Special Needs Strategy

Special Needs Strategy

The ministries of Children and Youth Services, Community and Social Services, Education and Health and Long-Term Care are moving forward with a strategy to improve services for children and youth with special needs in Ontario guided by the following vision: “An Ontario where children and youth with special needs get the timely and effective services they need to participate fully at home, at school, in the community, and as they prepare to achieve their goals for adulthood.” First steps in the Special Needs Strategy include:

  • Developing and implementing a new standard developmental screen for preschool children;
  • Putting in place coordinated child- and family-centred service planning for children and youth with multiple and/or complex needs; and
  • Working with communities to develop local implementation plans for an integrated approach to the delivery of child and youth rehabilitation services (speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy).

This site includes information, tools and reports for communities as we work together to build a system that is accessible, coordinated and centred on the needs of children, youth and families.

Areas of Focus

More information about each of the first three initiatives under the Special Needs Strategy can be found by selecting the links below.

ASIST Workshop in Almonte

 

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ASIST is a two-day workshop that teaches how to intervene and save a life from suicide. Over a million people around the world have participated in this award-winning program.

 

Most people thinking about suicide don’t actually want to die, but they need help deciding to stay alive. You don’t need any prior training to attend ASIST—just a willingness to make a difference.

 

SAVE THE DATE!

When: February 5 and 6, 2015

Where: Mississippi Mills – exact location TBD

Cost: FREE

To inquire or register, please email admincp@opendoors.on.ca

ASISTMiss Mills

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Same-Day Counselling in Almonte

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SAME-DAY COUNSELLING CLINIC Almonte Health Unit: 79 Spring Street, Unit 2 (Walk-in or Call ahead to reserve your spot!) Services are free of charge

As school gets underway and we roll into a busy fall season, Open Doors would like to take this time to remind community partners about the presence of our Same-Day Counselling Clinic, and a new initiative of the clinic which will take effect starting October.

The Same-Day Clinic, which has been running out of the Almonte Health Unit (located at 79 Spring Street Unit 2), will continue to run Thursday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., with the last appointment starting at 3:30 p.m. The clinic is open to anyone under 18 years old, or parents and guardians concerned about a child or youth under 18 years of age.

Reasons for accessing the clinic may vary greatly, but the benefits of a single counselling session could include: Feeling less worried, sad, or angry, preventing a temporary problem from becoming worse, feeling less isolated, feeling heard and understood, getting connected to available resources in the Lanark County region, and/or developing new ways to manage a concern or cope with feelings.

Individuals or families accessing the clinic do not need to be previous or current clients of Open Doors, and parents or guardians may access caregiver support without the presence of the child/youth. As of October 2014, we are also introducing the presence of an Early Years specialist, a counsellor with expertise in working with families with infants and children under 7 years of age. This counsellor specializes in child development, behavior management, and mental health in young children, and can help with concerns regarding development and temperament, building healthy attachment, transitions from daycare to school, promoting positive behavior, and connecting with other key services. Our Early Years counsellor will be available at the Same-Day clinic the first Thursday of every month.

Same-Day clinic services are free of charge. Appointments are available by calling ahead to any of the Open Doors offices, or directly to the Health Unit, or by walk-in, though we encourage calling ahead so we can reserve your spot. For more information or to book your spot, please call Open Doors at:

Carleton Place Office 613 257-8260

Smiths Falls Office 613 283-8260

Perth Office  613 264-1415

Almonte Health Unit   613 256-1203