OT Fitness – a fantastic way to engage all kids no matter what their fitness level.
On April 12, 2014 OT fitness was on site at Holland Bloorview kids rehabilitation Hospital for the 5th, Milos Raonic Agility Challenge. It was a beautiful warm day and parents / carers of the kids with prosthetics made the long trek to the lower gymnasium to take part in some fun activities. We had a really successful day with a record numbers of kids participating, so much so that. The OT Fitness team was really challenged to find a variety of engaging activities for kids and staff alike.
The purpose of the day was to give the kids a fun opportunity to improve their confidence in using their prosthesis so all the activities offered were adapted to suit all abilities. During the planning phase Milt Ottey (OT Fitness CEO) met with Kristen Matthews, CP (c) Certified Prosthetist at Holland Bloorview to discuss if the OT Fitness program was able to accommodate special needs. “It was an interesting idea and one well worth exploring, OT Fitness prides itself in adapting to kids of all shapes sizes and ability and disabilities and this was our test” said Milt
To understand the needs of the kids participating in the events, it was important for the technicians to have an understanding of the activities offered for the day so they could better assist the OT Fitness staff in implementing the program so OT Fitness put the technicians through a mini agility challenge to gain the required first-hand knowledge.
At the end of the day post 5 successful events, not only did the kids and their parents get a wonderful afternoon of fitness and activities, but they also learnt how to better use their old and new prosthetics - some has been using prosthetics for months / years and some were first time users – the most impressive thing was that the technicians discovered that the kids were able to Run, Jump, Throw, walk balance etc., in so many ways they never thought possible. A JOB WELL DONE BY ALL!
OT Fitness would like to thank Kristen Matthews and the staff at Holland Bloorview for offering us the opportunity to participate in the wonderful groundbreaking project and we look forward to the continuation of a successful working relationship in years to come.
