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ATTLEBORO - Most of the dreams fulfilled by A Wish Come True, the area's oldest wish-granting organization for children with life-threatening illnesses, are exactly what you'd expect, says program director Beverly Molles - trips to Disney World.

But for Keston Douglass, a 6-year-old Attleboro boy with a rare chromosomal defect, the group did something much more unique: They built him a stage - in his basement.

Keston's parents, Karen and Drew, had noticed their son's habit of escaping from the house - "He is deceptively smart," explained Karen - and then making his way to neighbor's patios, where they'd find him singing and dancing songs from his beloved Wiggles DVDs, using the patio as a makeshift stage.

"We realized he needs a stage so he can do this at home," said Karen, 38. She imagined creating a stage, complete with velvet curtains and plush rugs, in the basement of the family's South Attleboro home. "I had the idea but I didn't have the talent to pull it off," she said.

And so Karen sent the unusual request to A Wish Come True - which is not affiliated with, and predates, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a better-known national charity - near the end of last year. It was a challenge, but with the help and talents of a number of local craftspeople, the stage became a reality, said Molles, Wish Come True's program director. She singled out for praise Eric Ayre of Top Cat Construction; Terry Boyajian, who found just the right fabrics; and Anselone Flooring of Mansfield.

The basement now has a bit of the flavor of an old-fashioned Vaudeville house, right down to the curtains and rugs Karen was dreaming of just five months ago.

And Keston has his stage.

"The day that Terry did the curtains, we walked down and said, 'This is a theater!' " recalled Karen.

Keston is a born performer, as he demonstrated to a visiting reporter. He also finds it easier to speak when he's singing, as opposed to talking.

"He loves it," Karen said. "He spends half his day down there."

Molles smiled as she listened to the family's delight at seeing Keston's wish come true.

"We call it magic," she said.

TED NESI can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com.