Join the 7th Annual Lansdowne Heroes Walk & Roll
October 4, 2025 | Brant Park, Brantford
Lansdowne Client Ambassadors for the 2025 Heroes Walk and Roll
This is their Lansdowne story.
In some ways, ‘It’s a much slower-paced life’ raising a child with cerebral palsy, says Isla Clarke’s parents
Isla Clarke is an active and vivacious four-year-old.
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“She likes baking; she likes helping with the mixing and decorating,” said mom Nicole Clarke. “She is really into imaginative play right now, so food prep in general, but you have to call and order a pizza, then she makes it, and she always puts anchovies on it, even though we say no anchovies, and she laughs at us.”
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Isla also enjoys expressing herself creatively, especially through painting and dancing.
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She likes playing; she likes to be busy,” Nicole said, adding with a laugh, “On a really good day, she likes to cuddle on the couch with me for like five minutes at a time, and that’s beautiful.”
In a lot of ways, Isla is a typical kid. But as a child with cerebral palsy (CP), there are also a lot of ways that the experience of raising her has proven to be more unique for Nicole and Cody Clarke, Isla’s dad.
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Cody said that instead of seeing Isla make the “big leaps (in development) that some kids make,” her advancements might be more nuanced and subtle.
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“(But) it’s still a win,” he said. “I forget who it was, but somebody referred to celebrating inchstones instead of milestones.”
​He noted that when you’re expecting a baby, “you start to envision the things you're going to do with them, and the way it's going to go.”
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But when the news came that Isla would be growing up with a disability, “It was very complicated for me to try to rearrange that thought into what the new way is going to look like. But that changed very quickly, and now it just seems a lot more clear at this point.”
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Nicole added, “You are mourning something for a bit. You had this idea in your mind and that’s completely out the window. So now you're celebrating these little things that you never thought youwould. But I think it's more exciting.”
In some ways, she added, “It’s a much slower-paced life.”
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It helps to have supports.
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Isla was born in early 2021, about seven and a half weeks premature. She spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Brantford General Hospital.
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“She was so tiny,” Cody said, adding that while the staff at the hospital were great, it was still a hard time for the young family.
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“It was weird, just having your first child born, and then you go home with nothing.”
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Cody and Nicole visited Isla every day, but COVID-19 restrictions at the hospital meant “Nobody could meet her” as far as the extended family was concerned, Nicole said.
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Soon after Isla came home, it was apparent that she was missing typical developmental milestones, such as rolling over and sitting independently.
​She was initially referred to Lansdowne Children’s Centre for physiotherapy; her first appointment was in November 2021. Around the age of one, she had an MRI, which confirmed that she had CP.
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“And that's when we joined every area of Lansdowne,” Nicole said.
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Reflecting on those earlier days, she urged families who are newer to Lansdowne to “Trust the process; it’s not always the most fun, but it gets somewhere,” adding, “They know what they’re doing here.”
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Connecting with Lansdowne was a boon for Cody and Nicole as well.
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Cody explained that when Isla was first diagnosed, “There were just a lot of unknowns. We didn't really know what that meant, or what the future would hold, or how we would deal with things. (Lansdowne was) just a good resource to guide us along and try to help us figure out what the next few years would look like, as far as what support was going to be needed.”
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With having CP, Isla sees multiple different specialists and doctors.
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Cody said being connected to Lansdowne, “has just been helpful (in) trying to piece all that together and figure out what would be needed.”
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Nicole added, “They make it less overwhelming, because I don’t know where to start, but then they kind of do all the legwork for you,” and help with filling out paperwork to get funding to meet Isla’s needs, particularly when it comes to equipment.
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“The cost of a wheelchair was an eye-opener,” Nicole said, adding that her daughter is currently on her fourth pair of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs), which cost several thousand dollars each.
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Lansdowne was able to help facilitate getting equipment loaned to Isla’s preschool, and on her first day of kindergarten, Lansdowne physiotherapist Stephanie Fox spent several hours at the school “adjusting the new equipment to Isla's specifications as well as helping the school staff become acquainted with how to use it,” Cody said.
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Having the same equipment at home and school is essential, because it fosters consistency and routine.
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Nicole noted that the commode in particular was important for this when she was in preschool.
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“Obviously, it's a little hard to teach her you go to potty at home, but then at daycare, it's diapers. … that was huge,” Nicole said.
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The equipment also makes sure Isla is fully integrated in her classroom.
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As an example, Cody noted that the Rifton Activity Chair can adjust to fit under tables as well as right down to the floor, so Isla can always be at the same height as her peers.
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“She’s not left out,” Nicole said.
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She added that they appreciated Lansdowne’s help in sourcing the secondary pieces of equipment for Isla’s use at her preschool, because “trying to buy two of everything, we’d go bankrupt.”
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Now that Isla has started kindergarten, both Cody and Nicole want to do everything they can to help her build as much independence as possible.
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Cody said, “I think we have to try to push her a little more and get out of our routine a little bit more.”
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This has included things like having Isla feed herself at mealtimes, even though it can take longer.
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“We’ve got to give her a little more credit,” he said.
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Nicole agreed. “She’s not going to learn if we keep doing for her.”
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As she continues to grow and learn, Isla is taking on two big roles this year. One already happened, when she became a big sister to baby brother Bennett.
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“He’s definitely Isla’s little sidekick,” Cody said. She will tell her parents when she hears him crying, and will make sure he has a blanket when he’s in the swing.
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Isla’s next big role will be on Oct. 4, when she serves as Lansdowne Heroes Walk and Roll Ambassador.
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As Tamie Aubin, Lansdowne’s Director of Client Services noted, “The funds raised (through Heroes Walk and Roll) help ease the financial burden for families caring for children with special needs – covering costs associated with attending therapy sessions, accessing essential equipment, and inclusive programs that allow kids to connect, play, and thrive.”
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Aubin said she’s attended the event a number of times, and for her, the most moving part of the celebration is hearing the impact Lansdowne has had on the ambassadors and their families.
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“Their stories are powerful, and their presence is a testament to the difference we can make when we support one another. … The children and families we serve are the true heroes – and Heroes Walk and Roll is a chance to celebrate them, support them, and walk alongside them.”
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