The 3-year-old couldn’t decide. Did she want a cupcake with Superman icing or one with a purple sugar butterfly on top? She took her finger out from between her lips and pointed at the girly butterfly cupcake.

      “That one,” she said with a big smile.

      When we handed her the cupcake, she stuck out her tongue and licked all the icing off in one quick motion.

      That’s the way kids are, I thought, chuckling to myself.

      And kids are kids, even special needs children like the ones I was interacting with this past weekend at Gigi’s Playhouse, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Sugar Land.

      I know about Gigi’s Playhouse through Amanda Hudson. We’ve been friends for many years, and her granddaughter was born with Down syndrome two years ago.

Amanda and her family embraced their precious grandchild with love and a commitment to provide the best education possible for her.

      They helped open a center through Gigi’s Playhouse, a national organization of over 28 achievement centers that serves children and adults of all ages. They offer a variety of educational and therapeutic programs for free to families in an atmosphere and format where individuals with Down syndrome learn best.

      At Gigi’s in Sugar Land, the rooms are painted in bright pastels, and each room serves a special purpose. There’s the arts and crafts room where crayons, paints, stickers and pom-poms are within easy reach for the children.

      The toddler room is specially outfitted with safe toys to stimulate motor development but, at the same time, stimulate the child’s imagination with colorful toys and decorations.

      Professional therapists and teachers donate their time and knowledge to create stimulating programs and therapy sessions. I overheard a volunteer talking with a mom about the upcoming speech therapy session, and the volunteer patiently answered every question this mother asked.

      That’s because this volunteer has a child with Down syndrome, and she understood this mom’s need to find as many answers as possible.

      As her daughter was getting her face painted, one mom told us she’d come from the other side of Houston. She saw Gigi’s Playhouse online and couldn’t wait to bring her daughter to the carnival.

      Doctors didn’t know exactly what syndrome her daughter had, but it didn’t matter when that child was bouncing in the bounce house, a huge smile on her face. Nor did it matter that some children didn’t want to have their faces painted, but a big flower on the back of their hand was simply delightful.

      The youngsters at this carnival enjoyed the prizes they won at the duck pond, loved throwing the baseball at the empty paint cans and giggled with delight when they won a cupcake at the cake walk.

      But as much as the children enjoyed the carnival, the teen-age volunteers received just as much satisfaction. Many came because they wanted the service hours to fulfill a requirement for graduation, but that duty quickly vanished as the children climbed up on the teens’ laps and freely gave hugs.

      I volunteered because I thought I wanted to give back because my three sons and my four grandchildren don’t have disability hurdles to climb. I thought I was doing something for children in need when I got out of my car.

      But I was wrong.

      I learned that having a disability like Down syndrome doesn’t hinder a child from the pure joy that comes from having fun at a kid’s carnival. Those youngsters had given me more than I’d given them – the understanding that we’re all created special. Some a little more than others.

      If you’d like to volunteer at Gigi’s Playhouse or if you’d like to be involved in this worthwhile learning environment, email sugarland@gigisplayhouse.org or call 832-939-9919.  

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.