Conference Program

A wealth of evidence-based practical recommendations and best practices are then provided, accompanied by their application to common and not-so-common examples.　 Any professionals and paraprofessionals who provide care to individuals who exhibit challenging, disruptive, or dangerous behaviors will leave with materials and strategies that can be used immediately. After understanding the causes and contributors to challenging behaviors experienced by individual to whom we provide care, the topic will then shift to staff management.　 Unfortunately, many managers in educational and healthcare settings have not been provided with fundamental strategies in effective leadership. Instead, many simply learn or depend on methods used by previous managers, the management "book-of-the-day", or intuition. The use of behavioral principles for effective leadership are well-established, evidence-based, easily understood, and simple to use. After reviewing some common and generally ineffective approaches to improving performance, several fundamental strategies will be presented and discussed within the context of common performance concerns.　 Managers and non-managers alike will have a better understanding of work motivation and strategies for improving performance.

Founder and President of Quality Behavioral Solutions Inc., Dr. Lennox received his Ph.D. from Western Michigan University specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis. With over 20 years of experience Dr. Lennox has developed, directed, and consulted with organizations and programs treating children, adults, and geriatric populations in a variety of settings including schools, community and group homes, long-term care, academic research programs, day treatment programs, and rehabilitation hospitals. He has managed services for individuals with a variety of rehabilitation and behavioral needs resulting from head injury, Alzheimer's, development disability, autism, psychiatric conditions, and a number of neurological disorders. In addition, he teaches Organizational Behavior Management at Simmons College.

In 2009 Core Competencies for 7 key positions in Ontario's Developmental Services were developed through facilitated focus groups with all levels of employees in the sector. The Developmental Services Human Resource Strategy will launch the core competencies provincially for Ontario's Developmental Services in 2011. The implementationof core competencies in an agency requires employees to develop an understanding of the core competencies. This session will be provided by a Core Competencies "Regional Champion" and will present the training session that agencies will cover when they implement the core comptetencies within their own agency. The objectives of the "Introducation to Core Competencies" training are to:

This presentation will address the topic of words and labels commonly used to identify people with intellectual disabilities.

The audience will hear how the use of these words and labels can have a negative impact on people with disabilities and how they are viewed by others.

The audience will gain knowledge and a better understanding about the words we use and how they are said influences and communicates how we think.

Words can separate and isolate people and encourage stereotypes and prejudices. It is our hope that this presentation will help people re think their choice of words and the impact it has on people in society as a whole.

What gets talked about in an organization and how it gets talked about determines what will happen. Or won't happen. The simplest definition of a fierce conversation is one in which we come out from behind ourselves, into the conversation, and make it real. While many fear real, it is the unreal conversations that ought to concern us because they are incredibly expensive. Within Christian Horizons, Fierce Conversations began as a "bottom-up" change initiative driven by a few leaders in one area and grew to impact communication throughout the organization, all across the province.

We believe that the conversation is the relationship. Careers and organizations succeed or fail, one conversation at a time. The central function of any team member is to engineer productive, spirited dialogue that provides clarity and impetus for change.

Fierce Conversations teaches attendees how to ignite productive dialogue that interrogates reality, provokes learning, resolves tough challenges and enriches relationships. It’s the place to begin, the cornerstone of great leadership and healthy cultures.

Based on the national bestseller by Susan Scott – Fierce Conversations – this communication workshop provides the foundation for having authentic and clear conversations. This introduction will cover two main topics. First, the "three transformational ideas" make the connection between conversations and your personal professional success. Second, the "seven principles" explore the principles of Fierce Conversations and their relevance to your personal and professional success. Leave this workshop feeling inspired to "tackle your toughest challenge today."®

Identify the key characteristics of a competency,
Become familiar with the Core Competency Models for various roles in the developmental Services sector,
Identify behaviours that are linked to core competencies.
Complete a competency self-assessment to determine your current level of competency and areas for development

"The rate of change is not going to slow down any time soon" - John Kotter. Whether it is a response to community needs, economic challenges, or Ministry directives, we will continue to face opportunities to transform our work. This workshop is designed to give participants practical tools to successfully initiate and implement change in their organization.

