News

For the past five years, the staff at Intact Insurance have gone above and beyond to support Grandview Kids. Grandview Kids has benefited not only from their generous donations but from their volunteer work as well.

On July 12, 2017 about 30 employees left their day jobs behind to come and help beautify and clean-up the Oshawa Grandview Kids site. The Intact team helped with a number of maintenance tasks, including painting parking spots, speed bumps and curbs, de-weeding and mulching flower beds, and washing the centre’s exterior windows. It was a hot day and there’s no doubt some of the work was tedious, but not one of you complained. We are so grateful for your time, hard work and your positive attitudes!  The Grandview Kids attending Summer Camp at the facility also enjoyed meeting you and helping out.

From all of us here at Grandview Kids, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We look forward to welcoming you back again next year!

The ‘I Am A Promise’ scholarship award was presented to two very deserving recipients this year. The award is a bursary for clients of Grandview Children’s Centre who have plans for post-secondary education. It was established by Ruth Althouse, a former principal of Campbell Children’s School, the co-located education partner of Grandview.

Ruth presented the awards recently to two clients of Grandview’s Adolescent Program; Carmen Lalonde and Sam Keane

Carmen Lalonde

Carmen has been accepted into the Bachelor of Business Administration program at the University of Toronto. Carmen said she applied for the ‘I Am A Promise’ award because it would be of great assistance in her post-secondary journey. She said it would lighten the load of costs that she will soon incur. Once Carmen has completed her degree, she would like to pursue a Chartered Professional Accountant accreditation or complete her Masters of Business Administration (MBA).  She recognizes that these are big goals that she has set for herself, and this award will help set her in the right direction. Grandview believes in you, Carmen!

Sam Keane

Sam will be attending Durham College’s Sports Administration Management program this September. It’s a program he’s been dreaming about attending since grade nine. Sam hopes that completing this program will help land him a job in the hockey world. That is his number one passion in life! He has been volunteering with the Oshawa Generals Hockey Club as a Fan Services Representative and plans to continue doing so while he’s studying at Durham College. Grandview is so proud of you, Sam! You’ll do great.

Congratulations to both Carmen and Sam! We wish you every success in your post-secondary adventures.

1,200 books have been added to Grandview Kid’s ‘Free to Read’ program thanks to a generous donation from students at Oshawa’s Coronation Public School.

Boxes of books were delivered to Grandview’s Oshawa location on June 27 by a group of grade four and five students from Coronation’s Junior Leadership Team. The books were collected over the course of the school year through a series of book drives. The team of students got the word out through advertising in the school’s halls and organizing and putting on announcements over the school’s PA system. Their goal was to gather as many donations as they could. We think they did just that!

Grandview Kids is so grateful for their efforts. Many clients will now get the chance to bring a book home thanks to the students’ hard work.

Dear parents, families and caregivers in our autism community:

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of announcing a sweeping transformation in how this province provides services and support for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through the new Ontario Autism Program (OAP). This transformation will make Ontario a leader in this country and around the world for autism services and support.

As we begin implementing the OAP, I want to make sure all of you have the information you need for the transition to go as smoothly as possible. If you have any questions or would like more information, I invite you to visit ontario.ca/autism.

Implementation of the new program will begin on June 26 and will continue until the OAP is fully implemented over the next year. We are doing this incrementally because we want the program to succeed. We need to do this right for you and for your children. I want you to have confidence that the new Ontario Autism Program puts the needs of children, youth, and families first.

As we work towards fully implementing the new Ontario Autism Program across our province, I have insisted our work be built on three guiding principles: choice, consistency, and confidence.

I want to be clear: all children and youth up to the age of 18 who have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder from a qualified professional will be eligible for the new OAP. This means we are not imposing parameters on the number of hours a child receives or the duration of their intervention. The new program is family-centred, and services will be flexible, relevant and responsive to the needs of individual children and youth with autism, regardless of age.

