Therapeutic Recreation

Our team provides recreation therapy services to children and youth with disabilities and their families from across BC.

The Therapeutic Recreation team at BC Children’s Hospital supports children and youth to get involved in community activities and fosters life-long recreation and leisure experiences. Our team consists of recreation therapists, some of whom specialize in aquatics.

Services and supports we offer include:

Helping patients discover what recreation activities and experiences they enjoy and want to explore
Recommending recreation activities to increase patients’ quality of life, community participation and sense of joy, leading to lifelong participation
Recommending adaptive recreation equipment that will increase independence and participation in recreation
Providing guidance on adaptive gaming tools and resources
Facilitating short-term loans of adapted recreation equipment
Building the confidence of community teams, schools and partners to support patients' meaningful participation in recreation activities

Referral information

You need a referral from a doctor or another Sunny Hill Health Centre team to use this service. Health-care professionals can visit our referral page for further information about making a referral.

Appointment details

An appointment with the Recreation Therapy Clinic is a one-time visit. We will spend time with you and your child or youth, and offer recreation resources and support. We do not provide on-going recreation therapy.

We may see a patient more than once as they age, and/or if their goals or needs change. This requires a new referral from a provider.

We have a range of different types of appointments, including:

A recreation therapist works with patients and families to identify how they can best participate in recreation activities.

Consultations are typically between 30-60 minutes. We provide them on-site at Sunny Hill Health Centre or virtually. We conclude by sending a report to the legal guardian with our suggestions and recommendations.

The focus of these appointments is:

Exploring a patient’s recreation and leisure interests
Connecting families with accessible resources, programs, and recreation funding opportunities
Addressing barriers to participation
Suggesting adapted recreation equipment to enhance independence
Suggesting strategies to adapt recreation activities and physical education classes

A recreation aquatic therapist works with patients and families to identify how they can have optimal swimming experiences. Consultations are typically between 30-60 minutes.

The focus of these appointments is:

Trying out adapted aquatic equipment and flotation devices
Suggesting positions and techniques to best support patients in the pool
Addressing barriers to accessing community pools and programs
Connecting patients and their families/caregivers with accessible aquatic resources, programs, and funding opportunities
Suggesting goal-oriented pool activities

Note: We do not provide exercises. Our focus is solely recreation-based.

The caregiver, therapist, or support person who will be taking the patient swimming must join us in the water for the consultation, as they know the child/youth best. You will have the opportunity to practice using equipment, supportive positioning, and play-based activities to make you more confident supporting your child/youth in the water.

We can provide consultations at our on-site pool, or in the community within Metro Vancouver. We conclude by sending a report of our recommendations to the patient’s legal guardian.

Our recreation therapists may come to your community to provide recreation therapy or aquatic services. This is called outreach. We individually design each consult to meet the patient, family and community's needs. We conclude by sending a report of our recommendations to the legal guardian.

We need a minimum of four patients for any outreach outside of the Metro Vancouver area.

As well as providing recreation and aquatic consultations, we can provide a group education session to community professionals or families. We can base the topic of this session on the needs of the group.