In the development of this session, the facilitator used a number of resources to inform its content, including the work of John Kotter, Dan and Chip Heath, and Malcolm Gladwell. The workshop will include various examples of organizations that achieved successful transformation. The primary illustration will be how Christian Horizons followed specific steps for implementing change that contributed to achieving accreditation with Focus Ontario in 2010

Beginning with a discussion on how we as leaders may respond to change, participants will then discover a proven road map towards executing and maintaining significant and sustainable transformation, both within their own sphere of influence and across an organization as a whole. We will discuss such integral topics as building leadership confidence, creating urgency, communicating vision and direction, enabling employee engagement and alignment and re-creating organizational culture.

To facilitate learning, emphasis will be placed on providing an interactive environment using engaging visuals and providing opportunities to interact, discuss and ask questions. Importance will be placed on those practical skills and tools that each participant can transfer to their own workplace.

SHRTN - The Seniors Health Research Transfer Network supports a number of Community of Practices (CoP). SHRTN is a province-wide knowledge exchange network that links caregivers with researchers, and policy makers who work together to improve health care for seniors.

OPADD (Ontario Partnership on Aging and Developmental Disabilities) applied to develop a cross sector (Seniors/Health and Developmental Disabilities) Aging and Developmental Disabilities Community of Practice (ADD CoP) as one method to sustain and build on OPADD activities. We are entering our third year as a Community of Practice.

The ADD CoP has had many successful learning events one which is the U-First training initative. U-First! education on declines due to aging and dementia is very needed for both sectors; however, the developmental services sector has not had access to education available in the Seniors’ sector. OPADD engaged with the U-First Committee and reviewed the material. The material was very applicable with only small changes. OPADD and SHRTN embarked on a Provincial U-First train-the-trainer initiative to develop trainers in the DS and Seniors sector to educate in cross sector groups. The trainers will also co-train (one from each sector). This training not only teaches how to support individuals with dementia but encourages networking and collaborating amongst the participants (each class will have 50/50 split between developmental services and seniors. We have created a sub-CoP for the U-First trainers across the Province to develop a support network – to help share information, best practices and assist with sustaining training long term.

This presentation will demonstrate the innovative approaches utilized in delivering skills training to individuals with a Dual Diagnosis based in Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

We will discuss our methods of assessment, how we present the curriculum, ways of incorporating popular culture and addressing the various learning styles and range of abilities within our group. We will also discuss our strategies around staff and family education, generalization and prompting of the skills outside of the group setting and the need for crisis management and prevention plans.

We will share anecdotal information from group members, family members and support staff. As well we will include our pre/post data from this year’s group (Risk Behaviour Survey, QoL, FIDD). A sample from each module will be shared so participants have an opportunity to see what we present and how it may be facilitated.

Collaboration Session - C3

It has been reported that 1 in 5 acute mental health inpatients* in Ontario have a dual diagnosis; these patients often present due to aggression, violence or psychotic episodes that can be traumatic for those involved**.

Patients are often discharged from the hospital to their community agency without adequate planning or services to make the changes required in the person’s environment to reduce future incidents.　 Conversely, the hospital may find themselves in a position of providing custodial care to a person because the agency did not have the resources available to resume care of the individual.

In an effort to facilitate the transition back to the community, Developmental Clinical Services and the Inpatient unit at HRSRH have begun to collaborate during discharge planning which is initiated at admission in order to ensure adequate supports are in place during their stay on unit and throughout their transition back home.

