For the past five years, Ashley has had a very happy and fun boy in her life — her nephew, Colton. Colton was diagnosed with cerebral palsy around age three, and began therapy at Grandview right away. Ashley had the privilege of attending most of Colton’s sessions with him, and watching his therapist work with him was very inspiring for her. In fact, it even inspired her to follow a new career path.
After graduating with a degree in communications from Ontario Tech, Ashley decided to apply to Georgian College to study to be a therapy assistant (OTA/PTA). Her passion for helping kids combined with her visits to Grandview with Colton, helped her make this important choice.
During her third semester at Georgian, she even had the opportunity to do a five-week placement at Grandview’s Oshawa location, where she had the opportunity to assist with the children attending Campbell Children’s School.
“I’ve always been drawn to working with kids in any capacity,” says Ashley. “The chance to get a placement at Grandview Kids was unbelievable!”
After graduating from her two-year program at Georgian, Ashley is now working as a receptionist at a therapy clinic. She’s also been using her therapy experience to work with Colton whenever she can.
Colton has just completed his first year at Campbell Children’s School and will be returning next year. He also loves music, dance parties and spending time at his family’s trailer.
“Colton is one of the happiest children I’ve ever met,” says Ashley. “He can’t express himself verbally but his smiles and laughs say it all.”
