"One year ago the extend of his language at age three was “want juice”. Now my son can come home and tell me about his day. If you don’t believe that is a miracle you are not looking hard enough."  
- Preschool Parent
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Respite Care


Our respite program is based on the premise that families know their children best. To ensure that the child’s and families preferences have been taken into consideration, we have recruited a group of caregivers, who reflect the diversity of the families we serve.

 

What is Respite Care?

Respite care gives families temporary relief from the challenges of caring for a child with a developmental disability whether this relief is for a few hours, a day, a weekend or longer depends on the families needs.
Respite care aims to strengthen the family unit. The program allows families to rest, take a vacation, tend to life’s necessities, or deal with stressful situations such as illness, death or moving.
Respite care is not a luxury; it is essential for a family’s well-being. It can prevent parents from becoming so stressed and fatigued that they can no longer cope with the special needs of their child or respond to the needs of other family members.

Why Respite Care?

 

To support children with special needs and their families
 
To enable families to have options and choices when
  making decisions for their children
 
To promote awareness and acceptance of special needs
  children and their families within the community
 
To encourage open and equal access to all community
  resources and services

This comprehensive approach provides complementary learning opportunities and focuses on the development and functional use of age appropriate skills for each child.

 

Benefits to the Child with Special Needs

Respite care gives children with special needs an opportunity to participate in a wider range of experiences essential for normal development, such as:
 

 
On-going relationships and social interaction outside the 
  family unit
 
Contact with children who model age-appropriate 
  behaviours, if the caregiver has children
 
Growing independence through new learning experiences
  Inclusion in community activities
 
Inclusion in community activities

 

Group Respite Waitlist Support

In April 2001, the Reach Child and Youth Development Society began a group respite program to serve families on the wait list for the general respite program. Twenty-one children with special needs are being served in total. In addition, up to 7 typical children (usually siblings) are served through this program. As well as giving parents of special needs children some much needed respite, the group respite program’s main focus has been to promote the children’s special skills development, facilitate the building of friendships, promote positive self esteem and community awareness, and to decrease possible isolation. The programs runs the first Saturday of each month providing families with 5.5 hours of respite per month. The program is staffed by 6 well trained and experienced caregivers, an assistant coordinator, and a program coordinator. The children are divided into two groups depending on their age. One group is for children 4 to 9 years and another group is for children 9 to 18 years.
 

To access this funding, families must have a referral from their social worker.  For more information call 604-946-6622 and contact Program Coordinators: Melanie Reid, ext. 305 or Group Respite Coordinator: Dawn Beazley, ext. 306. 

 
#3-3800 72nd Street ph. 604-946-6622
Delta, BC, V4K 3N2 fx. 604-946-6223
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Reach Child and Youth Development Society