Eight-year-old twins Rosabella and Olivia Giardina can't get enough of the activities at We Rock the Spectrum Kid's Gym; a sensory play room in Charleston created for children with special needs.
Both girls are on the autism spectrum.
The twin's mother, Ginamarie Giardina has been bringing them to the gym since it opened in December.
But a special needs resource fair, Saturday, brought in a new crowd.
It featured 12 different organizations providing services to help make family's lives a little easier.
"There's nothing else like this on Staten Island,” Giardina said.
The gym is co-owned by James Grosso and his wife. Their five-year-old son is also on the autism spectrum.
"We've become like this community hub so to speak so we thought the next best thing besides what we offer is to bring the other agencies and give parents the opportunity to let their kids enjoy themselves and play while actually getting the resources that they need to help their child,” Grosso said.
Vendors include a music therapy group, family support centers and even national advocacy group Autism Speaks.
"It's so hard for families to get all the information they need so resource fairs like this are great because it's all the different services are available to them under one roof,” said Trish Rollins, field development manager for Autism Speaks.
A big message for parents attending the resource fair is you're not alone.
"When a child's first diagnosed, your world changes,” Grosso said. “You don't know which way is up, so an event like this will hopefully help parents navigate to help them understand that it's going to be ok."
"Parents are in their own shell,” said Jakie Tripodi, the associate program director for NY State Institute on Disability. “I myself am a parent of a child with multiple disabilities and you're inundated with taking care of your child so events like this helps you communicate, connect with other families and that's important."
So while the children play and socialize, the parents get to learn and connect.