Special-needs youngsters offered arts therapy classes
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Creative Communi-cators will be offering creative arts therapy classes to special-needs children in Monmouth County.

According to executive director and speech therapist Mark Corallo, Creative Communicators, Route 79, is an organization designed to meet the needs of children with diagnoses that include autism, pervasive developmental disorder, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, language disorders, speech delays and Asperger's syndrome.

Corallo said the group, which is looking to develop into a nonprofit organization, opened in Marlboro about six months ago as a speech pathology practice.

The organization ran a pilot program this summer for Manalapan and Marl-boro children. Corallo said the program was so successful that the group is now looking to reach more parents and children in Monmouth County by offering the program after school and on weekends.

The classes will run for eight weeks each semester. The first set of classes will begin at the end of September and will run until the end of November, Corallo said. He said class size will be between three and five children.

The program includes four therapy classes, Music and Movement, for all ages; Yoga for the Special Child, for all ages; Theater for Children with Asper-ger's, for youngsters age 7 to 9; and Creative Play, for children age 3 to 6.

The Music and Movement class focuses on promoting social skills and enhancing children's gross-motor and exercise skills, Corallo said. The class will also help children understand music appreciation.

The yoga class works on the children's sensory system, creates an overall calmness of their bodies and enhances memory, physical awareness of the body, language, and breath support, Corallo said. He said this class is particularly good for children with autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.

The theater classes for children with Asperger's is called "Stories Come Alive." The class promotes socialization, language, imagination and artistic expression. Creative play enhances children's play and language skills, imagination and fine and gross-motor skills, Corallo said.

Creative Communicators also offers speech therapy and occupational therapy.

For more information, call (732) 866-8490 or visit the Web site creativecommunicators.net.