Success Stories
Northwest Territories
Sherri and Danny Clouston of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories / Healthy Child Initiative
Sherri and Danny Clouston of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, have two young daughters. Like all parents, they have found that raising children is both challenging and unpredictable. This has been especially true in Sherri and Danny’s case, as both of their girls are affected by Cerebral Palsy. Sasha, the elder daughter, turned six in January. Her sister Jamiee-Lynne is three. Both girls have received preschool and home-based intervention, consisting of individualized programs and adapted activities through the Early Childhood Intervention Program offered by the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities.
Sasha
is an independent little girl who hates to be treated as if she is different.
She was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when she was just nine months
old after her mother noticed that Sasha was developing more slowly than
other children her age. For example, Sasha was unable to hold herself
in a sitting position, while other children her age could.
At age three Sasha was referred to the Early Childhood Intervention Program. “The Healthy Children Initiative is a NWT reinvestment program made possible by increased National Child Benefit funding,” explains Early Childhood Intervention Program Coordinator Diane Cook. “The Healthy Children Initiative is available to every community in the NWT for children up to six years of age. It assists communities in developing and implementing early childhood intervention services and programs.” Sasha was assigned to Hillary, one of three Early Childhood Intervention Workers funded by the Healthy Children Initiative. Hillary worked closely with Sasha for two years. Hillary provided a level of personal care and continuous involvement that has proven to be extremely beneficial for Sasha’s development.
Sasha’s younger sister Jamiee-Lynne was born two months premature, in 1999. She started with the Early Childhood Intervention Program when she was just a year old. Jamiee-Lynne has a medical condition known as Dandy Walker syndrome as well as a milder form of Cerebral Palsy. Combined with the early intervention provided by the Healthy Children Initiative she has shown great improvement over the last two years. An additional benefit to the Clouston family has been that Hillary has worked as the Early Childhood Intervention Worker for both girls. She has been able to anticipate Jamiee-Lynne’s needs based on her previous experiences with Sasha.
With Hillary’s accompaniment, Sasha and Jamiee-Lynne have both taken advantage of the Toy Lending Library, a facility that provides educational resources and an age appropriate learning environment to Yellowknife families with preschool children. Sasha attended Four Plus, an early intervention program also funded by the Healthy Children Initiative, accompanied by an Early Childhood Intervention Worker, and after four months showed so much improvement that she was able to attend the program independently. Jamiee-Lynne will be attending the Yellowknife Playschool with Hillary this fall.
Through all the challenges they have faced, their Early Childhood Intervention Worker has been there to assist Sasha, Jamiee-Lynne, Sherri and Danny. Hillary can view their situation with a fresh perspective, and she can pick up on behaviours a parent may not notice. On occasion, Hillary also accompanies the girls and their parents to therapy appointments, providing a valuable communication link between the girls’ health care and their daily life.
Sasha and Jamiee-Lynne will both have to work hard for the rest of
their lives to fully realize their potential. In the opinion of their
care team, consisting of family (including grandparents), therapists,
medical specialists, and their Early Childhood Intervention Worker,
the girls have made tremendous gains in the past few years. Everyone
involved agrees that it is worth the effort, and they are already seeing
the results of their work. As Sherri says, “A lot of people don’t
realize there’s anything different about them.”
Learn about The Northwest Territories' NCB programs