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Articles by Five Counties Children's Centre

Five Counties Children's Centre
28 Articles
Serving children in the counties of Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough, and the City of Kawartha Lakes, Five Counties Children’s Centre provides therapy services that assist children who are delayed in their development to build the skills they need in everyday life such as walking, talking, and activities of daily living. For more information, visit www.fivecounties.on.ca.
Yvette Virgin, a staff member of Five Counties Children's Centre in Cobourg, says it's important to mark Black History Month every day and is open about sharing her family's story battling slavery and racism. Her late mother Nerene Virgin was well known as a Canadian actor, public broadcaster, author, and TV host, and she was also a member of the Toronto-based Canadian soul group The Tiaras in the 1960s. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties)

For Black History Month, Yvette Virgin shares her family’s story of battling slavery and...

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The Five Counties Children's Centre employee is the daughter of the late educator, actor, public broadcaster, and anti-racism advocate Nerene Virgin.
Mike Hannah hasn't let a life-long movement disorder slow him down. Born with cerebral palsy, the one-time client of Five Counties Children's Centre credits the centre for helping him to hit the ground running. After being introduced to competitive sports in 1981, the Kawartha Lakes resident went on to win dozens of medals at regional, provincial, and national track-and-field competitions over the next 20 years. He was inducted into the Lindsay and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children's Centre)

‘Five Counties changed my life’ says Special Olympian Mike Hannah

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Five Counties Children's Centre shares the Kawartha Lakes resident's story as it celebrates 50 years of service in 2025.
Five Counties Children's Centre speech language pathologist Kate helps client Nova in formulating her words, even as she helps steer Nova in the right direction during a recent treatment session. While Five Counties doesn't actually use a "smiles index" to measure success, the smiles of clients receiving treatment at the centre help staff gauge how well they are doing in supporting kids and their families. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children's Centre)

‘Smiles index’ really does provide a measure of success at Five Counties Children’s Centre

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While it's not an official performance indicator, the smiles of kids receiving treatment provide instant feedback.
It's pickleball for all at Five Counties Children's Centre, as Peterborough pro pickleball player, coach, and consultant Jennie Davis (front right) has been assisting Five Counties recreation therapy staff like Caitlin Ivany (rear left) give children of all abilities a chance to try out the sport. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children's Centre)

Kids of all abilities get a chance to try pickleball at Five Counties Children’s...

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Peterborough pro pickleballer Jennie Davis has been helping recreation therapy staff run the organization's 'Pickleball for All' program.
Five Counties Children's Centre staff member Hayley Hodges wants to help break down barriers to make Halloween accessible for children of all abilities, in part from her own personal experiences when trick-or-treating as a child in a wheelchair. (Photo: Five Counties Children's Centre)

Putting our ‘all’ into Halloween makes for a more inclusive experience

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There are many tricks we can use to make Halloween a treat for all children regardless of their age or ability.
Ange, a physiotherapist at Five Counties Children's Centre, leads kids through exercises designed to help them find their stride. The Five Counties kids were part of the Heel-Toe Express Group piloted this summer. The physiotherapy program helps teach exercises and stretches to children who continue to walk on their toes, either due to underlying medical conditions or because it's idiopathic. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children's Centre)

There’s no tip-toeing around Heel-Toe Express Group program at Five Counties Children’s Centre

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Physiotherapy program helps kids who walk on their toes hit their stride by making treatment fun.
Five Counties Occupational Therapist Ashley Parsons swears by the six F-words for child development: Family, Fun, Friends, Functioning, Fitness, and Future. She sees tremendous value in the F-words framework that shifts thinking from a medical model of "fixing" kids with disabilities or impairment to one that focuses on a child's strengths and interests. (Photo: Five Counties Children's Centre)

Five Counties Children’s Centre swears by the six F-words of child development

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Family, Fun, Friends, Functioning, Fitness, and Future moves away from a medical model of 'fixing' kids with disabilities or impairment.
Five Counties Children's Centre board chair Julie Davis (far left) and Centre CEO Scott Pepin (far right) with four of the seven High-Five Community Recognition Awards recipients at the non-profit organization's annual meeting in late June 2024. Five Counties presents the awards each year to deserving individuals and groups that support and share the agency's vision of inclusion. (Photo: Five Counties Children's Centre)

Five Counties Children’s Centre gives ‘high-fives’ to those in the community who share its...

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Three individuals and four organizations recently received the non-profit organization's High-Five Community Recognition Awards.
Five Counties Children's Centre recreation therapist Caitlin Ivany and Peterborough Youth Basketball Association diversity coordinator Joseph Hays pose with one of this spring's JumpBall participants. (Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children's Centre)

JumpBall program is a slam dunk with Five Counties kids and families

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Run in partnership with Peterborough Youth Basketball Association, the program opens doors to a sport many kids might not otherwise play.
Five Counties is celebrating the start of summer with its gala fundraising event, the Backyard Summer Social, on June 22, 2024. (Photo: Five Counties Children's Centre)

Why Five Counties Children’s Centre’s Backyard Summer Social is much more than fun and...

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Annual adults-only fundraiser supports high-demand kids treatment services in Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.
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