Students, families celebrate at West Contra Costa Unified's first prom for students with special needs
Students with special needs at West Contra Costa Unified were full of smiles and laughter as they danced and partied at a prom specifically tailored for them.
The recent event, the first of its kind at West Contra Costa Unified, was planned for students with extensive support needs such as autism and moderate to severe intellectual abilities for whom a traditional prom — with loud music and extensive light displays — might be overstimulating.
Dozens of students and their families attended the prom, which featured a sensory room, soft lights and support staff to comfort students experiencing sensory overload, which people with disabilities that cause hypersensitivity are prone to.
For Sonja Neely-Johnson, the district's special education local plan area director, the prom was a milestone. Apart from being one of the event's organizers, she's also the mother of a 21-year-old with special needs. When she saw him walk into the event, she said she was flooded with memories of doctors saying he would never be able to walk and other grim prognoses.
“Just being able to see my son walk into a dance, yeah, he has to have his little device with him because he needs that; it just warms my heart. I've actually been emotional all day,” NeelyJohnson said.
Students dressed up in tuxedos and prom dresses, danced, played games like limbo and posed for pictures in the high school cafeteria, which was selected because it is smaller and slightly darker than a gym, in order to not overstimulate the students, said Guthrie Fleischman, director of secondary special education