Twice a week, Giovana Perazzo takes her children to a local nonprofit gym to let them exercise and be themselves.
Although her son, Matteo Gavilano, 6, has high-functioning autism, it doesn’t stop him from joining his 3-year-old sister, Camilla Gavilano, in Balance 180 Gymnastics & Sports Academy’s Young Athletes Program.
Perazzo and her family will be attending the Special Olympics Young Athletes Program culminating ceremony for the first time Sunday.
“They adore gymnastics, and I think it’s one of the skills that they need now to develop well, so they can grow better,” she said.
Twenty-seven children are enrolled in the gym’s Special Olympics, 12 of whom are enrolled in the gym’s Adaptive Gymnastics class, which focuses on children with disabilities.
Krista Vandenborne, a founding director of Balance 180, said the gym is open to children with and without disabilities.
“We don’t want to be just exclusive with disabilities. We really want to have a community that embraces children with varying disabilities, so they can play together side by side,” she said.
Since joining the gym, Perazzo has seen an improvement with Matteo, especially in his flexibility and social skills.
“I highlight a lot the activity that [the directors and volunteers] do,” she said. “It inspires me. It inspires me as a mom, and it inspires me to give something to other people one way or another.”
Natasha Belzaire practices her baseball skills at Balance 180 on Thursday to prepare for the culminating ceremony on Sunday.
