Workers began smashing concrete this week, moving out what's not needed in a yard that is located between Pontchartrain Elementary school and Tchefuncte Middle School.

Pink flags mark the design and signals what parents call a sensory yard.

Right now there's a sensory room inside each school, but for kids with special needs, the bigger the better.

“We special needs parents said, well, if this is that important, let's do some fund raising.  Let's do something that really shines,” said parent Leanne Cantrell 18 months ago.

So Cantrell and other parents raised $50,000 to build in the yard. It'll especially benefit kids with autism and ADHD. When those kids get sensory overload – and it happens – they'll come out here for physical activity.

“The latest set of research says that 95 percent of kids with ADHD and 91 percent of kids with autism are much, much better able to concentrate and achieve their goals after they do this heavy duty sensory integration work,” Cantrell said

The parents actually got help with the design from a school in Israel, because they say no public school in America has an outdoor sensory yard like this.

The goal is to have this yard ready by the time kids come back from Christmas break, and this sensory yard will benefit hundreds of kids.

“In the classroom we use lots of different tools to help our special needs kids, but this is a great continuation of that,” said teacher Meredith Mendez. “To be able to help them and be able to do it in an outdoor setting is wonderful.”

And there are features for many different special needs, like a textural mural for blind kids and equipment for kids in wheelchairs.

All the labor was donated. The parent group still needs to raise roughly $15,000 to finish their one-of-a-kind project.

For more information, go to http://www.kidsensela.com.