Why We Exist
Why…here is an example. Dale is a nonverbal 7-year old with ASD, and he’s been learning to skate. One of his challenges is putting on a helmet – usually he needs his mom to hold his hands while someone else quickly puts it on his head. Even with two people it’s never an easy task. On Monday at his home, Dale was given compressions on his hands and head by a therapist and an aid. To everyone’s surprise, he put on his helmet all by himself. It might seem like a small accomplishment to some, but it was a giant leap towards Dale developing his own independence.
In 1979 several parents of children with cerebral palsy had a need for hands-on expertise with a compassionate approach. They banded together to create a specialized program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and started providing expertise, information, and clinical services to families who had children with severe special needs. From this rich beginning, the organization grew.
We’re now known as Ability4Good, a non-profit that provides critical programs and services for persons with special-needs diagnoses from childhood to adults. We’re proud to be one of the earliest social enterprises in Canada, which means that we’re a financially self-sustaining organization that invests in our community.
We’re able to adapt and respond to the changing needs present in the community we serve. While we provide a wide range of services and infrastructure, our core mission is to combine our empathetic sense of care with technical capability to help families adapt and grow with the challenges they face.