News

Grandview Kids Research Associate, Dr. Meghann Lloyd, is recruiting 3-5 year old children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for a motor skill intervention study in Oshawa.

All children will receive 12 weeks of intervention for 2 hours/week. The motor skill intervention is an instructional play-based program that will take place at the UOIT Physical Activity and Motor Behaviour lab and will be run by highly trained personnel as well as graduate and undergraduate Kinesiology students at UOIT. Children will be randomly assigned to either Group 1, which receives the intervention first, or Group 2, which receives the intervention second. Children will participate in 3 assessments and playdates in addition to the intervention sessions. We aim to see if motor skills, social skills and behavioural skills improve after the intervention.

For more information please contact Dr. Meghann Lloyd Meghann.lloyd@uoit.ca.

On Sunday, January 7th Meridian Credit Union’s District Vice President Dan MacKay and the Oshawa Generals President & Governor Rocco Tullio presented Grandview Children’s Foundation with a cheque for $3,145!

These funds were raised from Meridian auctioning off their warm up jerseys at the beginning of the Oshawa Generals season. Meridian decided the proceeds from this auction would to go to Grandview Kids.

Grandview Children’s Foundation Executive Director of Development Brigitte Tschinkel and Grandview Children’s Foundation’s Board Treasurer Steve Leslie were happy to accept the donation.

Thank you so much for your generosity and support, Meridian Credit Union and Oshawa Generals! We truly appreciate it.

You can read more about the game here.

6-year-old Lily, one of our youngest donors, has one incredibly kind heart.

If you know Lily, you’d know she’s in first grade and enjoys swimming, skating, playing with friends, building forts, telling jokes, being funny and “growing to be big and strong.”

She also enjoys helping other kids.

This year, when Lily’s birthday rolled around, she made a very special decision. Instead of asking for gifts for her birthday, she asked for her friends to make a donation to Grandview Kids.

“Mommy and I talked about how I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my friends, but didn’t need any gifts. I just wanted to hang out with my friends,” said Lily. “We talked about helping others and kids helping kids. I asked about helping Grandview. Mommy emailed Grandview to ask if we could make a donation. We sent out envelopes with my invitations and an explanation of what I wanted for my birthday.”When Lily told her friends about why she wanted to donate to Grandview, she had so many great things to say.

“I told my friends that I saw Santa at Grandview Kids. I told them that Grandview Kids was the best place I could ever go to. I told them that Grandview Kids is a lot of fun and helped my brother speak,” said Lily.

Grandview Kids means a lot to Lily because her own brother has used the services Grandview Kids has to offer.

“It means a lot to help my brother… I want you to be able to help other kids who need help speaking. Nolan is a good speaker because of Grandview Kids.”

Before donating to Grandview Kids, Lily says she has donated food and toys to other kids in need.

Lily is one generous kid and a great friend of Grandview Kids.

Nothing beats the power of kids helping kids.

One of the many highlights of Grandview’s 2017 year was the complete overhaul of our confidential room, used mostly by social work.

The confidential room, as many may know, allows family to meet privately with Grandview staff and is often where support group meetings are held.  Parents sometimes receive difficult news about their child’s diagnosis in this room as well.

A room with such an important purpose should be warm, inviting and comfortable.

However, until recently, the room had not been touched for twenty years. The beige walls and old, uncomfortable furniture was the same as it had been for years.

This December, though, this all changed.

Thanks to long-time friends of Grandview, Stephanie and Howard Humphrey or MTC Factory Outlet, this room got a total makeover.

With the help of the Humphrey’s friends and family, this very important room at Grandview is looking refreshed and inviting, full of comfortable furniture kindly donated by Furniture Galleries Oshawa.

The room is now painted a soft blue, artwork done by the kids at Campbell Children’s School (Grandview’s co-located educational partner) and a coffee station for parents to enjoy.

Staff and family members alike are thrilled to see this room get some much needed TLC.

We are so grateful for the support, kindness and generosity the Humphrey family has continued to show over the years. We couldn’t have done it without them.

To see the story published by DurhamRegion.com, click here.

Ontario is providing families of children and youth with autism with choice, consistency and confidence in the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) by introducing a direct funding option for evidence-based behavioural services, and making program enhancements that will deliver effective services.

