Child 1 Age 5 (Male)
Program(s) focused in Behavioral therapy
(4.5) Overall experience
My son is on his second session of the “Social Explorers” program. He absolutely loves attending and asks about it throughout the week. The staff are warm and welcoming, and he seems very comfortable with them. They have done a great job facilitating play between him and another child. My son now asks about this other child to make sure they will see each other again. He also really enjoys the activities, especially crafts and active games in the gym. We are very happy with this program and plan to continue with it in the future.
(4.5) Reason for choosing the camp
We are always looking for recreational programs that can accommodate our son’s disability while providing him with opportunities to socialize with peers. Based on their mission statement, we knew that Variety Village would be able to welcome him and provide an understanding environment. We have not been disappointed!
(4) Program quality and activities
The staff have been wonderful at planning activities that align with our son’s interests. He especially loves art activities and obstacle courses in the gym. They are always happy to follow his lead and let him choose which activities to participate in. He always has a good time and is happy to share what he worked on, at pick-up time.
(4) Social dynamics and experience
Our son still has difficulty with engaging in play with peers, and the staff have done a great job providing opportunities to engage with the other children in the program. There is one child in particular that he asks about and looks forward to seeing. We hope he will continue to grow his social skills through this program and others at Variety Village.
(4) Skills and growth
In the past, our son has had difficulty with community recreation programs. He has often shown separation anxiety and had difficulty engaging with the program. He seems to be doing much better with this program and is able to separate fairly easily. He is actively participating, whereas in the past, he has just observed or refused to participate in recreation programs.
(4.5) Staff/Instructors/Counsellors
We are very happy with the support he has received from the staff at this program. He looks forward to playing with them each week. We really appreciate hearing about how he did after each session. Staff encourages him to share what they did each time, which is very helpful as he usually refuses to tell us anything without that prompt. In the past, I have been very nervous about leaving him at recreation programs, because I am not confident that the staff will be able to handle him. I am very relieved to say I do not feel that way at Variety Village.
(4.5) Advice and tips
My advice would just be to give it a chance! I have always been nervous to try new programs because we have had a lot of bad experiences. It is not easy to find programs that are truly accommodating of disabled children, especially those with challenging behaviours. We are very happy with our experience here and look forward to trying other programs in the future.
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