A day after a Mississauga family went public with its frustration that their daughter’s summer camp was no longer accommodating her special needs, they say they have new hope that solution can be found.
The University of Toronto Mississauga, which runs the day camp attended by Raquel Pilon-Guerra, has reached out to her family to discuss pairing her with a personal support worker. The seven-year-old has cerebral palsy and has visited the day camp for four summers; this year though the family was told staff could not accommodate her need to have someone assist her in the washroom.
“I would call it progress,” her mother Patricia Guerra told CTV News Toronto.
Guerra had been forced to accompany her daughter to camp all-day, every day, sacrificing her own job and income in order to be available to help.
Meanwhile, other families have come forward with similar struggles of finding day camps for children who require toileting assistance.
Deanna Langer’s five-year-old son Mason has a rare syndrome and requires various forms of personalized attention. Langer was told by both City of Toronto and YMCA camps that most of Mason’s needs could be met, with the exception of toileting.
“The one-on-one was for everything but the diapering,” said Langer. “The diapering and the toileting really ended up being a hard-stop, and something they couldn’t accommodate.”
The City of Toronto told CTV News Toronto that staff at its inclusive camps can offer verbal prompting for washroom use, assistance with clothing, and some assistance with transfers. But campers who require more intensive support with toileting require a family member, friend, or personal support worker on-hand to assist.
“I couldn’t imagine that it was actually correct, there must be a mistake,” said Langer.
Langer ultimately found a camp for Mason in the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, which strived to make every effort to accommodate his special needs.
“When a child comes to us who might require some special relationship to make their experience here a success, we at least want to try as hard as we can with the family,” said executive director Harriet Wichin. “What might a solution look like?”
Meanwhile when 25-year-old Sara Berailowski learned of the Pilon-Guerra’s battle with the day camp, she offered to volunteer as a support worker for Raquel. She recently completed an educational support program and specializes in working with students with disabilities.
“We’re both from Mississauga, I feel like why not? Somebody needs support, and I’m perfectly available and trained for this,” she said.
The University of Toronto told CTV News Toronto Thursday that they have instructors who work directly with children with disabilities, but changes to this year’s registration process and program were identified in advance of the camp.
Guerra says it’s not clear who would cover the cost of a personal support worker for her daughter, if, in fact, one is organized by the day camp. But she is grateful the university is making efforts to accommodate them.
“A sliver of hope,” she said.
