Sensory gym for special needs children coming to Clovis. ‘Welcomed without judgment’

For Christopher Reyes, a sensory gym coming to Clovis means more than indoor zip sliding, mountain climbing and other fun for children with special needs.

It means those children will have a place without judgment, and where their parents don’t constantly feel like they have to apologize to other parents.

“Here, we can finally have a place where all kids — normally-developing or autistic or special needs — they can all play together,” said Reyes, who is the father of two children with autism.

He’s the owner of the future Clovis location of the We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym, which is being built in a 5,800-square-foot space at 80 W. Bullard Ave. We Rock the Spectrum is a franchise of indoor sensory play spaces for children with special needs with locations in 34 states, according to its website.

Sensory facilities are designed to provide a regulated environment for children with autism, who often experience sensory overload from the lights, sounds and other disturbances present at standard indoor playgrounds, Reyes said.

Construction of the Clovis We Rock the Spectrum location follows the August opening of the nearby Inclusive Kids Play Studio, which is designed for children ages 0-5 and also offers classes for parents.

The Clovis location of We Rock the Spectrum will be the franchise’s first in the Central Valley, though Reyes said more are planned for the region.

He said he’s hoping it will be ready to open in the spring.

What Clovis sensory gym will offer children, teens, parents

There will be no age limit for children with special needs at We Rock the Spectrum in Clovis. The space in the middle of the facility will include an 18-by-22-foot play structure, a 45-foot zip slide, a climbing mountain and a rope bridge. There will also be monkey bars, a trampoline and exercise equipment.

Reyes said a room will be leased to therapists who want to bring their clients to the facility, and there will also be a calming room for children to relax their senses in.

Nicole Wines, a “coach” on staff with degrees in social work and psychology, said the calming room is one of the key features that makes the gym inclusive for children with special needs.

“It gives that little extra difference from other play areas,” she said.

Socks will also not be required for play in the sensory gym, which staff said is also important for children who can experience sensory overload.

“It’s itchy, scratchy, too tight on their feet,” said Kamryn Walkingstick, another coach on staff and certified behavior technician. “Eliminating the socks eliminates that whole worry about whether they’re going to be comfortable or have a meltdown because of it.”

There will also be a room dedicated to teenagers. It will feature PlayStation and Nintendo Switch consoles, and a podcast booth.

Reyes said there will be events throughout the year at the facility. Each Saturday will be “Parents’ Night Out,” when parents can drop off children up to three hours.

In April, We Rock the Spectrum will host its Special Kids Fest at the Clovis Senior Activity Center. Priced at $10 per child, the event will feature low-sensory shows, characters including Spiderman and Blippi, and vendors that cater to children with special needs, Reyes said.

Need for inclusive play spaces growing in Central Valley, owner says

Reyes said his family moved to the Central Valley three years ago from the Los Angeles area and realized the area needed more play spaces that were inviting to families of children with special needs. The need has grown as more families have moved into the area from other parts of California, Reyes said.

He and his wife previously took their children to a We Rock the Spectrum facility in Redondo Beach. So, last year they decided to pay the franchise fee and started looking to build one in the Fresno-Clovis area.

Reyes said he wanted his children and other families like his to “finally have a place for them to enjoy.”

“To finally have a place for them to not say, ‘I’m sorry,’” he said. “When we go to other indoor playgrounds, we would always have to apologize to other parents saying, ‘Sorry, my kid behaves this way.’”

Some of the staff members also have children or grandchildren with special needs.

“There was times when they didn’t fit in,” said head coach Shelli Barnett-Cash. “There was birthday parties where maybe nobody attended.”

There will a party room for birthdays and the celebration of other milestones at the facility.

Wines, reading from a statement she prepared for the interview with The Bee, said the space means so much to her because it “truly lives by its message.”

“Finally, a place where we never have to say, ‘I’m sorry,’” she said. “Here, kids are free to be themselves, and families are welcomed without judgment.”

This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM.

Erik Galicia

The Fresno Bee

Erik is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, where he helped launch an effort to better meet the news needs of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief of his community college student newspaper, Riverside City College Viewpoints, where he covered the impacts of the Salton Sea’s decline on its adjacent farm worker communities in the Southern California desert. Erik’s work is supported through the California Local News Fellowship program.