DeafBlind Ontario Services creates homes where adults with congenital deafblindness can live more independently. Through its supported living arrangements, Intervenor services, work experience and other specialized support services. DeafBlind Ontario Services gives each resident the ability to enhance their independent living skills. In this presentation we would like to share about a stimulating and creative Ontario Trillium Foundation funded program - Sensory Exploration Arts (SEA) Program. This collaborative project began in spring of 2010 between DeafBlind Ontario Services and Bob Rumball Associations for the Deaf (Milton). The presentation will illustrate and highlight the benefits of creative expression and exploring all the senses through art which enables individuals to expand their communication and feelings through various mediums. The experiences have exposed benefits of creative expression in individuals who may not have engaged or viewed themselves as artists before. The initial concept of this project began after visiting SENSE Scotland in 2008 and observing the benefits and opportunities of their Arts and Wellbeing program they facilitate there highlight the benefits and stimulating experiences. The objective of the Sensory Exploration Arts (SEA) program is to promote and foster artistice and creative expression in a visual arts program for individuals with sensory impairments. This program also includes the broader community through inclusion of local artists who work in various art mediums. The presentaiton will also include a hand's on opportunity to explore life through the senses of smell, taste, touch, sound (vibrations) and sight (light/dark intensities). Express your emotional response to your experience by engaging and creating art while being under simulation - blindfolded and wearing earplugs.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER and Catered Dinner



Join us for an evening Keynote Presentation followed by a catered dinner. Attendance at the Keynote speak and dinner is part of the 3 and 2 day conference packages; tickets for the speak and dinner can also be purchased separately for day and student attendance.



5:00 pm – 5:15 pm Madeleine Meilleur, Minister, Community and Social Services



5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Seven Essential Life Lessons: What People with Disabilities can Teach the World

Keynote Speaker: Dale Munro

Abstract to follow

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Catered Dinner

Enjoy a fabulous dinner and discussion after the Keynote speak (provided as part of the 3 and 2 day conference packages; tickets can also be purchased separately)

In 2009 York Support Services Network identified a need to research information regarding the prevalence of Substance misuse in the Dual Diagnosis population. The research indicated that individuals with a dual diagnosis were as likely to experience substance misuse as compared to the mainstream population.
In the Spring of 2010 Addiction Services of York Region, YCH – Behaviour Management Services YS and the Canadian Mental Health Association joined together with York Support Services Network to form a committee to further explore the needs of this group within our community.

The Dual Diagnosis Substance Misuse Committee (DDX-SM) utilized the research and further explored available resources and treatment models that are specific to this population. The research indicated that in Canada there appeared to be an interest in developing such options but were unable to complete due to a lack of funding and cross-sectoral support. Some general Addictions Treatment geared to the Mainstream population also indicated a willingness to consider individuals with a Dual Diagnosis on a case by case basis.

The committee identified a work plan to include;

Assisting in the identification of individuals with a DDX-SM

Providing education to Individuals, Care providers, and the Community

Exploring existing curriculum and adapting it to meet the unique learning needs of this population

Developing & Implementing Skill Building Groups based on existing curriculums in the different sectors

It is the willingness to collaborate and utilize all of our diverse expertise, despite our limited resources, that will best meet the unique needs of this population.

Boundaries are important to both our personal and professional life. They convey comfort, power, and intimacy. The purpose of this presentation is to provide all individuals that work with people with intellectual disabilities the necessary information and skills to evaluate their boundaries with the people they support. The focus of this interactive presentation will be how to maintain a therapeutic relationship, violations and how to address them, and what to consider when setting boundaries. Participants are encouraged to discuss their experiences with the therapeutic relationship, and apply the information from this presentation to them.

This presentation will highlight the PIA (Partnership in Autism) program which is a collaborative service being delivered in Toronto in partnership with Griffin Centre and Kerry's place Autism Services to support youth with an ASD and their families. At the time of referral these youth are experiencing significant behavioural chanlleges and/or challenges in their environments (i.e. home, school, relationships) and are often in crisis. This workshop will discuss the rationale for building such a partnership, the benefits in providing this service through a collaborative service approach and how one can build upon existing resources more creatively to support people with complex needs. Also discussed will be how such a partnership provides a more integrated service delivery approach that brings together both formal and informal supports to better address specific service delivery issues for people with an ASD who often have complex service situations and fall through the gaps. The presenters will also discuss what some of the key components of success are in building such a service and how the service is built upon the concept of supporting individuals through an empowerment framework that supports both the individuals being served and the partners utilizing the service. Presentation objecties will include: Identifying creative ways in which gaps and barriers in service delivery have been addressed through a collaborative model of service delivery; Identifying strategies for building and maintaining a service based on a partnership model and promoting ongoing participation of all stakeholders; Identifying how to apply the principles of empowerment to better support individuals being served and the staff within this service partnership.

