We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to embrace their leisure time to the fullest, discover their potential, and engage meaningfully within their community.
At KidsAbility, Therapeutic Recreation (TR) helps children and youth with disabilities to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours that makes it possible for them to participate in, and enjoy recreation and leisure opportunities.
Benefits of Therapeutic Recreation
For children and youth with disabilities there are many different benefits to participation in recreation and leisure activities:
- Increase self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Increase independence
- Learn new skills
- Make new friends
- Reduce stress
- Experience feelings of competence
What Service Looks Like
We offer three main approaches to programs and services to help children and youth and their families grow and feel empowered:
- Community Development: We are committed to education, advocacy, and program development to make recreation activities and programs accessible for everyone. We help remove barriers to participation so activities can fit different needs. Additionally, we offer training and education for recreation providers, including inclusion training, disability awareness, and activity modification.
- Recreation Skill Development: Through therapeutic recreation services we empower children and youth to build and refine recreation skills. We further help them to gain independence and confidence through building of community partnerships and providing various levels of service support ranging from universal supports to 1:1 services.
- Parent and Child/Youth Education: We offer workshops and a recreation equipment loaning program to make it possible for children and their families to try out different recreation activities.
Groups
Physical Literacy for children is back at KidsAbility’s!
The Therapeutic Recreation team is thrilled to provide group sessions focused on developing essential social, movement, and routine skills. These sessions aim to prepare children and youth for active participation in recreation, sports, and leisure activities. Our ultimate goal is to help them feel confident and comfortable engaging with their community.
*This group is currently full.*
Please submit the form to express interest in future groups and to be added to our waitlist. You will be contacted when space becomes available or when we are running the group again in the future
Active Start is a physical literacy group for participants with disabilities that focuses on fundamental movement skills including running, jumping, catching, throwing, kicking, and balance through obstacle courses, fun games and group activities. This program will build participant’s confidence and get them ready to engage in future sport activities.
Please fill out this form to submit interest in the program:
To join this group participants must be ages 4-6, and able to participate independently.
Groups will take place at:
KidsAbility Kitchener – 4273 King Street East, Unit B
January 21, 2025 to April 1, 2025 (no group on March 11, 2025)
Tuesdays at 4:45pm and 6pm
Sportsmanship Stars is a new program offered by KidsAbility’s Therapeutic Recreation services. In these sessions we will focus on being a good sport, showing respect, typical sport behaviour, and winning and losing. The structure of the group will be a mix of curriculum based learning, role play, and games and activities that require collaboration and fair play.
Please fill out this form to submit interest in the program.
To join this group participants must be ages 7-12, and able to participate independently.
Groups will take place at:
KidsAbility Kitchener – 4273 King Street East, Unit B
Wednesdays at 5pm to 6pm
Camps
Here at KidsAbility, our Recreation Therapists work closely with camp providers in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph/Wellington and beyond to promote inclusion and find camp options for your family.
Summer Camp Fairs
Learn more about summer camp opportunities for children, youth, and adults with special needs in Waterloo Region, Guelph Wellington, and beyond.
Fairs are offered virtual from 7 – 9 pm. Click on the link below to register:
- Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024 – Overnight Camps Waterloo Region, Guelph-Wellington, and Beyond
- Tuesday, Jan 7, 2025 – Day Camps for children 4-12 (Waterloo Region)
- Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025 – Day Camps for children 4-12 (Guelph/ Wellington)
- Wednesday, Feb 5, 2025 – Day Camps for Teens and Adults (Waterloo Region & Guelph/Wellington)
How and When to Plan for Summer Camp Webinar
Our Recreation Therapists will go over the steps need to successfully plan for summer camp. Learn where to find information about camps, funding options, how to access inclusion support (1:1), and the importance of planning and registering early. Learn about additional camp planning support available from KidsAbility. We will host an open discussion following the presentation for any questions you may have.
Webinars are offered in December, January, February and March at 12 noon or 7:00 pm
Camp Planning Resources
Camp Planning Resources can be found on our website.
- Summer Overnight Camps Directory
- Summer Day Camps for Children, Teens and Adults Directories
- Camp Planning Steps handout and presentation
- All About Me instructions, samples and template
- Past Summer Camp Fair Webinar recordings
- Camp Funding Options
- Plus more
Camp Consult
If you require additional support for camp planning after reviewing our camp resources, email rectherapy@kidsability.ca  to request a camp consult.
KidsAbility Summer Camp Consult Clinics are offered January – March. 
Camp Questions?
Email rectherapy@kidsability.ca and one of our Recreation Therapists will be happy to help you.
Community Recreation
Here at KidsAbility, our Recreation Therapists work closely with community recreation providers in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph/Wellington to promote inclusion and find program options for your family.
If you are seeking community recreation opportunities you can view our recreation directory here: Community Recreation Directory
For more information on how to access inclusion services within community recreation, please read the following handout: Accessing Inclusion
If you require additional support please email rectherapy@kidsability.ca and one of our Recreation Therapists will be happy to help you.
Therapeutic Recreation Webinars
Get the answers to our most frequently asked Therapeutic Recreation questions, by watching one of our webinars with corresponding handouts.
Topics include:
- Inclusion support and how to access
- How to encourage participation
- Leisure education (potential barriers to leisure and how to overcome them)
- How to navigate the resources on our website
Training and Support
The following training has been provided by our Therapeutic Recreation team and is intended for recreation providers, community partners, and caregivers to prepare our children and youth for success when attending community programs.
If you require additional support, please contact us by email at rectherapy@kidsability.ca.