Ian Hammers is a human pinball.

The 10-year-old bounces from one end of the Slaughter Elementary School gym to another, clinging intently to a small blue basketball. His cheeks are glowing crimson, and he's laughing with abandon.

MIKE STONE/Special Contributor

ARC of Dallas staff member Dave Wardensee plays with special-needs student Ian Hammers at Slaughter Elementary School in McKinney. The program is part of the after-school care program for children with disabilities.

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This is Ian at his essence, an autistic child who is the joy of his family and the nightmare of most child-care providers who must deal with the erratic behavior caused by his developmental disorder.

Ian gets through the school day fine, but after-school care has always been an issue for his parents, who must both work. Now, a new partnership between the Arc of Dallas and McKinney ISD is bringing after-school care that is tailored to Ian and other children with disabilities.

"It was everything we hoped it would be," said Carrie Hammers, Ian's mother. "Ian actually likes going to school now, because he gets to do this in the afternoons."

It wasn't always that way, Ms. Hammers said.

"Every time we put him in a day care, he'd get frustrated and start biting," she said.

Once, he slipped outside and into a pool.

Sometimes Ian would last a week in day care. Other times, Mrs. Hammers got calls at work almost immediately.

"For me, he was perfect," Mrs. Hammers said. "He didn't bite me, but they didn't have the patience."

Ian's mother took a night job as a 911 operator, so she could be home with him in the afternoons. She slept for a few hours at the end of her shift before picking him up from school. She rarely saw her husband or younger son, Max.

"That was my life for more than three years," Mrs. Hammers said.

About a year ago, she got a better-paying day job and hired a nanny who could give Ian one-on-one attention after school, but the nanny wasn't trained to help an autistic child flourish.

Then, this year, the McKinney school district partnered with the Arc of Dallas, a charitable organization, to offer after-school care with trained specialists at two McKinney schools. The new Adventure Club is open to children with intellectual disabilities and maintains a maximum ratio of four children for each staff member.

McKinney schools pick up the tab for busing participants to the appropriate school, and the school district provides afternoon snacks.

Families pay about $20 a day. Mrs. Hammers had paid her nanny $50 a day.

On a recent afternoon, Adventure Club staff members pulled out a colorful parachute for the kids to billow in the air. Cooperation from the four children lasted about 60 seconds, but there were no complaints.

Several children plopped down on the parachute and got a slippery ride around the floor. When Ian rolled himself inside the cloth like a mummy, supervisor Christy Scifres stopped the play.

"'Ian, hold still while I unroll you,' " she says. " 'It's just not safe for you.' "

The routine is repeated until Ian loses interest and runs to the basketball goal. There, he is persistent, throwing the ball toward the basket as many times as it takes to make the shot.

"There's no point in trying to make him quit," Ms. Scifres said. "I've learned to wait with him here until the ball goes in."

When the ball finally rolls through the net, Ian yells, "Good job!" and kisses the ball. He walks away with a smile, keeping the ball tucked under his arm.

"Someone gave me a special child," his mother said. "To me, he's brilliant."