FAMILY FUN
Sensory-Friendly Experiences
for Kids in the DMV
Movies Select AMC Theatres
Movies can transport children to another
world, but they can be overwhelming to the
senses. Select AMC Theatres in Washington,
Maryland and Virginia host sensory-friendly
movie showings where lights are turned up
and the sound is turned down. During these
screenings, it’s OK to get up and walk or sing
along. Catch AMC’s Sensory-Friendly Film
program on the second and fourth Saturday
of each month. On these days, one showing
of the biggest hits supports family-friendly,
sensory-friendly screenings. Check your local
theater for showtimes.

amctheatres.com Museums
B&O Railroad Museum
Select Sundays at the B&O Railroad Museum in
Baltimore are designated as Sensory Sundays.

During these visits, the museum features a
special sensory activity, such as making Snow
Dough, and sensory-friendly tours and train
rides. During Sensory Sundays, the museum
turns off all music, provides low lighting and
designates quiet areas. Museum staff also
provide sensory kits and a community table
with resources from local organizations.

The museum presents several stories about
the museum and train rides to prepare young
engineers for their visit.

901 W. Pratt St., Baltimore | 410-752-2490
borail.org National Children’s Museum
Young visitors who need extra support can
borrow a sensory backpack. The backpack
includes noise-reduction headphones and
fidgets to help ease sensory stimulation. This
museum also has two specially designed quiet
spaces. Parents can find the Quiet Room
and the Hideaway Tree nook space featuring
acoustic-absorbing materials and lower light
levels. The museum plans on introducing
sensory-focused sessions in the future.

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C.

202-844-2486 | nationalchildrensmuseum.org
Theaters Imagination Stage
Imagination Stage excels at making sure
ARTECHOUSE ARTECHOUSE DC is where art and technology
combine. Its highly immersive and interactive exhibits
are other-worldly. Many children love the sensory
experience of visiting ARTECHOUSE DC, but a visit
can seem overwhelming for some visitors. To ensure
exhibits are accessible to everyone, ARTEHOUSE DC
hosts sensory-friendly sessions. Before visiting, guests
can review a Social Narrative, view a First Person
Exhibition Video featuring live sound and check out
an Exhibition Experience Map. During its Sensory-
Friendly Programs, ARTECHOUSE DC lowers the
sound in the Immersion Gallery and provides a
“take-a-break” space for those who need to rest from
the experience.

1238 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington, D.C.

https://artechouse.com/plan-your-visit-dc/?locations=dc 24 Washington FAMILY JULY 2022
all families feel welcome and can enjoy the
theater. Select performances are modified
to make them welcoming to kids who need
sensory support. Accommodations start
before the show begins with a pre-visit social
story so that kids know what to expect once
they arrive. During the show, the sound level
and brightness of the stage lights are reduced,
staff raise glow sticks before something
surprising happens on stage and quiet areas
are available for anyone who needs a break.

4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda | 301-961-6060
imaginationstage.org The Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center offers sensory-friendly
performances for many of its shows. The
organization’s website offers several
resources for areas to prepare children for
their visit. These resources include social
stories, a virtual tour of the building and
maps with designated quiet spaces. During
the show, guests may talk and move around,
strobe lighting is reduced, lights are kept on
and sounds are quieter than a typical per-
formance. Kennedy Center staff are trained
to assist families who need extra support.

2700 F St. NW, Washington, D.C. | 800-444-1324
| kennedy-center.org n
COURTESY OF THE ARTECHOUSE/TEAM RYKOV
K ids with sensory sensitivities enjoy
going to museums, plays and events
like their neurotypical peers. However,
they may need some modifications to make
the experiences accessible for them.

BY JAMIE DAVIS SMITH



PARENT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Claudia Skinner
Promoting the power of potential at PosAbilities Academy
BY LINDSAY C. VANASDALAN
a child with special needs adds
another element. How do you
balance it all?
PHOTO BY DAVID STUCK
W hen Claudia Skinner didn’t see
a program that would help her
daughter Grace reach her career
goals, she decided to start one herself.

PosAbilities Academy opened in 2019, using
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy
as its guide.

“That’s really how we can teach individuals
the skills they need to learn and then
work with them to reduce the maladaptive
behaviors which sometimes are the barriers
for them to getting a job,” she says.

Drawing on her experience in project
management for businesses and startups,
Skinner went back to school for a master’s
degree in education and a certificate in ABA
therapy to create this private academy for
differently-abled learners. The Loudon
County, Virginia, mom started two additional
initiatives—each born out of needs that she
saw for her daughter.

One is the academy’s summer camp, which
provides fun, age-appropriate opportunities
for students to avoid falling into a summer
slump and an ABA clinic for adults and
teens who typically would have aged out of
support services.

Skinner lives in Loudon County with her
partner, Mark Gand; his son, Eric, 19; and her
two daughters, Grace, 18, and Brittany, 31.

(Gand’s other daughter Nicole lives in Florida).

Skinner spoke to Washington FAMILY about
motherhood and her new career in education.

Navigating life and a career as a
mom can be tough, and caring for
I have a strong support system around me
that helps me balance it. I definitely couldn’t
do this alone. Between life with children and
my partner—and before that—I had extended
family—my mom. They used to help me a
lot; the support system is very important,
especially when you have an individual with
special needs that you have to care for. (Grace)
has a care attendant who works with her and
has been working with us or part of the family
for 12 years. If I decide that there’s a goal in
front of me, I will work very hard to get it done.

What is the greatest lesson
you’ve learned from parenthood?
Patience. Whether a child has special needs
or doesn’t, having that patience to learn to
let them be, let them make mistakes and just
be there—I think that has been one of the
greatest lessons for me.

You left a career that you knew
to start something completely
new. What were the triumphs and
challenges of that experience?
I think the biggest triumph has been how
rewarding it is—and it has nothing to do with
money. With our first year (at) the academy,
there are students that finished that year,
wrote us a letter and quoted many little
things that, because of what we did, they
were now able to do. What has been the most
challenging is having to learn things that, at
my age in my other career, I already was an
expert at. One of the ways I have worked to
overcome that challenge is surround myself
with people who have the experience and
knowledge I can learn from and work with
me so that we provide support to everyone we
come into contact with.

Why did you feel having a summer
camp at PosAbilities Academy
was important?
The population we work with needs the
support throughout the summer. There’s not
any path for them to not continue to work
on skills or not continue to have structure.

For individuals with disabilities, individuals
with autism and individuals who need to work
hard to achieve goals that they have, having a
whole summer without support and without
the structure could regress them. Providing
something for those individuals to continue to
have learning opportunities is very important
so that they can continue to progress. n
FAMILY FAVORITES
Family Meal: We have lots of
homemade favorites, especially
typical cuisine from my
motherland, Colombia.

Local Spot to Spend the Day
Together: We live in Loudoun
County, and there are lots of
wineries, breweries and farms
that are family-friendly. A favorite
day trip is to visit Great Country
Farms then go across the street
to Bluemont Vineyard and Dirt
Farm Brewing.

Summer Vacation: We love
to visit beaches across the
East Coast.

Summer Camp Activity at
PosAbilities: Each week is
packed with activities, from
cooking to going to play ball at
a local park. We enjoy exploring
our community with our (camp)
participants. From state parks
to small coffee shops, we look
for special needs-friendly
destinations we can visit. We
also have an entrepreneurship
week that offers participants the
opportunity to develop a business
plan to launch their business.

Words of Wisdom: There is a
quote I live my life by: “If you don’t
like something, change it.

If you can’t change it, change
your attitude.”
WashingtonFAMILY.com 25