July 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 39

Khuan, who has moderate-to-severe
autism spectrum disorder, finds respite
at Camden Park, which is free of artificial
noise that challenges his sensory system.
partment's goals was to show how
members of the community use
Cosumnes CSD's parks.
" It helps [to] really show what's
going on and what our parks really
look like, " says Brinkman. " Bringing
in new residents here to our
community, bringing in new businesses
and visitors - that has a lot
to do with the services that we provide.
And, just showing the actual
people in the parks every day and
having that genuine and sincere
feeling, I think, benefits everyone. "
Among the people Pattenaude
connected with during this project
were David Phommavong and
his son, Khuan, who are members
of the Elk Grove community.
They decided to meet at Camden
Park, one of the local parks the
Phommavong family frequently
visits, to walk the trails and have
a photo session.
" What I [thought] of when we
went out to photograph David's
family and another family in our
community was, we really found
the extraordinary in everyday life, "
says Pattenaude. " It was an incredible
feeling.
After walking away
from that photo session, there were
just so many moments of deep
connection. It just made me feel so
in tune and present with our community.
At that point, it was more
than just a 'community member,'
it's David and his family. It's more
than just a face, it's the story behind
the people's lives. "
Finding Bearing in Life
When the Phommavong family
visits Camden Park, it's about finding
a reset and focusing on the little
things that make life a little bit
more enjoyable and more meaningful.
But, it's also a bit more
complex than that. Khuan, who
is 7 years old, was diagnosed with
moderate-to-severe
autism
spectrum
disorder (ASD) when he was
2 years old. ASD causes delays in
his language and communication,
fine motor skills, gross motor skills,
and affects his ability to connect
and engage with kids his own age.
" He doesn't find enjoyment in
pure play, and it took us a long time
to do therapy, " says Phommavong.
" He receives about 20 hours of
applied behavior analysis therapy,
speech therapy, occupational therapy
to focus on fine motor skills
and gross motor skills, as well as
feeding therapy. He's also presenting
attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) and has sensory
processing disorder. "
Sensory processing
Sensory processing disorder is
a condition that affects how
the brain processes sensory
information, such as sight,
sound, taste, smell and touch.
the brain processes sensory
information, such as sight,
sound, taste, smell and touch.
This makes it very difficult for
Khuan to be around people,
enjoy a meal, and many of the
other everyday routines many
people may take for granted.
Visiting Camden Park gets him
away from artificial noise, such
as honking car horns, loud music
or traffic, which could challenge
his sensory system and trigger
him into fight-or-flight mode.
This means trips to the local
disorder
is a condition that affects how
hardware store, birthday celebrations
at a restaurant with family,
and other outings that could have
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39
July 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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