Meet some of the families who are benefiting from a therapeutic video game: Dino Island
Traditionally, these types of approaches have been very difficult or costly for families to access, so our focus on developing Dino Island has been to create something that’s effective, but also accessible and affordable,” says Dr. Sarah Macoun, Associate Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Victoria and the lead researcher on the project.
When Kai was diagnosed with autism at the age of four, his parents Abby and Paul were surprised—aside from some speech challenges, nothing led them to suspect he was autistic. Unfamiliar with the diagnosis and unsure where to turn, Abby and Paul started to connect with supports in their community.
When Kai enrolled in Secret Agent Society, he struggled with social norms like giving other people a chance to talk during a conversation and not engaging with his peers if they were talking about something he wasn’t interested in,” ~ Abby, Kai’s mother
Meet Alex, a sixteen-year-old boy living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Alex has many complex needs, and a main source of support is the Fetal Alcohol Resource Program (FARP), which connects kids and their families to local FASD supports.
There really wasn’t support for FASD or families—it just didn’t exist in this area at the time,” ~ Tracy, Alex’s mother
When Mimi was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, she could barely communicate. Now four years old, Mimi communicates using sounds and words, skills that were taught and nurtured through the Social ABCs program.
Social ABCs has had a huge impact on our entire family, grandparents included, on the way we parent Mimi,” ~ Jina, Mimi’s mother
More than 85 per cent of children living with a brain-based disability struggle with sleep. For David, the Better Nights, Better Days program helped him overcome this challenge.
Going into the program, I discussed with my son that this was a summer project we would work on together—it wasn’t just something for me or just something for him, it was for both of us,” ~ Ben, David’s father