I also want to reassure everyone waiting for service that your spot on the waitlist will not be compromised. We are working to decrease wait times as quickly as possible and create thousands of new spaces over the next four years.

After hearing from many of you how difficult it can be to navigate support and services when you have a child or youth with ASD, I am excited to share with you that there will be a single point of access to the new OAP. This means starting June 26, you and your family will be able to call a number in each of the nine service areas across our province to access information and services. Please visit ontario.ca/autism for the toll-free number for your OAP single point of access.

Beyond this, once fully implemented, each family will have an OAP Family Support Worker to help you navigate the OAP; an OAP Family Service Plan that is flexible and catered to your child’s goals, needs, and changing development; as well as an OAP Family Team, if you want one, to promote partnerships with other professionals working with you and your child.

Delivering the best services for children with autism means that we must pay attention to the quality, accountability, and regulatory oversight of the services being provided in the new OAP. There will be a permanent direct funding option in the new program by the end of the year, and whether you choose direct funding or direct service, I want you to be confident that your child is receiving the highest quality of care. This is why I have directed the ministry to work towards establishing strong oversight of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services to achieve this goal. We are already working with our partners at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to work through options to ensure we have strong accountability mechanisms in place.

I am committed to keeping an open door and working with you as we move forward with these changes. I am going to continue to engage with families, caregivers, advocates, clinicians and providers on the design and implementation of the new OAP. I invite any of you who would like to share your experiences and hear the experiences of other families across Ontario to join my tele-town halls this summer. The first session is on June 27, at 8:00 p.m. If you are unable to join at this time, we will host more sessions in the coming months, and our website will be continuously updated with additional information. More information about the tele-town hall can be found in the “In the News” section at ontario.ca/autism.

At the end of the day, children and youth are the most important individuals in any conversation we have about Autism Spectrum Disorder. I look forward to working with you as we implement this program to ensure it is something we can be proud of for years to come and as a result, make a difference in the lives of children and youth with autism.

Sincerely,

Michael Coteau
Minister

All Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder Eligible for New Ontario Autism Program

The province is transforming the way that children and youth with autism, and their families, receive services and supports through the new Ontario Autism Program (OAP), beginning later this month. Minister of Children and Youth Services Michael Coteau made the announcement today at the ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development in Mississauga. The new OAP will ensure autism services for children and youth are delivered consistently across the province, allow for flexibility and choice based on each child’s needs, and give families confidence in receiving quality services.

On June 26, families will begin to transition into the new OAP. The key components of the new program, beginning this month, include:

• A single point of access. There will be one entry point to the OAP in each of the nine service areas to make it easier for families to access services for their child.
• Family-centred decision making. As key partners in their child’s care, families will be actively engaged in the assessment, goal-setting and intervention planning process for their child.
• Collaborative approach to service. A foundation of the new OAP will be the collaborative approach taken by community support service providers, clinicians and educators to support children’s needs at home, during service and in school.
• Service based on need. Services will be flexible and individualized. The intensity and duration of the services a child or youth receives is based on their needs and strengths, regardless of age. Each child’s service plan will be determined by clinical assessment.
• A direct funding option. A new direct funding option will be implemented by the end of this year. This will provide all families with a choice between receiving direct service or receiving funding to purchase their child’s service.
• Safe, effective autism services. The province intends to regulate ABA practitioners to help ensure families receive safe, high-quality services, have confidence in their providers and know where to go if they have a concern.

The government is committed to ensuring families are supported through a smooth and seamless transition as they enter the new OAP. Transition planning within the new program will be individualized, planned in advance and will be achieved in partnership with each child’s family, OAP professionals and service providers. Children and youth with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder from a qualified professional will be eligible for the OAP up until the age of 18.

The province has worked closely with families, caregivers, advocates, clinicians and providers to build the new OAP, and will continue to engage with key stakeholders, including the OAP Advisory Committee, on the design and implementation of the new program. The new OAP will be fully in place by spring 2018.

