Local therapy facility for disabled children attracting families from all over the world

The Canadian Centre for Development has become one of the first places families with disabled children turn to for help, coming to Calgary from all over the globe, according to founder and executive director Julie Rubin.

"We have kids travelling here not only from all over Canada but even from the States, from Europe," she said.

"We have a family here from Ghana right now."

The centre has a team of 13, made up of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a speech language pathologist, therapy assistants and a pediatric massage therapist.

"Working with these kids does require a different type of technique and expertise," she said.

"We have (specialized) tools and equipment. ... A typical physiotherapy clinic or a typical school isn't necessarily able to support kids with disabilities, especially more severe disabilities, and so it takes a lot of effort to bring all of these tools and resources into one place, under one roof."

Rubin's five-year-old son Caleb was diagnosed with a severe disability at just three months old.

"I started looking for supports for him because it was clear that his developmental path was going to be very different than that of a typical boy," she said.

"The closest organizations that we could find were in the States and so that is what led to us founding the Canadian Centre for Development back in 2021."

Rubin says parents are desperate to find ways to improve their children's quality of life and in three years, the centre has helped more than 1,000 kids.

"Families now are willing to travel all these long ways to come here, we have put a great deal of effort into making sure we bring the best people on the team," she said.

"The right people on the team that can support our families, that can support our children and also believe in them and have faith in their capabilities, rather than only seeing their flaws or their challenges."

Kate McLelland is almost three years old and was born in Kamloops, B.C., with the rare KCNQ2 gene disorder.

She started having seizures almost immediately after birth.

Her mom Jessie did a lot of research online to find therapy for Kate and says the Canadian Centre for Development was the closest and best option.

"I wish I would have known about (the centre) in the NICU," she said.

"I wish somebody would have said, 'Hey, yes, she's going to have cognitive and developmental delays but this may be something. ... There's a little glimmer of hope for you that maybe your child would be a good candidate for intensive therapy and here's a resource.'"

That intensive therapy has the family travelling to Calgary from Lillooet, B.C., for weeks at a time.

"We started her 14 months ago, coming to Calgary for anywhere from two to four weeks at a time, so tomorrow is her 24th week of intensive therapy in 14 months. We're really committed to the process," Jessie said.

"We've basically done two hours of physio a day and one hour of occupational therapy, we're going to be adding some speech and language and then she also has massages three times a week while we're here."

Kate's quality of life improved and so has the family's.

"We couldn't take her outside, we couldn't go in the car with her, we couldn't go for a walk, she had so much pain," Jessie said.

"Now, she's got this head control, now she's reaching, she can see something and grab it, she's trying to feed herself, she's making new sounds and, you know, all of the little wins, we're grateful for anything to help her become as independent and happy as possible."

Svenje Duffield, the centre's clinical director and a pediatric physiotherapist, says she has the best job in the world.

"It's always the kids who come up to the challenge and who show us what they've got," she said.

"I firmly believe kids with disabilities have something inside of them, a type of drive, like, 'I'm going to do it,' that people with normal abilities just don't have.

"If we can find that and help them to get that out of them, then what better job could you have in the world?"

Duffield says the centre has specialized equipment to help children and it's a resource that parents aren't told about by the medical community.

"(Parents tell me), 'What I hear from the doctors, there's nothing we can do, but what I'm not told is that therapy can help,'" she said.

"'Therapy, that is the medicine, this is what I need to do to help my child reach their full potential and their quality of life.'"

Duffield says all the children she works with constantly surprise her.

"Just yesterday, I got to experience one of our little girls taking three steps by herself," she said.

"You wake up in the morning and you don't know, like, 'I'm going to go to work today and I might be a part of someone's moment.'"

You can learn more about the centre here.