Philippa Howell says attending Summerfest for four years has helped her daughter, Georgina, enhance her social skills and build self-confidence while enjoying a summer camp experience at Camp Couchiching near Orillia.
Georgina, 12, is living with intractable myoclonic epilepsy as well as autism. She has been attending the camp since she was eight, and Philippa says she has seen a steady progression in Georgina’s social skills.
Although she doesn’t talk about her positive experiences at Summerfest, Georgina gives social cues to her parents of the good times she’s having. For example, Philippa recalls how a couple of weeks before Georgina was to go to Summerfest one year she pulled out her Camp Couchiching T-shirt and said “campfire.”
“And then she wore that T-shirt as often as she could … and she kept saying, ‘When are we going for a campfire?’ It suddenly dawned on my husband and I that she had associated the picture of the campfire on the T-shirt … as somewhere she enjoyed going,” Philippa says.
“Immediately, any worry, or fear or stress we might have had about her being anxious about being away from us evaporated. …
“Four years later, I am shocked at how young (Georgina) was when I let her go (to Summerfest) but now I think, ‘Thank goodness’ because the experience she has at the age of 12 has blossomed — she’s grown and grown because of (Summerfest).”
Now in its 20th year, Summerfest has an average of 20 to 40 children and youths who have epilepsy attend the program; they participate in activities such as swimming, hiking, kayaking and sports.
Summerfest enables children and youths aged six to 15 who are living with seizure disorders to attend camp together. The camp provides a setting where children can “forget about their epilepsy and just be a kid,” says Epilepsy Ontario executive director Rozalyn Werner-Arcé.
One of the factors making Summerfest possible is the annual Richardson Charity Golf Tournament. The ninth annual tournament was held Aug. 23 at BraeBen Golf Course in Mississauga. About 60 golfers participated, raising about $5,000 to support Summerfest.
The tournament was launched by chief organizer Ian Richardson and his family in honour of his father who lived with epilepsy. Since its 2006 launch, the tournament has raised about $50,000.
“We had a handful of new people this year, as well as the regular folks who’ve been out for the last number of years so it was a good (tournament),” Ian says.
Writer: Deron Hamel
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