Staff

Behaviour Consultants

Dietitians

Early Childhood Consultants

Early Childhood Educators

Family Resource Workers

Liaison Teachers

Nurses

Occupational Therapists

Psychologists

Physicians

Physiotherapists

Recreation Therapists

Social Workers

Speech Language Pathologists

A Behaviour Consultant assesses behavioural, adaptive, social and vocational skills, and recommends a behavioural intervention.He/she provides training to mediators in the basic principles of behaviour analysis, and the implementation of behavioural strategies.

Services are provided in home and community environments. Group training s offered to mediators in positive behavioural supports, and to clients in such areas as anger management. A psychologist provides clinical supervision.

The Dietitian assesses the nutritional needs of clients and develops a nutrition care plan in conjunction with the client's family and service providers.

Another important component of this role is providing consultation and education on nutrition and feeding related issues with families, community dietitians, and interdisciplinary team members .

An Early Childhood Consultant (ECC), teaches you and/or your caregiver appropriate skills and activities to encourage child development and promote positive interactions with your child.  After carrying out informal child assessments, the ECC collaborates with you to develop a family service plan.  They also provide you with information about resources and other community services. 

ECCs will work together with the therapists and other health care professionals involved with you and your child.  Service is provided in the child's home using a parent training approach or in a group setting in the community.

Early Childhood Educators develop and implement group play activities designed to meet the individual needs of each child. Our day-to-day work is guided by best practice research, training and technology innovations .

Regulatory body: The College of Early Childhood Educators

Family resource workers assist clients and their family access community resources/services and complete applications for all available government and municipal funding (based on eligibility).

Family resource worker can also help facilitate preschool placements and organizes annual information sessions on numerous topics of concern.

Liaison Teachers provide services to O.C.T.C. clients who have a primary diagnosis of a physical disability. They facilitate the placement, acceptance and integration of students into community schools. They also provide or facilitate professional development for school staff and awareness programs for students when requested.

Liaison teachers have Specialist qualifications in Special Education, extensive teaching experience as well as associated experience with children and youth with physical disabilities and associated developmental and/or learning disabilities.

The Registered Nurse establishes a therapeutic relationship by providing Family Centered Care focusing on health promotion, maintenance and maximizing independence of individualized clients. As a member of the interdisciplinary team, the nurse works closely with the client and family in assessing, planning, coordinating, advocating, educating and evaluating their care and requirements.

Nurses at OCTC serve as a key link with hospitals, community based services and agencies (i.e. family physicians, schools, CCAC, etc). Nurses participate in both the clinical education of students and research activities and projects. Nursing services are provided through scheduled visits, phone consultation and at medical clinics.

The Registered Nurse Coordinator for the Out Of Home Respite Program provides operational support to develop and implement day respite services for families with medically fragile and/ or technologically dependent children. The nurse also coordinates and collaborates with the family, community partners and other health care professionals to provide education and/ or training related to the Program.

The Registered Nurse who is the primary liaison between OCTC and the community partners also assists in monitoring the quality of service provided to clients and their families.

Occupational therapists (OT) help children and youth become as independent as possible in everyday activities such as feeding, dressing, personal care, participation in school, play and leisure activities. They assist our clients to develop the hand skills and coordination to perform many of these tasks.

OTs may also help clients select and use specialized adaptive equipment to participate in these activities in their home, school and in the community. They are client-centered in that we work closely with families and caregivers to teach them how to provide the best opportunities for developing each child’s or youth’s potential.

Psychologists provide assessment and treatment to children and adolescents. The psychological assessment aims at clarifying the developmental profile or learning needs of the child or youth and at determining diagnosis when possible. This in turn, helps determine appropriate services and intervention plans by other professionals. .

The psychology staff also provides consultation and training to families and professionals on issues related to behaviour management and skills development. Short-term therapy for school-aged children and adolescents can also be offered.

Regulatory Body: The College of Psychologists of Ontario

Physicians from a number of subspecialties (ie. developmental pediatrics, neurology, orthopedics, physical medicine, etc.) provide a subspecialty medical assessment of the needs of the child and family. 

Physicians further provide a diagnostic evaluation, consultation, and prevention strategies.  Our physicians offer ongoing specialized management and follow-up via an integrated approach with other professional services at OCTC and with community partners.

Physiotherapists help children and adolescents develop and reach their optimal level of function in movement skills and gross motor abilities. For example, in sitting, walking and crawling.

Recreation therapists at OCTC develop, plan and implement (barrier-free or reduced barriers) recreation and leisure programs that assist children, youth and adolescents with special needs to strive toward an independent leisure life style.

The recreation and leisure service offer groups, activities and specialized summer and March break camps which promote life skills development, enhance independence and self esteem, and provide access to adaptive equipment and resources. In addition to this, the recreation and leisure service develop ongoing links and partnerships with recreation and leisure throughout our region.

Social workers are dedicated to promoting the psycho/social well-being of children, adolescents and their families. Social workers address the social, emotional, economic, cultural and environmental factors that affect the family’s ability to respond to a child’s comprehensive health care needs in relation to long-term disability.

The Social Worker provides an opportunity to discuss your feelings and concerns regarding your child's development and how this affects your family.  The social worker can inform you of community resources and arrange referrals.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are professionals who specialize in the prevention, identification, assessment, treatment and (re)habilitation of communication and swallowing disorders.  Some speech-language pathologists also focus on the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Communication difficulties may include:  problems with language understanding and use; speech problems such as pronunciation, voice quality and stuttering.  Speech-language pathologists may also work in multidisciplinary teams in order to promote the child's development of play and social skills.