We Rock the Spectrum working to make birthdays special for Oklahoma children
Would you be willing to stand in at a kid’s birthday party if no guest showed up?
Share
Updated: 5:13 PM CDT Apr 11, 2025
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 1:58
Loaded: 5.04%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -1:58
1x
Chapters
descriptions off, selected
captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
captions off, selected
en
CC1 Captions
default, selected
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
End of dialog window.
✕
TO WE ROCK THE SPECTRUM. WE ROCK THE SPECTRUM. GYM IN NORMAN OFTEN HOSTS BIRTHDAY PARTIES FOR KIDS WITH AUTISM. BUT THE WORST KIND OF BIRTHDAY PARTIES ARE THE ONES WHERE NO ONE SHOWS UP. SO THEY’RE CREATING A ROSTER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO HIT THE ZIP LINE AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE. SO WE’VE NEVER HAD IT WHERE ABSOLUTELY NOBODY SHOWS UP, BUT WE’VE DEFINITELY HAD THE PARTIES WHERE 2 OR 3 KIDS SHOW UP, AND IT’S HARD ON THE PARENTS. IT’S HARD ON THE KIDS. GO, WE ROCK THE SPECTRUM. AS A GYM FULL OF SENSORY FRIENDLY TOYS AND GADGETS, THE OWNER SAYS THEY HOST BIRTHDAY PARTIES THERE FOR ALL SORTS OF KIDS, BUT HAVE A SPECIFIC EMPHASIS. WE ARE GEARED TOWARDS KIDS WITH EXTRA NEEDS, BUT THE MISSION BEHIND IT IS TO BE A PLACE FOR ALL KIDS OF ALL ABILITIES. BUT THEY RECENTLY NOTICED A PROBLEM AT THOSE PARTIES. MAYBE 20 OR 30 MINUTES INTO, THE PARTIES OR UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NOBODY HERE OR THE KIDS WILL INVITE EVERYBODY IN THEIR CLASS AND NOBODY SHOWS UP OTHER THAN THE ADULTS AND THE FAMILY. SO THEY REACHED OUT TO THE COMMUNITY ON FACEBOOK ASKING FOR A FEW PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER TO JUMP IN. IF A BIRTHDAY PARTY HAD LOW ATTENDANCE. IT JUST TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE THAT EITHER HAVE BEEN TO THOSE PARTIES WITH THEIR OWN KIDS, OR I EVEN HAD AUTISTIC ADULTS REACHING OUT TO ME AND TELLING ME I GREW UP AND NOBODY EVER CAME TO MY PARTIES. I WAS HOPING FOR MAYBE 30 PEOPLE BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, IF I CAN TEXT 30 PEOPLE AND GET TEN OF THEM TO SHOW UP, THAT’LL BE A GREAT TURNOUT. AND IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN WE SURPASSED 30 PEOPLE. THEY ENDED UP WITH HUNDREDS OF COMMENTS AND EVEN GOT MORE HELP THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR. THEY WANT TO BE ON CALL. THEY WANT TO DONATE PRESENTS. THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING AND JOIN US IN THIS MISSION TO MAKE THE BEST BIRTHDAY POSSIBLE FOR ALL KIDS. AND THE OWNER SAYS, KNOWING THERE’S A COMMUNITY OUT THERE WHO CARES AS MUCH AS SHE DOES WAS A SURPRISE. IT’S OVERWHELMING. I PUT IN THE POST, HELP ME CREATE A COMMUNITY, AND I KEEP LAUGHING BECAUSE I’M LIKE, YOU GUYS CREATED A COMMUNITY. YOU SHOWED UP AND I ASKED AND IT WAS ABOVE ANYTHING I C
Advertisement
We Rock the Spectrum working to make birthdays special for Oklahoma children
Would you be willing to stand in at a kid’s birthday party if no guest showed up?
