How We Got Our Start
Social Sabby began with local community events hosted by Kevin Frederick, Founder of Social Sabby. These events included seasonal camps, and integration days during April’s Autism Awareness Month. The goal of all events being to foster social skills of the autistic attendees, strengthen the local community, and increase Autism awareness. It is during these events where Frederick designed social groups for children on the autism spectrum, and paired them with typical peer mentors. Attendees participated in a variety of fitness and sensory activities to improve motor function, provoke social interactions, and make introductions for new friends.
The response received from parents in the community proved that not only was there a need for more resources for parents and special needs children, but also that Frederick’s approach has proven results. It was all the motivation needed to expand Social Sabby and officially form as a 501c3 non-profit public charity in August of 2019.
About Us & Our History
Social Sabby was established in 2010 by Kevin Frederick, and is named after his first individual special needs student, Sabatino Z.
Frederick had previously served as a community mentor for Benhaven for six years, where he provided in home support for families who have children with autism. He provided these families with respite service, taking these children into the community to work on and improve their social skills. It is at Benhaven where Frederick first met Sabby. 2019 marked the year of Kevin’s goal to expand the Social Sabby network, it also marked Sabby’s 25th birthday.
Kevin Frederick has spent the last 15 years as a special education teacher, with a focus on children with autism. He is a graduate of Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY. He started his love and passion working with autistic children at the Anderson Center for Autism in Staatsburg, New York. He worked in the residential area and in the classroom serving as an instructional assistant.
Frederick enhanced his knowledge working for the Wallingford, CT Park and Recreation, facilitating social groups for children with special needs. He continued to foster his educational skills working across age levels at a variety of schools including; Stevens Elementary School in Rocky Hill, CT; Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown, CT; and Hanover Elementary School in Meriden, CT.
He is currently employed by the Meriden Board of Education, residing at Francis T. Maloney High School (MHS), where he leads the TLC life skills programming for 18-21-year-old special needs graduates, and is also the head football coach. Over the last eight years, Frederick has done a tremendous job of combining his two passions, working with autistic children, and working with young student athletes. He has built a strong student community within MHS, through education and inclusion of his football players and special needs students. In fact, many of his student athletes opt to help in his classroom during any available free periods/ study halls. He has created a positive student culture that we hope inspires others to follow his lead in our community and beyond.
Social Sabby has experienced continued success, and we officially became an LLC in February 2019. We quickly realized that while there is a large demand for our services with the growing special needs community, families have many expenses for their child care, and many times are simply unable to afford the valuable services we offer. In August 2019, we opened a separate non-profit corporation, Social Sabby Sponsorships Inc. in hopes to garner support from businesses and foundations in the forms of tax deductible donations and grants so that children are able to participate in our programming, without any cost for their families.
We are now focused solely on operations of our 501c3 non-profit public charity. Our 2019 fall kickball league was our first official event hosted by our non-profit, and we hope to continue to garner support through foundations and businesses in the forms of grants to continue to offer larger scale programming for the Meriden community in the years to come.
Today, Social Sabby Sponsorships Inc. is a non-profit corporation committed to the development, support and inclusion of children on the autism spectrum and those with varying ability levels. In addition, we aim to increase autism spectrum disorder (ASD) awareness, education and understanding in the greater Meriden, CT area.
We believe that when people understand ASD, they can not only be more compassionate of those with varying ability levels, but become more aware of their capacity to help others.
How wonderful it can be when understanding children become compassionate adults.
While we are currently focused on providing inclusive group programming to participants, including life skills workshops, seasonal camps, and seasonal sports leagues; we also offer individualized development plans that meet a variety of needs and goals. We have a multi-faceted approach that covers social interaction, behavior, sensory fitness and nutrition, all focused on the development of each child. We believe in a 1:1 customized approach that is developed with each child’s specific needs in mind. In person sessions are available in the greater Meriden, CT area.