This is a story of a small community's response to the changing support requests of individuals and their first attempt to address the challenges of a Transforming Developmental Service Sector. In April of 2009 the Elmira Developmental Support Corporation, the Elmira District Community Living and Kitchener Waterloo Regional Housing partnered together to provide Affordable Housing in the Community of Elmira. In September of 2010 an apartment building that is home to 6 people opened. Four of the tenants are individuals who would have a few years ago been candidates for a group home. The remaining two tenants are students of Renison University College who receive a tuition scholarship and accommodation in exchange for the provision of relationship based supports. This is a story of how new partnerships and relationships have blended with agency based supports,lspecifically Community Living Elmira and Christian Horizons to provide a home for people in keeping with their vision of a life in the community. It will be a panel presentation on the Snow Goose Apartment Complex a housing option for adults. The presenters will include a representative from the Elmira Developmental Support Corporation and the Elmira District Community Living, a tenant of the apartment complex and a family member and the two student scholarship recipients.

Working in a community setting offers opportunities to support clients in a manner best suiting their needs and diversities. However, it can also put the workers in situations where they may be exposed to aggression with limited access to supports. Aggression comes in many forms: physical violence, verbal outburst, emotional blackmailing and unwanted sexual attention. The presenters encourage individuals providing face to face supports to consider practices which can work towards minimizing the risk of experiencing aggression in all forms. Topics which will be discussed include: risk assessments, environmental scans, safety planning, pacing and debriefing. There will be tips not only for the front line workers but also agency considerations to help structure work practices which are supportive to their staff’s safety. These tools are applicable to throughout most settings. A case study is used through the presentation illustrates how the suggested practices where used by a Dual Diagnosis Outreach Worker in a community setting.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are amongst the fastest growing related cluster of disabilities, although some individuals with ASD would prefer to be thought of as "differently-abled". This being as it may, many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: have difficulty in social situations, cannot communicate their emotions, wants and needs as effectively as other people, and may be much more or less sensitive to certain aspects of their environments. These challenges can lead to them becoming very frustrated and even aggressive when: they find the reactions of other people confusing and illogical, when people don't understand what they are trying to communicate, or if they are forced to live with smells, noises, lights or other sensations that we would consider quite comfortable but they perceive as painful or obnoxious. Current examples are used to demonstrate that when the needs of individuals, who are crying for help, either literally or through their behaviour, are not listened to, and people around them are not otherwise sensitive to their needs, problems can escalate. Over time this may lead to the need for intervention by the health and justice systems. Sometimes people with ASD then get trapped in these systems because they do not have the social or communications skills to help them make the case that they should not be there. Practical recommendations are provided for addressing these legal challenges faced by individuals with ASD.

Niagara Child & Youth Services (NCYS) and Bethesda Services (Developmental Service Sector Agency) with support from Brock University Centre for Applied Disability Studies, graduate practicum students, have developed and operated an innovative pilot residential treatment program for youth who have a dual diagnosis. This working partnership arose from two specific concerns: first those children with intellectual disabilities who were not receiving, when appropriate, supports for their mental health disorders. Second that it was going unrecognized by mental health professionals that the parents of children with a dual diagnosis could benefit greatly from mental health services. A protocol that was instrumental for ushering in the implementation of the initital research pilot project that focused on the introduction of behavioural approaches to service delivery to augment the traditional mental health services provided by NCYS was developed between the partner agencies. However, following the pilot it was agreed by all parties that the protocol was limited in its focus and did not address issues beyond simple logistics. Therefore it was determined that a number of issues of fundamental importance needed to be systematically addressed by all partners. The by-product of this appreciation led to the development of a set of guiding principles for working with children with a dual diagnosis. This presentation will identify how this collaborative community and university partnership and initial research project led to the formulation of these principles.

