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It is estimated that as many as 25,000 Canadian children aged 18 and under live with a form of arthritis. Arthritis Society Canada offers numerous resources to help families live better with childhood arthritis. In this section you will find information on:
Taking Charge of Your JIA
This online interactive resource helps youth 12-17 learn about juvenile idiopathic arthritis and steps they can take to help manage their condition. Through quizzes, activities and reflection questions, youth will learn about different therapies available, exercise, nutrition, sleep, building a positive mindset, talking to your doctor, talking to your teachers, and dealing with bullying.
Taking Charge of Your JIA
You, Your Child and Arthritis
You, Your Child and Arthritis [PDF 1.1MB] is a valuable resource for families of children with juvenile arthritis (JA). This guide provides the information a parent/guardian needs to understand their child’s disease and to feel comfortable caring for them. It also covers the different types of juvenile arthritis, current treatments and other important elements of treatment, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In addition, there are important sections for parents learning to cope with a child who has a chronic disease.
Childhood Arthritis Backpack Program (ages 4-12)
Arthritis can rob young people of their childhood. Arthritis Society Canada’s Childhood Arthritis Backpack Program hands back childhood and helps kids be kids. Launched in March 2013, the program delivers a backpack filled with information and tools to families of children ages 4-12 who have been newly diagnosed with arthritis or another rheumatic disease, helping them lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Request a Backpack Today!
Summer Camps for Children with Arthritis
For thousands of Canadian children, summer camp is an opportunity to make friends, have fun outdoors, and develop wonderful memories. Unfortunately, children with arthritis are often unable to attend more traditional camps, which do not have the facilities, specialized health care staff, or the modified activities to accommodate their abilities. Each summer, the Arthritis Society Canada runs camps across the country for children living with arthritis.
Camping together with a common condition means that children feel understood and accepted. It allows them to be defined not by their disease, but by who they are. In addition to barrier-free, traditional camp activities, Arthritis Society Canada camps provide important tools and resources related to positive self-esteem and effective disease management, facilitated by experienced counselors. On-site medical staff ensure that campers’ health needs are met.
Check out Camps
Club Sunrise
Club Sunrise provides children and youth aged 5-17 who are affected by arthritis or other rheumatic diseases an opportunity to come together online to participate in fun and interactive activities throughout the year. This program is free thanks to our amazing sponsors. In addition to Club Sunrise, the Arthritis Society Canada also offers in-person summer camps in several provinces nationwide. For more information on Club Sunrise or any of our camps, please email camp@arthritis.ca.
Check out Club Sunrise
Childhood Arthritis Camps – Travel Grant
The Arthritis Society Canada offers grants of up to $500.00 to help families participate and travel to an in-person camp. This grant is intended to help families who may not otherwise have the means to travel to the event and provide them with opportunities to connect with other families living with childhood arthritis.
Download application form [345 kB]
Applications may be submitted via email to camp@arthritis.ca.
Other Resources
- The Juvenile Arthritis Learning Hub is mainly for the parents of children and teenagers who have childhood arthritis. The material in this site has been written in collaboration with members of the arthritis team at The Hospital for Sick Children and various other health care organizations.
- The Taking Charge: Managing JIA Online Program provides teens with information on different types of JIA, managing symptoms, and coping with JIA management now and in the future.
- The Take a Pain Check podcast discusses topics relevant to youth and young adults living with juvenile arthritis.
Cassie & Friends
Cassie & Friends is a Canadian organization dedicated to transforming the lives of kids and families living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other rheumatic diseases through research, awareness, connection and support. Cassie & Friends has created a life-changing community to help kids and families face the ups and downs of life with a chronic condition – so that no child has to live in pain alone. They offer educational webinars, an online support network, blogs, a school toolkit, COVID-related info, youth-only events, and more. Visit the links below for further information.
Kids get arthritis too!
Told almost entirely through the voices of children and teens living with arthritis, this video provides teachers and administrators with a better understanding of how arthritis affects students. The video offers suggestions for how to make school a more welcoming place for students with childhood arthritis.
Cassie & Friends at School: A Juvenile Arthritis Movie
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