Our supported living individuals love a good pro hockey or baseball game! And of course, they like to sport their favorite team’s merchandise to show their support.
This #AutismAcceptanceMonth, we are highlighting three such exciting stories of our supported individuals who are sports enthusiasts and doing amazing work achieving new goals and reaping the rewards of their hard work with the help of our dedicated support teams.
Bilal to the Blue Jays
Most people can relate to the anxiety of participating in large events. Bilal is no different. He has slowly been learning to adjust to attending events in the community. With the help of his amazing support team, Bilal recently had the opportunity to attend a Toronto Blue Jays game with his housemates in a box seat rented for Kerry’s Place – something he’s never done before! It was truly a milestone moment for him.
As you can see in the photo, the smiles reflect a moment of joy and pride for both Bilal and those around him. We hope to make this a yearly event for him to enjoy and keep the good times rolling.
Antonio is Ready to Graduate
Antonio moved into our treatment center in the winter of 2019. This means he needed more support, compared to being in our group home setting, especially for participating in community events. But now, Antonio goes out daily and attends a weekly day program every Friday. Through his time at the center, he has enjoyed a baking day, attended an indigenous people’s pow-wow to learn about their culture and traditions, and experienced a Guelph Storm home hockey game – which even though they lost, was a wonderful outing.
Antonio has put in a lot of work to get to this stage and is ready to graduate out of the program into a group home setting. Kudos to Antonio’s support team and his dedication and enthusiasm!
Nick G. conquers his Fear
After five years of missing dental appointments due to extreme anxiety surrounding doctors and medical procedures, Nick was finally able to attend a dentist appointment this past March. It took many attempts over the years and several changes to our support approaches, but Nick didn’t give up and he conquered his fear! What a success.
His well-deserved reward for the feat is a brand-new Toronto Marlies Varsity jacket, something he’s been waiting to get for a long time. Nick is a huge fan of the Marlies with season tickets to attend nearly all their games.
Way to go, Nick and his support team!
