(Aspire Special Needs/Supplied)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Aspire Special Needs to host free summer socialization program

Jun 19, 2024 | 4:50 PM

Starting July 2 at the Rotary Picnic Park, parents are welcome to bring their children to Aspire Special Needs’ Park It program, a drop-in play service for kids of all ages and diverse needs.

”It offers that social, educational, and supportive environment where everybody is learning from each other. I think it’s good for younger kids to be able to see and be encouraged by older kids and then on the opposite, older kids are learning from the younger kids that their needs might be different and how to support and play with them,” explains JoAnne Hayden, executive director of Aspire Special Needs.

In addition to the playground equipment options present at the meeting sites, Aspire provides a mix of activities such as sand toys, crafts for various age levels, and equipment for sports like soccer and basketball.

The drop-in Park It program runs through July and August and is free to attend. It is held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at various Red Deer playgrounds from 9:30 a.m. until noon. On alternating Wednesdays, it is held in Blackfalds or Lacombe to serve the fall and winter program clients in those areas. A schedule can be found here.

“Originally the Park It program was designed so that the children that are accessing our programs and services through September to June, that they have something to bridge that gap in July and August,” says Hayden. “We wanted to have a program that would support them in the retention of skills and help them to maintain friendships, both the friendships that the children have with other children, and the friendships the parents have made.”

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Although the program was designed with Aspire’s special needs clients in mind, Hayden says that it is welcome to all children in the area regardless of their needs.

There is no registration required, but parents and guardians are required to attend with their child for supervision. There will be an Aspire program coordinator and summer student present to set up activities and offer support as well.

In addition to helping with activities, “they kind of bridge the gap if there’s lots of parents there but they’re not really talking to each other. They will work to kind of connect them through their children,” Hayden says.

The program has been running since 2005. Aspire Special Needs offers a variety of other programs and services, which do not require a referral to access.

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