Key takeaways:
- Chicago resident Luke Jean-Baptiste, 15, learned about Camp Red Kite from a friend when participating in the Special Olympics.
- Camp Red Kite is Chicago Children’s Theatre’s sensory-friendly program designed for children and teens on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities.
- Jean-Baptiste now assists in various roles for the theatre.
At 15 years old, Luke Jean-Baptiste already knows what he wants to be when he grows up: a lifeguard and a theater teaching assistant.
For Luke and his family, that dream didn’t just appear overnight. It grew, slowly and steadily, inside the welcoming walls of Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Camp Red Kite, a sensory-friendly program designed for children and teens on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities.
What began as an invitation from a friend has turned into a second home, a job opportunity and a place where Luke found something powerful: his voice.
A first introduction that changed everything
Luke first discovered Camp Red Kite when a friend from the Special Olympics invited him to watch a performance. The show featured a Chinese dragon and a story about a child who broke a vase and Luke was hooked.
“The performance was fun,” he says simply. “I got to be part of a play, so I wanted to come back to Red Kite again.”
He started attending camp at age 8. What his mother, Tareema Jean-Baptiste, didn’t realize at the time was how deeply the experience would shape him.
As an early education professional, Tareema believed in traditional therapies. But something unexpected happened at Red Kite.
“Luke really started speaking, spontaneous speech started coming more when he came to Red Kite,” she says. “I just saw my child open up in a different way.”
Through creative storytelling, staff would take the sounds and inflections Luke made and build stories around them. What might have been dismissed elsewhere became inspiration.
“That sounds like a train,” someone would say and suddenly Luke was part of creating a world.
From camper to leader
Over the years, Luke’s role at Chicago Children’s Theatre expanded. He didn’t just attend camp, he began helping others.
He now assists with glowsticking during sensory-friendly performances, helping prepare young audience members for potentially intense lighting effects. He makes buttons for guest services. He greets families.
“It makes me feel good to help kids with scary parts of the show so they can enjoy the performance,” Luke says. “The people I work with are very nice and supportive. I like learning how to do new skills.”
For a teenager navigating autism, epilepsy and ADHD, that support means everything.
“Chicago Children’s Theatre still believes I can do good work,” he says.
Tareema agrees. “You guys have done custom employment. Like, I mean c’mon? For him to have a resume and to be learning so many skills.”
Luke went from camper to teacher’s aide and public greeter, gaining workplace experience in an environment that truly understands him.
The power of sensory-friendly theatre
For many families with disabled children, traditional theatre settings can feel overwhelming or inaccessible. Sensory-friendly performances with adjusted lighting, sound and flexibility for movement can change that dynamic.
“Without sensory-friendly shows, kids with disabilities may not feel comfortable going to shows and miss plays,” Luke explains. “Plays are good entertainment and tell stories. Everybody belongs and can come to the theater.”
That inclusion has shaped his own love for performing.
At one camp, someone told Tareema that Luke “lights up” in the spotlight. She remembers being surprised.
“I don’t think I ever would have thought he’d be on a stage,” she says.
Now, he’s comfortable speaking with a “big voice.” He uses his imagination freely. He’s even interested in writing poetry and trying out for a band at school.
“CCT has helped me be braver and believe I can act in plays if I want to,” Luke says.
Participation, not just observation
One experience that stands out for Luke is the Red Kite Friendship Tour, an interactive performance where audience members become part of the story.
Unlike traditional theatre, where you sit quietly in your seat, this show invited participation.
“I liked it because I was able to be part of the story,” Luke says. “Other theaters you just sit there and watch. In this show, I got to participate and that is so much fun.”
That sense of agency of being included rather than accommodated is central to why Red Kite feels different.
Dreaming bigger for inclusive arts
When asked what he would design for teens like him, Luke doesn’t hesitate.
“I would want poetry class, music class and drama class. For college credit. Or a teenage drama club. Then we could put on some community theater for the people in Chicago.”
His ideas reflect what Camp Red Kite has already shown him: creativity belongs to everyone.
For Tareema, the impact goes beyond performance skills.
“With his diagnosis, I thought accessing and growing his imagination would be very hard,” she says. “I didn’t think that creativity muscle would be used or inspired. Chicago Children’s Theatre has really done it.”
She calls the theatre “home.”
“When I drop him off, I don’t feel any sort of way. He’s home. He’s fine. He’s with people who are going to support him, seek to understand him and have patience with him.”
More than a program
For Luke, Camp Red Kite isn’t just a camp.
It’s where he learned to make buttons. Where he learned to stand on stage. Where he learned that his imagination matters. Where he discovered he likes the spotlight.
And where he realized he has something to offer others.
“I want to be a lifeguard and a theater teaching assistant,” he says.
Thanks to a theatre that believes in inclusion not as a buzzword but as a practice, that dream doesn’t feel far-fetched.
It feels possible.
