“Where movement begins and growth never ends”

Our Mission

To develop and implement individualized physical activity programs for ALL children and youth with special needs, ages 3-18, through one on one or small group “play”. These activities will enhance their social, emotional, cognitive, and motor development skills to achieve a lifelong active and healthy lifestyle.

What We Do

Private sessions, Small group play/programming, and social interaction

Your child will receive one on one attention through a uniquely developed program designed and implemented in the convenience of your own home, small group programming offered with other children, and be introduced into social interactions to help your child grow.

Private evaluation

Private evaluation for qualifying services in Adapted Physical Education in the K-12 Public Schools.

Advocacy

Advocacy for you and your child when it comes to appropriate placement and services.

Consultation Services

Consultation services available upon request for; staff development opportunities, seminars, workshops for but not limited to; K-12 public school and/or private school settings, private businesses, doctors’ offices, youth-service agencies, parent groups, advocacy groups, etc.

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About Shelley

Shelley Wetzel · Owner/Operator

Shelley Wetzel has her Master’s in Adapted Physical Education and has 20 years’ experience working with children and youth with special needs, ages 3-21. Shelley has worked in the K-12 public school setting as an Adapted Physical Education Teacher, taken on a role as a Program Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where she developed and implemented Physical Activity and Nutrition Education Programs for children and youth with special needs in the community. She developed and implemented the first ever Mentoring Program for persons with special needs at a University in the country. She has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in Adapted Physical Education. Shelley has worked diligently to train and provide quality future Adapted Physical Educators. Shelley has also worked as a Youth and Family Director and Inclusion Specialist for the La Crosse Area Family YMCA and sustained 6 programs for persons with special needs for 10+ years to date. While at the La Crosse Family YMCA, Shelley lead a committee to raise $600,000 to build a Miracle Baseball Field for kids with special needs, and it was only the 2nd in Wisconsin when built in 2010. Shelley has presented at the local, state and national levels to disseminate, and replicate her work and is always trying to find new ways to improve the lives of children and youth with special needs to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.

Testimonials

" I’m the Director at Children of Joy! Preschool and Shelley has been a lifesaver! She has been working with a few of our families as well as within our classrooms. Connecting the dots between home and school has helped the kid’s grow so much! She has also been able to encourage my teachers when they are on the right track and offer suggestions when they are struggling. Shelley has become my go-to recommendation for families or children in need. She is amazing at what she does and loves her kids fiercely!"

Kimberley Davis Sheffer
Director, COJ, 2020

"Shelley has been a lifesaver for our family. She came highly recommended to us and we quickly found out why. She loved both of our kiddos from the day she met them. She is changing our lives for the better, making things easier with our son and his behavior. He loves visits from Ms. Shelley, as do I. She is so invested in each child. She is always checking in on our son (and me) to see how it is going. She is full of fantastic ideas and great advice. She even helped us through a rough Christmas Day. Even when our son "graduated" she still checked in from time to time, and came back with open arms when we needed her again. We all love Ms. Shelley. She is helping our family so much and I am so grateful for asking for her help when things got rough. I can't say enough about how amazing she is."

Megan Bass
Parent, 2019

"Oh Mrs. Shelley! She is Graysen’s absolute favorite person. He gets so excited to see her. She is also one of my favorite people. It is not being dramatic to say that she has changed our hope and future for our little guy. She always, always, always is enthusiastic and shows her love non stop. She always makes his exercises fun and engaging. Graysen knows that she is his biggest fan and cheerleader (along with mom). Mrs. Shelley and I have both cried over his accomplishments. I truly feel like she was given this talent from God, and I’m so grateful she is using it. We can’t say enough wonderful things about her. After one summer (where we didn’t even see her every week cuz of vacation schedules and such), Graysen has already mastered his first goal we had and is so close to completely his other goals. Can’t say enough amazing things about Mrs. Shelley. So grateful to have her in our lives."

Cheryl Lyn Ashton
Parent, 2019

"Where do I begin? Simply put, Shelley is amazing! My ten year old daughter was a late autism and mild intellectual disability diagnosis just within these last two years. It breaks my mommy heart when my special girl struggles and all I want is to give her the help she needs. Enter Shelley!!! She just gets it. She listens. She understands. She helps. She empowers. I am in awe of her compassion, assessment, strategies, playful activities, recommendations, and dedication. She has been the best support for my girl, me, and our family. Shelley truly has made all the difference."

Kelly Lee
Parent, 2019

"We didn't know we were missing out on anything until we met Mrs. Wetzel. She had the ability to show my son what he is capable of doing, creating a bond they still have today. She builds a trusting relationship through knowledge, determination and expectation that will change your life. "

Deb Mirr
Parent, 2016

"I am a preschool teacher here in The Woodlands and have had the great pleasure of working with Shelley this year. She has helped me plan and implement several classroom strategies to help with behavior modification and sensory integration in my classroom. She is excellent at listening to the needs of teachers, parents and the child in order to develop a child centered plan that gets results. I highly recommend Shelley and am grateful for all of her help this year."

Heather Curvel Weis
Teacher, 2020

"Isabel loves Shelley & Empowered to Play! We were very fortunate to cross paths with Shelley and try something new for Isabel since she has delays in fine & gross motor skills. The progress has been amazing! She started working with Shelley in October 2017 and we have seen real results in just a couple of months. Isabel was in OT for over a year with no significant progress. Shelley truly cares about Isabel & is her biggest cheerleader. Shelley is able to communicate, motivate, and push our daughter to try new things. They have so much fun “playing” that I don’t think Isabel even knows she is doing work. Shelley provides detailed updates and is so in tune with Isabel’s needs. Empowered to Play was the missing piece to our puzzle for Isabel’s therapy plan and we are so happy with her continued progress. The highlight of Isabel’s week is definitely seeing Mrs Shelley!"

Christina Bushra
Parent, 2018

"Shelley has been amazing for my 12 year old son Devon! He has never "qualified" for occupational therapy services, yet has low muscle tone and a weak grip. At 12 this was really starting to effect his self esteem and he had made all sorts of his own accommodations to work around these issues - mostly avoiding things. Shelley and he work out together doing strengthening exercises as well as fine Motor activities to improve his muscle tone and grip strength. The key is that they workout in a fun and motivating way. And Devons much more willing to do these exercises with Shelley than he's ever been with my husband and I (go figure). Shelley is kind of the ideal therapist for a boy as they are talking and problem solving but doing so while exercising and moving -- just exactly what we all know boys need most!"

Katie Colvin Hapeman
Parent, 2017

My Philosopy

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to begin a program in a community actively serving children and youth with special needs. I have the passion, drive, heart, knowledge, strength and expertise to help you and your child lead an active and healthy lifestyle. This is a very unique and individualized offering for your child/family. We will meet and discuss goals you want your child to achieve and begin reaching those goals for a long and healthy life. I always say, “if it isn’t vocational (job) then it is your health and wellbeing”. You only get one life and we need to treat our bodies and minds well. It doesn’t matter the intellect, physical ability level, emotional state or if you’re good with people. My job is to help enhance those deficits your child may be facing and make life a little more “normal”. Empower to Play, be active, and lead a healthy life. I look so very forward to getting to know you, your child and world in which you live. Thank you for your trust in me and I can’t wait to work with you.

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