The Therapeutic Clown Program
at Bloorview Kids Rehab
The program
The Therapeutic Clown Program at Bloorview Kids Rehab was initiated by Therapeutic Clowns Canada
in 2004 and is generously funded by an anonymous donor. Jamie Burnett has been therapeutic clown
"Ricky" and manager of this program since that time. In 2007, Helen Donnelly was hired for the
purpose of co-creating a duo clown model for the program, to replace the single clown model.
Together, they are Dr Flap and Ricky and they clown Tuesdays and Thursdays. In 2008, Kathleen
Le Roux joined them as Dizzy Do-Right, on an occasional, "fill-in" basis, covering absences.
Bloorview Kids Rehab
Bloorview Kids Rehab is Canada's largest rehabilitation facility for children (infants-18yrs old) serving primarily children with multiple disabilities and special needs. The therapeutic clown practitioners serve all 3 inpatient units in the facility: Brain Injury Rehabilitation Therapy, Specialized Orthopedic Developmental Rehabilitation, and Complex Continuing Care. An average of 65 children populate the inpatient units, and hundreds use the facility as outpatients, who also benefit from visits when Dr.Flap and Ricky pass through the clinics and hallways.
The clowning
Clowning with multi-disabled children at Bloorview with their very unique challenges and circumstances
requires particular emphasis at times on non-verbal clowning techniques. The clowns predominantly use
touch, music, rhythm, movement, physical comedy and slapstick to stimulate, engage and play with
clients. Additionally, using the duo model in this context affords a variety of choices for the
children and helps address and manage the many complex needs they have during their play.
Complementary Care
The clown practitioners are on staff and are part of the interdisciplinary team under the direction of the Life Skills and Wellness Institute. They work closely with Child Life workers, social workers, nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. They attend rounds, record statistics about the number of visits (1,600/year on average) and initiate educational opportunities within the facility and beyond about the work through workshops and at conferences, nationally and internationally.
Contact
Burnett, Donnelly and Le Roux have been members of CATC/ACCT since its inception in 2004.For further information feel free to contact us.
- Jamie Burnett (jburnett@bloorview.ca)
- Helen Donnelly (hdonnelly@bloorview.ca)
- Kathleen Le Roux (kleroux@bloorview.ca)