ESCANABA — An all abilities gym is coming to Escanaba.

Carmella Cole (Carmy) and her two daughters, Kayle Bovin and Kristy Mykkanen are teaming up to bring an all abilities gym to the area.

We Rock the Spectrum (WRTS), is a national organization that opened its first gym in Tarzana, Calif., by Dina Kimmel in 2010.

Kimmel started the organization after she grew tired of saying ‘I’m sorry’ for her autistic son, Gabriel when he would get overstimulated at restaurants, stores or play areas.

“I felt myself saying this in every children’s gym, play area, and restaurant where I took my son, Gabriel. For my child with autism, the over-stimulation was always too much for him. Eventually, he would have a meltdown. We would be asked to leave, usually both in tears, and I would feel hopeless,” Kimmel said on the WRTS website.

Thus, WRTS was born, a gym designed for children of all abilities where parents, nor their kids are made to feel like they need to apologize for how they play and learn.

Now, the gym now has 166 locations in 33 states – across eight countries.

Unfortunately, the closest location is in Milwaukee, Wis., not an ideal commute for Delta County residents.

Rather than wait for a similar facility to open in the area, Cole and her daughters took matters into their own hands.

“Not only do we want to bring something to the area for neurodivergent children, but we wanted something for children of all abilities to be able to play together,” Mykkanen said.

This is personal for the three of them, as Mykkanen’s son was born with a genetic condition called Fragile X Syndrome.

“Two years ago, my youngest son was diagnosed with Fragile X and my goal is to bring a place to our community that will benefit him and all kids like him,” Mykkanen said.

“There isn’t a lot in our community to offer children like him or children in general.”

The mother/daughters trio are working to change that, with a goal of opening the facility to the public at the end of August.

“The end of August is what we’re shooting for right now – we have a couple things we got figure out still,” Mykkanen said.

The gym will feature different activities such as a trampoline, zip line, rock wall, rope wall, swings and monkey bars. The equipment is specially designed sensory equipment that is specifically designed to aid children with sensory processing disorders.

For those looking to express themselves in other ways will have access to an imagination play area as well as an arts and crafts area.

In addition to regularly scheduled activities, the WRTS location in Escanaba will have certain ‘theme’ nights, such as Nerf, Minecraft and Pokemon.

“There’s gonna be a range (of) all sorts of things for all children to do,” Mykkanen said.

“We will also be offering pre-k classes, different types of camps during the summer and fun activities such as parents night out – parents can drop their children off for a few hours and have some free time,” Mykkanen added.

Cole said the organization wants to be there for the community’s needs and will adapt its

structure and operations accordingly.

“We really want to be a community-based facility. We want to be there for the needs of the community – that’s how we will develop our structure,” Cole said.

She further explained that pricing and hours of operations would depend on what is best for members of the community while maintaining a viable organization.

“We as a family know how hard it can be to raise children sometimes, it literally can take a village. We want to be a part of people’s village; we want to help our children grow and play,” Mykkanen said.

A fringe benefit of this process for Cole, Mykkanen and Bovin is that they get to work as a family to bring their mission to Escanaba.

“It’s the best ever, it’s not even like work,” Mykkanen joked.

The goal is to open at the end of August, but updates will be posted on its Facebook at We Rock the Spectrum – Up North.

“We are thrilled to join the We Rock family and open WRTS Up North for our community,” Cole said.

The gym will be located at 1401 North 26th Street, Suite 118 in Escanaba.

To learn more about WRTS, visit www.werockthespectrumkidsgym.com.