Children with Special Concerns and Needs
The Regional Municipality of Durham offers services to help Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) professionals to offer inclusive programs that support children's physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development. Licensed early learning and child care environments are legislated in the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, to create Individual Service Plans (ISP) that reflect the special or individualized needs of children enrolled in ELCC sites.
The Region of Durham has partnered with five agencies to provide a holistic and complementary set of Special Needs Resourcing (SNR) services. These partners are funded through the Children’s Services Division using Provincial funding guidelines to provide SNR services.
The SNR agencies work with educators to build capacity within the system to support equity and inclusion of all children in licensed child care. SNR and ELCC teams work together to develop ISPs. Families are also engaged in the development of the ISP to ensure positive and enriched learning experiences. All children in licensed child care have the right to access special needs resourcing services, at no cost to families.
SNR agencies' staff also regularly visit EarlyON sites in Durham Region to meet with parents to talk about their child's development or behaviour and provide resources.
If you are a parent looking for in-home support for a child that does not attend a licensed child care program, please contact the organization directly for more information on available services.
SNR agency partners
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Children's Developmental and Behavioural Supports |
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Children’s Developmental and Behavioural Supports provides behaviour consultation and coaching to educators in licensed child care and to parents of children with special needs. Our team of Behaviour Consultants are available to assist educators in licensed child care and families in supporting children with special needs to achieve their best. Behaviour Consultants have different skills and training. They use best practices and are well-qualified to provide the services we offer. Please note that our services do not require staff to be Behaviour Analysts with The College of Psychologist and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. Early Learning and Child Care Professionals We support child care professionals and their families who have children with behaviour challenges in licensed child care programs. We offer Child Specific and Room Consultation by working together with child care professionals to develop strategies to support 1-2 main goals. A Behaviour Consultant provides guidance by modelling, coaching and sharing resources with the child care team to help increase skills and change interfering behaviour. New Online Referrals We have updated the referral process to make it easier for child care professionals to submit the information needed to initiate service. The referral package is now an online submission. Child care professionals can work on a referral and come back to complete it later by saving the form and choosing the option to send themselves an email or generate a link. To start a new referral, please use the forms below.
In order to submit the child specific consultation referral form, please upload a completed consent to referral form prior to submitting. A prompt to attach the consent to referral will be at the end of the form. For information on how to make a referral review this guide: Please feel free to share this service description with families when discussing a referral for behaviour consultation. Parents We offer parent groups on a variety of topics to all parents who have children with behaviour concerns, under the age of 12. 2025 Winter Learning Opportunities If you have a child, under the age of seven, with a developmental disability, we offer behaviour consultation to support skill development and reducing challenging behaviours. Description of Brief Behaviour Consultation For information on our parent groups and behaviour consultation, you can contact us at 1-800-387-0642 extension. 2829 or email behaviouralsupports@durham.ca.
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| Resources for Exceptional Children and Youth Durham Region |
| Resources for Exceptional Children and Youth Durham Region offers general programs and services to support children two to 12 years of age with an identified need. |
| Grandview Kids |
| Grandview Kids offers general room and child specific consultation and services to support successful inclusion of children with special needs in licensed child care programs. |
| Surrey Place Centre |
| Through Surrey Place, the Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program provides early intervention and support to children birth to six years with a diagnosed visual impairment. |
| Infant and Child Development program |
| The Infant and Child Development program provides service for infants and young children who have developmental concerns or special needs. |
SNR Resources for licensed child care
The Durham Region early learning and child care community supports Ontario's philosophy that "all children benefit from being in inclusive environments where they are able to participate and collaborate in meaningful ways to form authentic, caring relationships. When children with special needs have access to appropriate support from early years programs it can help them to have rich and fulfilling childhoods and prepare them for meaningful participation in society" (Ontario Ministry of Education 2014, p.25).
The resources provided below are designed to support educators in the process of building their skills to support all children, regardless of their ability or background, within their early learning and child care programs. Educators can review with information for support situations where additional resources may be required.
| Special Needs Resourcing package |
The Play Project
Childrens’ Developmental and Behavioural Supports and Infant and Child Development are proud partners of the Ontario Autism Program, Durham (OAP-D). The OAP-D is led by Grandview Kids in partnership with The Regional Municipality of Durham, Lake Ridge Community Support Services and Resources for Exception Children and Youth, Durham.
Beginning summer 2021, the OAP-D will be offering caregiver-mediated programs through the Ontario Autism Program. Eligible families will be contacted by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services by a written invitation to join a caregiver-mediated program. The Regional Municipality of Durham will be offering The PLAY Project.
The PLAY Project is an evidence-based, playful, practical, parent-implemented program that supports the development of social interaction, communication, play and pre-academic skills in children on the autism spectrum. This program is appropriate for children up to 48 months of age who are communicating at a variety of levels, from no words up to and including sentences. The PLAY Project is designed for children at all levels of need. It is developmentally appropriate and fun, with strategies that can be easily used in a family’s daily activities.
Learn more about the three play-based, caregiver-mediated programs offered in Durham Region by visiting the Grandview Kids website.
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