions and host sensory-friendly events, including a Christmas party, talent show and bingo night. They also learn life skills through exposure to new experiences, such as visiting a chiropractor’s office.
“It was a great experience for our kids to be in a new space, to learn how to be respectful of the medical equipment, to know how they need to wait, where the space to sit is,” Mukhammadieva said. “That experience actually gives them something that they can use in the future when they need to go to a doctor’s office. And they may recall, ‘Oh yeah, I remember I did this. That’s how we do it. I do not touch that, or this is the waiting area.’
The same applies to the art club where they’re taught, “This is how we do it. These are my supplies,” Mukhammadieva said, adding they practice a lot of social communication and are encouraged to talk and communicate with each other.
Sitting in groups and working side by side encourages club members to be social, acknowledge what the people next to them are doing and form friendships. Nastasia is considered nonverbal and has speech apraxia, but other All Abilities Hub members are fully conversational. No matter their abilities, though, everyone finds a friend, Mukhammadieva said.
“Nastasia doesn’t talk and she doesn’t play, but it’s amazing to see how inclusion works,” she said. “A girl who is way younger just loves Nastasia, and she feels it, so she’ll go and sit next to her. Even if it doesn’t seem like big progress for other families, to me, it means the world, because someone loves my child, someone wants to interact with her. It’s really cool to see how we’re building a community and people are caring for each other. Nastasia accepts it and understands what friendship is.”
Mukhammadieva relies on donations and volunteers to keep her organization free of charge for families, giving parents the opportunity to visit without a financial commitment. Allen’s Powered to Move regularly donates space to the club, and a friend of Mukhammadieva’s makes the 40-mile drive once a month to teach yoga. Even Nastasia volunteers, setting up the activities — giving her the opportunity to learn work skills, just like her 16-year-old peers get in high school.
Parents also stay and help with the activities, leading to perhaps one of the most unexpected benefits to come out of the All Abilities Hub’s weekly meetups: friendships for the parents — even the dads. Just as it is for their kids and teens, the club is a safe place where caregivers can breathe, share stories and be themselves after a day filled with work, school or therapies.
“You don’t have to pretend; you don’t have to hold yourself together,” Mukhammadieva said. “You can relax and be yourself. You know you’re safe, your kid’s safe. You don’t need to worry about anything here.”
The All Abilities Hub continues to grow, and Mukhammadieva hopes to expand its reach within the Wylie community. The organization needs volunteers and donations to help sustain its mission. Volunteers are especially needed to assist at weekly meetups and to play Santa Claus or the Grinch at the club’s sensory-friendly holiday event. For more information or to get involved, email [email protected].