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¶¡ÏãÔ°AV and Special Olympics BC - Camp for People with Intellectual Disabilities

March 01, 2020

In partnership with (SOBC) and with the help of many volunteers, our first Camp for Youth and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities was a great success! SOBC and Special Olympics International awarded Troy Boucher, Lab Manager of the ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Autism Lab, a grant to fund the camp to enable more children and adults with intellectual disabilities to participate in physical activity. With the current rates of physical activity for this population being lower than average, Troy and ADDL volunteers sought to create an accessible and fun space where people could be active and learn about nutrition and benefits to physical activity, while also collecting data towards improving access to physical activities.

Campers participated in a variety of tasks, such as curling (left) and making crafts (right) with camp staff.

The day camp for youth ages 8 to 17 was held on February 22nd, and adults’ ages 18+ attended on February 29th at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s Burnaby Campus. With the help of experienced volunteers, campers enjoyed playing games together like lawn bowling and floor curling (provided by SOBC), arts and crafts, and even winding down with a game of Wii Sports. Campers also had an opportunity to talk about their favorite sports and give insight on how physical activities could be more accessible for them. Parents and caregivers expressed how this camp was one of the first camps their children had ever had the opportunity to participate in and thanked Troy, the ADDL, and SOBC for this opportunity. The ADDL at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV sincerely thanks SOBC and Special Olympics International for their collaboration and for making this camp possible!