Many of the children NAC serves spend most of their days in hospitals and doctor and therapy appointments. Others are cooped up in small apartments with not much opportunity for accessible recreation. We believe it is important for children to play, socialize, and learn through fun and culturally enriching activities and exposure to new experiences.

Our Recreation and Social Enrichment Program provides over 40 recreational, cultural and educational groups, workshops, and trips for NAC children and youth annually that provide:

• Normalizing experiences that enable children with special needs to have the same recreational opportunities and experiences as typically developing children
• New and different experiences that would not otherwise be available or accessible to NAC children
• Opportunities to make children feel a part of an integrated group
• Crucial socialization with peers
• Much needed respite for parents

We offer a wide array of on-site Recreational Group Activities, Cultural and Community Outings, and large scale, annual events for the entire family, including specialized support and programming for those on the autism spectrum.

Recreation Groups & Workshops
Recreational Groups & Workshops are provided weekly for NAC youth after school, on Saturdays, and during the summer months. Planned activities are designed to meet the interests and needs of NAC’s children and include:

• Fitness Group
• Only Make Believe theater group
• Music Group
• Photography
• Creative Writing
• Creative arts & animation
• Dance
• Virtual Fitness and Wellness Activities
• Creative Works
• Animal Assisted Therapy
• After school activities like gingerbread house-making and pumpkin decorating

Cultural and Community Trips
NAC’s Recreation Program frequently takes advantage of the many cultural enrichment opportunities in the greater New York City area. Annually, NAC offers more than 40 trips and activities to NAC children. These included:

• Picnic in Central Park
• Visiting the Bronx Zoo
• Scavenger hunt in Socrates Sculpture Park
• Apple Picking
• Martin Luther King Day Community Service Event
• Earth Day Celebration
• “Harvey” on Broadway
• Museum of Natural History
• Brooklyn Children’s Museum
• Ice skating
• NY Mets Baseball game
• Aquarium trip
• Union Square Greenmarket Trip
• Make a Film Foundation documentary workshop
• An Annual Halloween Party in NAC’s Office
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• NAC’s Annual Book Fair

Special Events
NAC provides several holiday parties throughout the year, including a Halloween party, Spring Party and a December Holiday Party, which is attended by 1,000 children and their family members. Every summer, NAC holds the annual NAC Kids Olympics, with hundreds of NAC children of all abilities attending and approximately 200 community and corporate volunteers who step up to help make the event a special day for NAC kids. Children get to play wheelchair basketball, play in a fully equipped gymnasium with a rock climbing wall for both young and older children, and participate in adapted field activities.

• Spring Festival
• NAC Kids Olympics
• Halloween Party
• Holiday Party

Recreation and social enrichment programs are available to NAC youth who are already enrolled in another NAC program. Once a family is enrolled in another NAC program, they can be referred internally to all services. We cannot accept outside referrals.

Providing ongoing, comprehensive support for all youth served is a priority at NAC. All children and families at NAC are eligible for the following programs:

• Mental Health Clinic
• Medical Clinic
• Peter Haje Center for Autism
• Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS)
• Educational Advocacy & Tutoring
• Mentoring & Youth Development
• Post Adoption Case Management Services
• Champions for Children’s Health (Care Management for Children)
• Food Bank