Make-A-Wish builds Pinellas special needs teen a custom playhouse

When Brock Napolitano has a meltdown, there aren't many places his mother can comfortably bring him. Sometimes they go to a nearby park or take a car ride around their Pinellas Park neighborhood. Anything to get him outdoors.

But the two won't have to go far the next time Brock, 13, has a tough day: Make-A-Wish Southern Florida surprised him with a custom backyard play set specifically designed for his needs.

"We hoped that he could do something therapy-wise and have a special place for him (to play)," Crystal Napolitano, his mother, said.

Brock, 13, has cerebral palsy and autism. He is non-verbal, and often gets frustrated when he can't communicate effectively with the world around him. Many of his meltdowns, his mother said, happen when he gets bored or can't get across what he is thinking or feeling. Mondays are particularly tough, as that's when he returns to his mother's house after staying with his father and stepmother. When that happens, he'll start biting his hands or headbanging.

"Most of the time he's like a baby," she said. "You just have to figure out what's going on."

That's where the play set comes in. Various features on the large red and white structure are meant to help him relax more quickly and work on physical skills. To get up to the raised playhouse, for example, Brock must walk up a ramp with handrails, which will help him learn to get around better on his own. A padded floor gives him a safe, open space to roam comfortably without the sensory overload grass brings. The three different types of swings attached on the right calm him down when he gets overwhelmed — he likes the motion.

But other features, such as the slide and forthcoming ball pit, are purely for fun and to provide a sensory outlet.

"I didn't want there to be just a room in there for him," Napolitano said. "I wanted him to be able to get out and do something."

And there's space for friends, too. The ramp makes the play set wheelchair-accessible, and the playhouse is big enough for Brock and a friend or two.

Make-A-Wish is a nonprofit organization that fulfills "wishes" of children with critical illnesses. Though many of the recipients are terminal, many others, such as Brock, are not.

"A wish isn't just a nice thing that we're doing for a child," Richard Kelly, chief operating office of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, said. "We believe it's necessary for the child's physical and mental well-being, and we certainly think that's the case here."

Contact Malena Carollo at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacrollo.