Igniting Fitness Possibilities at Holland Bloorview

You weren’t judged for anything you did. Like if you were really bad at something you could still play. At school if you are really bad at something you’re like oh my god I can’t play it, but here you were the same as everyone else. I liked it when we could make our own games in the program and I like the obstacle courses and the fitness games at the beginning.

I learned that fitness isn’t bad at all. Before I started I always hated fitness and doing boring old things like jumping jacks and push- ups, but I guess when [my coach] talked about things it kind of cleared things up and made fitness more fun.

I felt like I wasn’t moving enough before the program. I just sat on my bed and played with my phone. It helped knowing that I could be somewhere, being active, and adapt things the way I need them.

A few times he was in a horrible mood [before IFP] and was very withdrawn. He was just very stressed about things due at school and when we got here it was a complete 180. He came running in and was diving through hula hoops, and I was like ‘this is my kid who was upset in the car?’ And he created that game, and that he presented it; he’s a different kid… he feels the confidence here. I definitely think it helped him to see the options out there; that you can do it and be creative with it.