We are passionate not only about capturing your maternity, newborn and family photos, but in building a community of support and resources for the families we serve. When we came across This World’s Ours Centre located in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, we knew we just had to share their story with all of you! Offering support and resources for neurodiverse children and families in a safe and inclusive space that provides an array of services and programs. Learn more about how the centre was formed by Founders, Koryn & Allison below.

THIS WORLD’S OURS CENTRE: HOW WE CAME TO BE

I was a full time mom, working both outside and inside the home. I managed our families calendar, got kids to and from school and appointments, managed our families home teams, worked as a teacher, and somewhere in there was also a wife. My youngest two children are both autistic and that means appointments. LOTS of appointments. We have neurology, psychiatry, pediatrician, audiology, counseling, behavior support, speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and the list goes on.

To say I was drowning was an understatement. My nightly routine consisted of making the kids dinner while drinking a glass of wine and crying on my kitchen floor.

As a teacher, summer’s were my time off. I often dreaded them, as it meant I was a full time caregiver to my children with very little breaks.

A few summers ago I was so proud that I had actually managed to line up camps for all 3 of my children. Granted, they were all separate camps, but that meant I was guaranteed a few short hours of time to myself to breath. I filled out an enormous amount of paperwork, and because my children were neurodiverse, I attended the pre-camp meetings to ensure support was in place prior to camp starting. It was an inclusive camp, so I knew that my children would be accepted there.

Fast forward to 10 am on the first day of summer camp when I got the dreaded phone call. You know, the one that makes your heart skip a beat, you stop breathing for a short second, and the hair’s on your neck stand at attention. It’s unfortunate, but I think the majority of parents with neurodiverse children know what I am talking about.

She wasn’t listening.

They can’t manage her.

She keeps running away.

I needed to come and pick her up.

Between the tears and flashes of anger, I drove back to collect my daughter. My dreams of a few lazy hours sipping coffee on the patio with a good book vanished and I dove back into parenting, just a bit more defeated than I was earlier that morning.

Later that summer, Allison and I met up for a drink. We met as Life Skills teachers a few years before and became friends. She was also one of the only adults that I trusted to watch my

children. We were chatting about our summers and my story of summer camp came up. I could see the same flashes of anger in her eyes as I cried and shared my story.

We both knew things had to change.

We both knew that there had to be something better out there for our children.

We both knew that our families deserved to feel safe and part of a community.

We both knew that parents of neurodiverse children were exhausted and burned out.

We both knew, because we were them.

Fast forward 3 years later and we have opened up This World’s Ours Centre in the heart of Vancouver. Through years of planning, sleepless nights, and countless hours of asking each other if we should turn back, we finally did it. We paired with the most amazing construction team and architect and we opened our doors in May 2022 and we have loved being a part of this community.

Our vision is to be a community centre that not only talks the talk about inclusion, but truly walks the walk. We work with each family and person that comes in to tailor a program or set of classes that will work for them and their families. We want our community to feel safe, supported, welcome, and that they belong here with us.

We also hired the most amazing, experienced staff that we could find. And when I say qualified, I truly mean experienced and dedicated. We have staff with Master’s degrees, staff with years of experience working with neurodiverse individuals, and staff that show up with a huge smile every day to welcome every person that walks through our doors.

Currently we are offering programs for children ages 0-5 yrs old during the daytime and programs for children ages 5+ after school and on the weekends. We also offer 1:1 sessions, an after-school club, birthday parties, date nights, adult programs, workshops, camps, parent classes, and appointments with our amazing team of service providers.

Therapies offered:

Speech & Language Pathology

Occupational Therapy

Physiotherapy

Music Therapy

Art Therapy

Behavior Consulting

Counselling

Life Coaching

Follow us on social media @ThisWorldsOursCentre and subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.thisworldsours.com

We hope to see you soon,

Koryn & Allison