Adaptive Easter Egg Hunt at Heineman for Special Needs Children

An Easter egg hunt with crowds, loud noises and lots of activities can be difficult for a child with autism.

Community egg hunts can cause sensory overload for autistic children.

Organizers and students considered that when developing the first adaptive egg hunt, hosted by Heineman Middle School’s Gold Program. The hunt is geared toward District 158 children with physical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities and their families. The egg hunt takes place at 9 a.m. Friday, April 6, at the school, 725 Academic Drive, Algonquin.

Mark Stahl works with the Gold Program for the middle school. The program brings together students in the Life Skills and Life Strategies programs — where students with varying forms of disabilities learn skills they can use in the world — with mainstream students who have shown high character, he said.

Together, students learn how to adapt and help each other while meeting new friends and creating new experiences and memories, he said. The purpose of the Gold Program is “To treat everyone in our building, our classrooms, and our lives the way that we would like to be treated: with respect, kindness, and compassion,” according to a release.

Instructors decided to branch out into the community this spring to do a project, Stahl said.

Stahl said the egg hunt will break kids into age groups and there will be quiet areas so children don’t get sensory overload with the noise and movements of a crowd.

“We are getting all the information we can from parents who are coming so we can meet their needs and we will have people assisting them,” he said.

He has been getting ideas from other groups, such as the South Elgin Parks and Recreation Department, which host egg hunts for special needs children. Stahl has been working with Heineman social worker Suzanne Schwantje, whose child has gone to other adaptive egg hunts.

“This is the first one — it will be a learning experience for everybody,” he said.

Heineman students were busy this week filling Easter eggs and creating goody bags for the 25 children expected at the egg hunt. The students are excited about the egg hunt and helping their guests, Stahl said.