Summerland Community Support
Together in our Community

What We Offer

We offer programs such as recreation, arts and crafts classes, nutrition and fitness, life skills and recycling for people with developmental disabilities. We also provide opportunities for groups to meet socially and enjoy activities in the area. Feel free to check out our Calendar for activities, as well as our Gallery for photos of our recent activities.

Community

Summerland Community Support is a locally based organization offering programs and meeting needs of people in our community. We help people reach their goals through encouragement, motivation and opportunities. We work hard to build a community that fosters friendship and support. A place where people feel safe, secure and comfortable, in as many aspects of their life as possible.

Our workers will help people with developmental disabilities work to develop their hobbies/interests and to help them grow. We will listen to peoples concerns and help them feel supported and at ease. It's important that we provide a good example for the people we are working with and provide them with the life skills that they will need to handle day-to-day situations. We also help them to make friends and to get involved in the community, whenever possible. Trying to eliminate stigma about disabilities is one of our many goals and we hope to bring people closer together in the process.

What is a Developmental Disability?

A developmental disability is a wide range of chronic conditions that are caused by mental and/or physical impairments. These disabilities cause difficulty in life in general and living independently. Depending on the condition, many can be diagnosed early on in life. The most common developmental disabilities are listed below:

• Intellectual disabilities are common and are categorized as a person with an IQ lower than 70 with other limitations. This condition is usually apparent before the age of 18.
• Down syndrome is a condition that people are born with. The condition is caused by an extra chromosome in their DNA, which causes abnormal brain development and physical/mental struggles.
• Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that limits a persons ability to move around and maintain balance.
• Autism is a neural developmental disorder that is charactierized by social and non-verbal/verbal communication impairment. Autism is generally not well understood but it affects how information is processed in the brain by altering nerve cells and their related synapses and how they organize and connect information.
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) happen when the mother of the child with the condition drank alcohol during her pregnancy. FASD is completely preventable.