Would you be willing to stand in at a kid’s birthday party if no guest showed up?>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelOne local business is forming a list of people willing to make a child’s day.KOCO 5 spoke with We Rock the Spectrum about their unique program.The We Rock the Spectrum gym in Norman often hosts birthday parties for kids with autism, but the worst kind of birthday parties are ones where nobody shows up.So, they decided they’d fix that problem by creating a roster of people ready to hit the zip line at a moment’s notice."We’ve never had it where absolutely nobody shows up, but we’ve definitely had the parties where only two or three kids show up, and it’s hard on the parents, it’s hard on the kids," said Baily Fillmore, owner of We Rock the Spectrum.We Rock the Spectrum is a gym full of sensory-friendly toys and gadgets, and Fillmore said they host birthday parties there for all sorts of kids, but they have a specific emphasis."We’re geared towards kiddos with extra needs, but the mission behind it is to be a place for all kids of all abilities," Fillmore said.But they’d recently noticed a problem at those parties."Maybe 20, 30 minutes into the party, there, unfortunately, is nobody here, or the kiddo will invite everybody in their class, and nobody shows up other than the adults and the family," Fillmore said.So, they reached out to the community on Facebook asking for a few people to volunteer to jump in if a birthday party had low attendance."It just touched so many people that either have been to those parties with their own kids, or I even had autistic adults reaching out to me and telling me I grew up, and nobody ever came to my parties," Fillmore said. "I was hoping for maybe 30 people 'cause I was like, if I can text 30 people and 10 ten of them to show up, that’ll be a great turnout and imagine my surprise when we surpassed 30 people."They ended up with hundreds of comments and even got more help than they bargained for."They want to be on call, they want to donate presents, they want to do something and join us in this mission to make the best birthday possible for all kids," Fillmore said.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.Fillmore said knowing there’s a community out there who cares as much as she does was a surprise."It’s overwhelming. I put in the post help me create a community, and I keep laughing because you guys created a community, you showed up, and I asked, and it was above anything I could have imagined," Fillmore said.Top HeadlinesMichelle Obama addresses recent absences from political events and divorce rumors‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star Eric Dane diagnosed with ALSBill to gradually eliminate Oklahoma’s state income tax passes SenateState Superintendent Ryan Walters claiming victory after lawsuit dismissedChina retaliates by raising tariffs on US goods to 125%
NORMAN, Okla. —
Would you be willing to stand in at a kid’s birthday party if no guest showed up?
One local business is forming a list of people willing to make a child’s day.
KOCO 5 spoke with We Rock the Spectrum about their unique program.
The We Rock the Spectrum gym in Norman often hosts birthday parties for kids with autism, but the worst kind of birthday parties are ones where nobody shows up.
So, they decided they’d fix that problem by creating a roster of people ready to hit the zip line at a moment’s notice.
"We’ve never had it where absolutely nobody shows up, but we’ve definitely had the parties where only two or three kids show up, and it’s hard on the parents, it’s hard on the kids," said Baily Fillmore, owner of We Rock the Spectrum.
We Rock the Spectrum is a gym full of sensory-friendly toys and gadgets, and Fillmore said they host birthday parties there for all sorts of kids, but they have a specific emphasis.
"We’re geared towards kiddos with extra needs, but the mission behind it is to be a place for all kids of all abilities," Fillmore said.
But they’d recently noticed a problem at those parties.
"Maybe 20, 30 minutes into the party, there, unfortunately, is nobody here, or the kiddo will invite everybody in their class, and nobody shows up other than the adults and the family," Fillmore said.
So, they reached out to the community on Facebook asking for a few people to volunteer to jump in if a birthday party had low attendance.
"It just touched so many people that either have been to those parties with their own kids, or I even had autistic adults reaching out to me and telling me I grew up, and nobody ever came to my parties," Fillmore said. "I was hoping for maybe 30 people 'cause I was like, if I can text 30 people and 10 ten of them to show up, that’ll be a great turnout and imagine my surprise when we surpassed 30 people."
They ended up with hundreds of comments and even got more help than they bargained for.
"They want to be on call, they want to donate presents, they want to do something and join us in this mission to make the best birthday possible for all kids," Fillmore said.
Fillmore said knowing there’s a community out there who cares as much as she does was a surprise.
"It’s overwhelming. I put in the post help me create a community, and I keep laughing because you guys created a community, you showed up, and I asked, and it was above anything I could have imagined," Fillmore said.