The boy swung the plastic bat with such abandon, the pitcher ducked even when he missed the ball.

More often than not, though, the boy connected. And it was easy to forget Riley Anderson is not a typical boy.

Born with Down syndrome, the 10-year-old gets his daily at-bat because of another special child: Tessa Steil. Born with developmental problems from complications at birth, Tessa died a month after Riley was born in 1999.

Her parents helped create Hand-in-Hand and Tessa's Place, which is where Riley has spent his after-school hours ever since he was 4 years old. His time there has helped shape him into an ace hitter while allowing his mom to continue to work while his dad faced multiple military deployments.

Tessa's parents, Joanie and Dave Steil, met Mark and Vinnie Smith when Vinnie was a teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.

The Smiths' then-10-year-old son has autism, and the Smiths and Steils often "talked in the halls" about the need they saw for children with special needs - and their families - to have a place to go and to grow, Mark Smith said.

"This has been truly homegrown," he said of the nearly 10-year-old Hand-in-Hand center. The couples' efforts began to bear fruit in 2000 with programs at Camp Abe Lincoln. When Skip-Along Daycare relocated from a building at 3860 Middle Road, Bettendorf, in 2001, the Smiths and Steils moved Tessa's Place in.

"Now we're packed," Smith said. "If you have a child with special needs, you know about us. We're here for the kids, but the families need us, too. The parents can continue to work and to do things that are especially difficult when you have a child with special needs.

"Have you ever tried to push a wheelchair and a shopping cart at the same time?"

Riley's parents had another hardship: His dad, Nolan Anderson, was deployed with the Army National Guard for nearly the past four years. If not for Hand-in-Hand, Riley's mom, Deb Anderson, could not have kept her job.

"I can't say enough about Hand-in-Hand," she said last week. "With them, I don't have to worry. In fact, Riley sometimes doesn't want to come home."

As a regular, the staff is infinitely familiar with Riley's likes and dislikes.

"When everybody else is inside, Riley and his caregivers are outside," Mark Smith said. "He's an extremely active young man."

Some of the others at Hand-in-Hand are not quite so active, but the staff and other students are always nearby.

"Many of our 'typical' children help our special needs children," Smith said. "About 40 percent of our kids are in the autism spectrum. We have people with Down syndrome and a variety of needs and levels of need."

Most of the funding for Hand-in-Hand comes directly from the families served - about 60 percent. Another 10 percent comes from the state, Smith said, and much of the remainder comes from the United Way of the Quad-Cities.

"One of the things that is awesome about United Way is that they took the dreams of two families and helped make them a reality," Mark Smith said. "Ten years ago, we were just talking in the hall. United Way helped get us here, and they keep helping us."