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Emma's Place: Childcare center for kids with special needs coming to Overland Park

Posted at 12:41 PM, Jul 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-14 18:57:20-04

Heather Barboza is ready to start tearing down walls in an Overland Park office space off of 126th Street. She plans to transform it into Emma’s Place for Exceptional Children.

The long-time special education teacher got the inspiration for a childcare center for kids with special needs from a former student, Emma.

“Childcare is a real problem for families with kids with special needs because obviously at age 12, they are not necessarily ready to go home on their own after school,” said Barboza.

“Whether it was named for our Emma or not, this is Emma’s home now,” said Emma’s mom Enid Dodson.

Barboza has big plans for the two-floor center, from karaoke to yoga, a computer café, art and music therapy. She also plans space for a sensory room and a family-style kitchen with a nutritionist and staff who have experience working with kids with special needs.

Dodson listed what she loved about the project.

“[I love] that everything would be around life skills, and healthy snacks, and Emma would be with her friends,” she said.

Guiding the children through all of those activities is key to Barboza.

“One of the big problems that kids with special needs have is that they need that structure,” she said.

“It is such a relief, it really is, for our family,” said Dodson.

She is also thrilled that Barboza eventually hopes to hire Emma, now 14 years old, and other people with special needs to come back and work at the center as adults.

Barboza hopes the space is remodeled and ready to open in September, accepting school-aged children from kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, go to the Emma’s Place for Exceptional Children website.

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