GiGi’s Playhouse | Supporting and Empowering Individuals with Down syndrome
GiGi’s Playhouse of Hillsborough opened its doors to the community on January 11, 2015. Since that day they have welcomed over 300 families from throughout New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania who have made them a part of their lives. As the only location in New Jersey, they have made a lifetime commitment to offer support from diagnosis through adulthood, to build confidence, and to send a global message of acceptance for all, while changing the way the world sees Down syndrome.
Build Supporting Programs for Caregivers
GiGi’s programs are a place for parents/caregivers to share ideas and network with one another. They invite caregivers to communicate their needs, questions, and concerns with one another, and promote connections to be made in support of each other. Their programs embrace the family and help aid the development of a healthy, successful relationship between parents, individuals with Down syndrome, and siblings.
Help Parents to Recognize their Child’s Potential
GiGi’s Playhouse programs support families in developing high expectations for their son or daughter with Down syndrome. Many families are blindsided by a diagnosis of Down syndrome in pregnancy or at birth. Their programs aim to help parents overcome the diagnosis and maintain high expectations for their child to achieve success in social, educational, and employment opportunities in the future. Their staff and volunteers support parents in maintaining high expectations, even through challenging periods of time. By encouraging their child to follow routines and participate fully, parents take a big step in recognizing their child’s potential.
Goals for each GiGi’s Playhouse Program
- Create opportunities for parent networking and provide educational tools.
- Instill high expectations for each participant to follow program routines and to fully participate in planned activities.
- Motivate the child, parent, and volunteers to give their “Best of All” in each program session.
- Deliver purposeful programming tailored for individuals with Down syndrome, including structured routines, purposeful activity planning, and an (engaging/fun/creative) environment to foster development and encourage growth in individuals with Down syndrome.
- Provide specific, therapeutic, or educational learning opportunities to support the development of speech-language, social, and motor skills tailored to addressing the universal challenges of individuals with Down syndrome.
- Remove the barrier of cost for our participants by offering free programs.