An Ontario man got an early Father's Day present this year -- his young daughter, who has cerebral palsy, is making significant progress thanks to a centre that helps children with disabilities.
Brian Lo's daughter, Emma, was born pre-mature. By the time she was two-years-old, the little girl was behind in her motor-skills development and so Lo brought Emma to ErinoakKids Centre.
"She could go into the crawl position and she could sit but that was about it," Lo told CTV Toronto.
Emma has since learned to stand, walk, and even navigate up and down stairs. She has been working with therapist Joy Anne Ang Go for the past four months.
"The first time I met her, she could do five minutes on a special bike but now she can do 10, 15 minutes," Go said.
Emma's father is also never far from his daughter. He says the progress she's made so far has been remarkable.
"It's just really affected her motor skills, mainly her legs," he said. "Every milestone is that much more important to us because for me and my family, it brings Emma that much closer to someday living an independent life."
According to ErinoakKids CEO Bridget Fewtrell, approximately a decade ago, it was rare for fathers to accompany their children to therapy. She estimates it happened five per cent of the time, but today, it's closer to 30.
Demand for rehab services at ErinoakKids, which serves 15,000 families in Halton, Peel and Dufferin regions, has also been going up. The centre estimates that in some areas, demand for rehabilitation services has jumped by 20 per cent.
To accommodate that growth, ErinoakKids is building three new facilities that will allow them to offer expanded therapy and medical services.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Pauline Chan
