A first-of-its-kind nonprofit community center for young developmentally disabled children and their families recently opened in Christ Lutheran Church in Pacific Beach.
Located in the church complex at 4761 Cass St., The Includ(ED) Center for Families leases space from but is not affiliated with, Christ Lutheran.
“The Includ(Ed) Center for Families offers developmental programs for children ages 0-5 designed and delivered by child development experts in occupational, music, physical, and speech therapies,” said the company’s founder-director Anna Chiles on its website at includedsd.org. “Our space is a place for both children and adults to belong and find community. All children are welcome regardless of disability status. Our goal is to serve all children, but to ensure we are welcoming and inclusive for children with developmental disabilities.”
Chiles said her dream is to “build a full-time pre-school that is fully inclusive where 40% of the spots are reserved for kids like my son Theo, who have developmental disabilities and additional support needs.”
The mission of Includ(ED) is to help developmentally disabled children connect with their peers in a nurturing environment and to learn through play-based, relationship-focused instruction and support from an expert teaching and therapy team. Children learn self-regulation, play skills, communication, mindful and meaningful movement, life skills, and foundational developmental skills. This is accomplished together by the therapy team which “assesses holistically and tracks goals regularly,” according to the company website.
Chiles is a former middle and high school humanities teacher with a decade of experience in fully inclusive San Diego classrooms. Her impetus for opening Includ(ED) stemmed from her negative experience with her developmentally disabled child “not being included,” when she attempted to enroll him in more mainstream preschool children’s programs.
“The Includ(ED) Center for Families exists to provide community, care, and education to young children across the county,” Chiles said noting her company’s mission stemmed from her own experience as a parent. “I started making (pre-school) calls and I was so unprepared for the staggering rejection I was going to face,” she said. “It was no after no after no.”
Chiles noted studies have shown that finding preschools for developmentally disabled children is so difficult that “one in five parents of a young child with a disability leaves the workforce because they cannot find childcare – and that was me.”
Added Chiles: “I hope no one ever finds themselves on the other end of the phone call where they’re trying to make a case for why you should let my kid in the door. It’s the worst feeling on the planet.”
Concerning her son, Chiles noted: “The best thing for him is to be included with his peers, alongside kids who learn differently, and move differently and eat differently. There’s academic research that supports this. They are ready to learn with each other, and learn alongside each other.”
So after being turned down again and again from enrolling her son in mainstream pre-schools, Chiles was faced with the challenging decision of leaving the workforce and her son’s “whole world.” Instead, she started the nonprofit inclusive Includ(ED).
“What I’m saying is we have the capacity to build in all the supports that he (Theo) needs so that he can thrive alongside anybody,” concluded Chiles adding, “He’s just going to need a little extra TLC.”
And TLC, above all else, is what is provided at Includ(ED).
The preschool is now enrolling, for more information call 619-939-1123.
The Includ(ED) Center for Families
Where: 4761 Cass St.
Contacto: includedsd.org, pre-school is enrolling, call 619-939-1123.