The new direct funding option will provide families in the OAP with the choice of receiving direct funding to purchase evidence-based behavioural services for their child or youth, or service through one of Ontario’s regional providers.

Ontario has been working closely with the community so that the needs of children, youth, and families are put first. Building on the foundation of the OAP that was introduced in June 2017, beginning on January 15, 2018, the province will:

Increase the maximum hourly rate for evidence-based behavioural services purchased through the OAP from $39 per hour to a maximum of up to $55 per hour, for families who choose the direct funding option.
Communicate new qualifications for clinical supervisors that will be phased in over time so that families feel confident that they are receiving consistent, high-quality behavioural services. This will be accompanied by the creation of an OAP provider list that will be implemented in 2018 to help families select a qualified OAP service provider.
Implement an Independent Clinical Review Process to give families in the OAP the opportunity to request a review of key components of their child or youth’s OAP behaviour plan by a team that includes two clinicians and a family representative, in the event that they have concerns with any clinical decisions.
Change accountability and clinical oversight for behavioural services. Clinical supervisors will be accountable for OAP behaviour plans. Direct service providers will no longer provide clinical oversight for evidence-based behavioural services delivered through the direct funding option.
Introduce a quality assurance review process in spring 2018 in which OAP behaviour plans for both direct funding and direct service options, will be assessed by a team of third-party clinical reviewers.
Ontario is committed to supporting families of children and youth with autism to enter the program as seamlessly and smoothly as possible. Families already receiving services through transitional direct funding payments will experience no gaps in services as the direct funding option becomes available.

Supporting children and youth with autism and their families is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.

“I am pleased that this direct funding option will be made available in the Ontario Autism Program, and am confident this program will meet families’ needs. Parents and caregivers have informed this program’s design every step of the way, and I thank them for their advocacy, dedication and perseverance. They have helped shape a strong program that will allow young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder to succeed in the province of Ontario,” says Michael Coteau, Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Quick Facts:

• Families are encouraged to contact their regional provider to discuss what these changes mean for them.
• Minister Michael Coteau will be hosting Tele Town Halls on January 11 at 7 p.m. and January 17 at 7 p.m. to answer questions from parents and caregivers. More details will be available on Ontario.ca/autism.
• The OAP launched in June 2017. The program provides flexible, individualized services, and was informed by families, caregivers, advocates, clinicians and providers.
• Ontario is making an unprecedented investment of more than $500 million over five years to expand and improve autism services and supports across Ontario for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families.
• Children and youth up until the age of 18 with a diagnosis of ASD from a qualified professional are eligible for the OAP.

For the full news release, click here.
For more information on the Ontario Autism Program, visit: www.ontario.ca/autism

Grandview Children’s Centre’s new headquarters will be named after a man who is well known for his kindness, compassion, hard work, integrity and his many years of giving generously to his community.

Local developer, Jerry Coughlan took the stage Saturday night at the Pickering Mayor’s Gala to announce a donation of $5 million to Grandview’s Believe campaign toward the new state-of-the-art children’s treatment centre.

“Jerry has spent his entire life building communities, now his belief in Grandview and his generous gift will help to build an unparalleled future for generations of Grandview Kids,” said Grandview Children’s Centre CEO Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann.

The Provincial government announced approval of the project in May 2017, including $31 million in funding for construction.

The new Grandview is expected to cost $53 million. Grandview Children’s Foundation is embarking on the BELIEVE campaign to raise the funds needed to build the new headquarters and to support the specialized programs and services offered by Grandview.

“Simply saying thank you is not enough to show just how grateful we are for Jerry’s lead gift. We will honour him forever by naming the new headquarters after him,” explained Grandview Children’s Foundation Executive Director of Development Brigitte Tschinkel. “The journey to a new Grandview has officially begun. We are happy to have Jerry and his wife Lyn taking the next steps with us.”

 “Touring Grandview Kids reinforced my belief in this wonderful organization. Opportunities, specialized services and support are provided to children and youth by expert staff that truly care about helping kids achieve their dreams,” said Jerry.

The Jerry Coughlan Building of Grandview Children’s Centre will be constructed on a parcel of land in the Town of Ajax on Harwood Avenue North.

The next steps in the project include Grandview working with the Province to complete geotechnical and environmental due diligence on the site followed by the finalization of the architectural design, and construction.