Since January 2010, St. Clair West Services for Seniors has been receiving biweekly visits from two special and remarkable clowns: Dizzy and Flap.  Dizzy and Flap are Therapeutic Clowns from Dr. Clown, a Montreal-based charitable organisation that has partnered with us in an intervention project to bring our clients stimulation, and creative fun, through Therapeutic Clowning.

 Therapeutic Clowns are professionally trained artists who perform in a health-care setting (for example, our Adult Day Centre) and/or a rehabilitation environment, where they interact with children, adults or elders.  These clowns have a highly developed skill set to adapt to various language barriers, cognitive states and physical abilities.  They are able to create conditions and opportunities in which the clients and/or patients are able to self-express, and self-accept, in ways they may not usually.

 Therapeutic Clowning is not about forcing the clients to like these goofy characters, nor to laugh or enjoy their presence.  It is about listening to the clients at all levels - words, body language, and facial expressions - and being able to give tenderness, imagination and fun according to the situations, ages and abilities they will encounter.  To watch a video of Dr. Clown in action at St. Clair West Services for Seniors please follow this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F-E_t2EUMw.

 The following are some of Dr. Clown's success stories at our Agency.

 For more information about Dr. Clown's intervention project at our Agency, download June's edition of our newsletter: In Touch.