{"id":21094,"date":"2021-05-27T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T16:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=21094"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:33:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T17:33:31","slug":"play-beyond-expectations-gives-people-with-disabilities-the-chance-to-surpass-perceived-limitations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2021\/05\/27\/play-beyond-expectations-gives-people-with-disabilities-the-chance-to-surpass-perceived-limitations\/","title":{"rendered":"Play Beyond Expectations gives people with disabilities the chance to surpass perceived limitations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Play Beyond Expectations is a community activity group that focuses on uncovering the latent strength of people with disabilities while providing physical exercise and socialization. Participants are encouraged to try physical activities such as pickleball and hockey in an environment that adapts to limitations and provides encouragement.<\/p>\n

Founder Brian Gray is a development coach who came up with the idea of challenging the assumptions\u2014which often focus on the person\u2019s lack of ability rather than their strengths\u2014that can hold people with disabilities back.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay Beyond Expectations reflects the experience of the individuals that come, because every session, every client does things that either they didn\u2019t expect, or the parents or support workers didn\u2019t expect,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Gray says that the program is about uncovering a new realm of possibilities for both the client and the caregivers. He encourages them to create activity plans that allow for personal growth rather than stagnation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the focuses in the program is to get the parents and the support workers to see the person differently. It\u2019s designed to give that client the best chance to succeed, and everybody else the best chance to see it,\u201d he says. \u201cIf the staff make assumptions about what the person can or cannot do, and set up their program accordingly, then the person is never given a chance to exceed anybody\u2019s expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray says that the key to positive development is the recognition of progress and achievement, no matter how small.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal for every session is for every client to be affirmed in what their progress was in that session,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important because sometimes the steps forward are really small, but I think if the affirmation is there, and if it\u2019s an enthusiastic affirmation, that really helps sustain the effort to keep on going and discovering what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying new things is difficult, but Gray says that it is crucial that participants push forward and allow their brain and body to adapt and develop new skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come in and they\u2019re afraid they\u2019re going to fail, but first of all, the important thing is to try and make the effort, and then be patient and keep trying,\u201d he says. \u201cI have a phrase: \u2018Give your brain a chance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Adapting to adult life can be difficult for some people with disabilities, because if they\u2019re not skilled at advocating for themselves, they may not be able to access adequate support to help them reach their full potential. Gray says that his program focuses on finding people who have slipped through the cracks and giving them a chance to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program is looking at pulling them out of the crevasse and setting them up on the next level of being able to try and get a better quality of life,\u201d he says. \u201cThe thing is, when you get that celebration and you get the endorphins going and everything, it just cycles\u2026 There\u2019s that old phrase, \u2018Nothing succeeds like success,\u2019 and suddenly you\u2019re more energized to try the next step, and we just keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray says that peer acceptance and the push to reach new heights can lead to unexpected success.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in an environment where it\u2019s okay to be you,\u201d he says. \u201cThe program is totally focused on development. Simple things can lead to big things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Play Beyond Expectations is currently accepting registration for June 7 and 14, with sessions from 1 pm to 2 pm, and 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Sessions are held in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre outdoor lacrosse court to allow for COVID-safe practices and physical distancing. There is a drop-in fee of $5.75 per client; caregivers play for free. See more info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Play Beyond Expectations is a community activity group that focuses on uncovering the latent strength of people with disabilities while providing physical exercise and socialization. Participants are encouraged to try physical activities such as pickleball and hockey in an environment that adapts to limitations and provides encouragement. Founder Brian Gray is a development coach who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,238,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-life-sports","category-sports","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21094"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21097,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21094\/revisions\/21097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}