OLATHE, Kan. — Kansas City Chiefs fans are already tailgating ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship Game at a HyVee grocery store in Olathe.
K.C. Wolf, Chiefs cheerleaders and lots of food are the things to make a Chiefs fan cheer at Wednesday's tailgate.
Variety KC's chief inclusion officer explained more than 25 families gathered to celebrate last Saturday's win and look forward to the upcoming game.
"We love to provide opportunities where families can get together in an environment that is not only inclusive but also accessible," Marc Harrell said.
But not everyone uses words to cheer on the Chiefs. Cindia Revolus is mom to four-year-old Nova, who was diagnosed with autism and working hard on her speech patterns.
"She is basically my heart in person," Revolus said. "She's very handheld communication so she'll take you to what she needs and point instead of speaking."
Nova was one of three children at the tailgate who went home with a new communication tablet from Variety KC and HyVee.
"They're able to use this device and use either pictures or different symbols in order to express whatever they're feeling," Harrell said. "When they're having a challenge to get out that emotion, this device will help them get that out."
The devices aren't cheap, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
"These devices aren't covered by insurance but they absolutely should be," Harrell said. "It's an essential tool."
The donations take away an out-of-pocket expense for families.
"It's one less stress," Revolus said. "Having a kid with special needs there's hurdles you're already dealing with. It's one less thing that we have to worry about and we're grateful for that."
A child's voice isn't always expressed in words. You can cheer on the Chiefs through tablets, too.
"It gives us a little bit more hope," Revolus said. "The communication device shows that the more [children] use it, the more they mimic the words. I think it will get us one step closer to [Nova] verbally communicating with us and we are so joyous and happy with that."
All of the families at Wednesday's tailgate received a $50 gift card to HyVee.
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