Programs for Children with Special Needs

Kristy Piana Schena
Founder/Executive Director

Practice/Mission/Vision Statement

Kids On The Go is a pediatric non-profit program designed to provide children with special needs (3-17 years) with physical, occupational, speech and recreational therapies both over the summer months and during the school year.

We service the metro Detroit area. A program like this is rarely a covered medical benefit and often too costly for private payment (up to $125 for every 15 minutes of therapy). We provide therapy up to two times a week at no cost to the children’s family. We are supported by local businesses, corporations, charitable organizations, and private donations. We serve over 150 children with special needs every summer with critical programming to help advance their developmental progress, supporting families without the financial means.

Our summer camp pairs children with special needs with professional therapists as they work with the latest, most reliable therapeutic tools. The therapy comes at no cost to often already overburdened families, and it comes at a crucial time, after school-provided therapy has ended. For these children the learning can’t stop just because the school year – and their school-based therapy – has ended.

Specialties and Services

• Multidisciplinary Camp for children ages 3-6, meets 2x/week for 2 hour sessions. Staffed by a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist. Ratio of therapist to child is 1:3.
• Better Letters Handwriting Clinic offers one on one handwriting sessions by an Occupational Therapist staff member. These sessions are 50 minutes in duration and meet once a week for five weeks for children ages 6-12 with delays in fine motor skills.
• Music therapy at both Assumption and MSU Community Music School Locations
• Art Therapy in collaboration with the FAR Conservatory in Birmingham
• Little Sluggers Baseball teaches the fundamentals of baseball.
• Bike Riding- “Try” and “Ready to Ride” clinics taught by physical therapist, Renee Pieciak.
• YogaEd led by certified instructor Heidi George.
• Once Upon a Story for children ages 4-6. This fun program is led by a speech language pathologist and an Art Visual thinking Strategy Instructor from the DIA.
• My Chance to Dance- a 2002 Michigan Governors Amateur Athletic Award winning program from CCplus which allows children to explore music and dance.
• Social Groups for children ages 7-9. This unique program is facilitated by a Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, and Recreational Therapist.

Professional Degrees/Credentials/Certifications/Licenses

• Bachelor of Arts, Audiology & Speech Sciences
• Masters of Science, Communication Disorders
• ASHA Certified
• Certificate of Clinical Competence

Affiliations

• FAR Conservatory
• MSU Community Music School-Detroit
• Detroit Institute of Arts
• CCplus

About

Kristy Piana Schena is a speech language pathologist with almost 20 years experience. Kristy has experience working with pediatric and adult populations in various settings that include acute and subacute care, outpatient clinics, long term care, and ENT private practice.

Kristy founded Kids on the Go in 1999 after discovering the limitations and lack of insurance benefits for children with special needs for summer therapy. Nine years into running the program, Kristy’s son was diagnosed with Hypotonia at 13 months of age. She began the journey as a parent of a “special” child discovering again the lack of support for families whose children need continued therapy.

• In Practice/Business Since: 1999
• Client Ages Served: 3-17
• Insurances Accepted: N/A. Kids on the Go is a free program. Our waiting list begins January 1st of each calendar year. Scholarships are awarded by the end of April/early May.