Quotes

“Our government is committed to ensuring that the new OAP will be co-ordinated, family-centered and responsive to children’s unique needs, strengths and goals. I’m confident that families will be well-
supported through the transition into the new program. For several months, I’ve worked directly with parents and caregivers to ensure this program is one that helps their child succeed and thrive. The regulation of ABA practitioners will also give families confidence in their providers and create consistent services across the province. I look forward to following young people’s success through the new program.”
— Michael Coteau, Minister of Children and Youth Services

“Today’s announcement demonstrates a progressive approach to autism service delivery in Ontario. The Minister has taken into consideration many of the concerns raised by parents. The new Ontario Autism Program sets a new, higher standard for services for children and youth with autism. The Ontario Autism Coalition is pleased that age, severity and additional diagnoses will no longer affect eligibility for services. Regulation of behaviour analysts is another important step forward, one which was part of our original request to the government, 12 years ago. We look forward to a successful and effective implementation of the new OAP and we will continue to work with the Minister to ensure that Ontario children and youth with autism are given every opportunity to live to their full potential.”
— Bruce McIntosh, President, OAP Advisory Committee

“With today’s announcement, the Minister of Children and Youth Services has taken the first step towards an Ontario Autism Program that puts individuals and families first by ensuring that clinical decisions are based first-and-foremost, on each individual’s unique needs. A commitment to pursuing the public regulation of behaviour analysts, with the necessary interim protections, helps ensure that high-quality behavioural services will be provided by appropriately qualified, regulated behaviour analytic professionals. Ontario’s behaviour analysts are optimistic about the impact this commitment can have on the lives of individuals receiving behaviour analytic services over the lifespan and across multiple service sectors.”
— Louis Busch, President, Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis

“ErinoakKids is honoured to be the site of Minister Coteau’s announcement of the new OAP – a transformative program that is inclusive of all children and youth with autism, is flexible and adaptable to their unique needs, and puts parents firmly at the center of decision making regarding treatment and supports for their children. This innovative, inter-professional, collaborative approach to care is synonymous with service delivery philosophies and programming already in place at ErinoakKids. As the new OAP is implemented, we look forward to continued partnership with families, service providers and MCYS in promoting choice-based, responsive, quality services and supports to children and youth of all ages with autism.”
— Bridget Fewtrell, President and CEO, ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development

Quick Facts

• Parents can call 1-888-284-8340 toll-free for more information or to find their nearest ministry regional office.
• Minister Coteau will be hosting a tele town hall on June 27 at 5:30 p.m. to answer parents’ questions. More details will be available on Ontario.ca/autism
• The new program includes 16,000 new spaces over five years, so that more children and youth with autism can receive the services they need sooner.
• Families who are currently receiving direct funding to purchase services will continue receiving this funding until their child enters the new OAP.
• Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong, complex neurodevelopmental disorder. It is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and repetitive behaviour. Symptoms of autism vary significantly and range in severity.
• Ontario is investing an unprecedented half-billion dollars over five years to create new services for children and youth with ASD.
• There are an estimated 40,000 children and youth in Ontario with ASD. Based on the most recent prevalence rate from the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, prevalence has grown from 1 in 150 in 2002 to 1 in 68 in 2010.

Learn More

For more information, including an OAP implementation timeline, visit www.ontario.ca/autism.

The 21st annual Golf Fore Grandview Kids Charity Golf Classic was a major success! 176 golfers participated on June 1, 2017. Their registration fee to hit the links combined with their amazing generosity bidding on silent auction and raffle items helped raise more than $50,000 for Grandview Children’s Foundation.

Students from Campbell’s Children’s School were on hand for the day’s festivities. They handed out welcome prizes to each golfer, sang the national anthem to kick of the start of the golf tournament and decorated the centrepieces that were at each of the tables for the evening’s dinner

Grandview Kids would like to thank all the golfers for taking part. We are grateful to our terrific staff and volunteers also who helped make the event run so smoothly.

A big thank you goes out to our sponsors. Without you, we couldn’t have held the Golf Fore Grandview Kids Charity Golf Classic.