This presentation will discuss the understanding of mental health issues of individuals with developmental delays. Having compassion and understanding for the challenges not just physical but mental/emotional. The individuals we serve are people and have the right to be heard. I have been a Developmental Service worker for over 10 years and have worked with individuals with a variety of disabilities. I also have PTSD and feel it is important to talk about the disability from the eye of someone who has it to the eye of the people we support. One step to awareness is a step closer to understanding.

Crisis planning is an important part of anyone’s support plan but often not thought of until the crisis is happening. This interactive presentation will look at how people can identify and plan for crisis. Some of the information and concrete tools that will be shared are:

Defining a crisis

Creating a crisis planning

Creating a crisis support team

Crisis documents

Writing the script

Connecting to emergency services

Duty to call 911

Participants are encouraged to come with a scenario that they can apply the tools to.

In the Spring of 2010, the Minister of Community and Social Services announced the government's approval of $800,000 to enhance access to primary care for individuals with a developmental disability. The funding for this initiative has been allocated to the four regional Community Networks of Specialized Care. The Networks are using these resources to establish new Health Care Facilitator positions across the province, as well as to engage in capacity building activities in the local health care community. This presentation will provide information on the Health Care Capacity initiative, the role of the Health Care Facilitators, as well as the activities occurring within each of the four regional Networks. Participants will also hear how the CNSCs are collaborating with caregivers, agencies, health care providers and adjacent health delivery systems to provide support and education aimed at improving access and the quality of health care provided to individuals with developmental disabilities.

With over 100,000 newcomers to the Greater Toronto Area each year there are new challenges of not only working with a variety of cultures and languages, but also with various attitudes and beliefs towards disablilties. Many families are also not aware of services and supports available to them and others prefer supports within their own culture or community.

New strategies are needed to support the changing dynamics of the community.

Community Living Toronto developed a Bridging Diversity Work Group in 2008 to strategically focus on the changing community of Toronto and develop resources, partners and staff skills to support our work in a continuously changing city.

This session will look at the challenges associated with supporting people from diverse backgrounds including culture, language and value based issues. We will share our research findings, key community partnerships within the settlement and newcomer communities and our work with the United Way funded community hubs. Examples of the results from our community education strategies targeting local and culturally specific media with also be shared.

Having a skilled staff base that are sensitive to cultural values and have knowledge and access to resources to support their work is also key to success in this area. The session will share our direction in staff development, education and providing tools to support their work.

There are still many gaps in our work and many challenges ahead. Diversity work does not end, as a solution to one gap opens doors to more challenges. Other challenges ahead of us and how we would like to move forward will conclude our presentation.

This workshop is designed for front line staff and managers within organizations who are providing services to adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Participants will receive information they can take back to their organizations to share with others. Participants should be aware of the new policy with regard to reporting abuse.

This interactive workshop will examine, the following:

What is abuse, define it, recognizing abuse, responding to abuse allegations, disclosure, suspected or witnessed abuse.
Why we need to be concerned, facts and history of abuse for people with intellectual disabilities.
Examination of issues of power and control.
"Right to Risk vs. Right to Safety"
Prevention.
Effects of abuse, for the person, the family, the support system.
Agency response and Ministry of Community and Social Services guidelines.
False allegations, "It's not always Black and White".
Self care.

Discussion and group work including case studies, will be provided by the speaker.

Suggestions for further reading and a list of Internet resources will also be provided.

LIGHTS expands available residential options and choices for individuals and families waiting for government funded residential supports.

LIGHTS enables families to network, combine and apply their resources and increase their capacity to create alternative living arrangements.

LIGHTS provides families with experienced, knowledgeable planning and supports to establish stable living situations for their family member.

Rational: Close to $1.5 billion of Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) money, in the province of Ontario, is being dedicated to community-based services to help people with an intellectual disability transition to a life as full citizens in the community. This is a strong message for inclusive values, but it is not enough. Approximately 12,000 adult Ontarians who have an intellectually disability are on a waiting list for long-term housing. On average, people are waiting for seven years to obtain the residential supports they require. And in Toronto, where LIGHTS will focus initially, there are approximately 2,200 people with intellectual disabilities waiting for appropriate housing.

Central East Region has four agencies that host Network of Specialized Care treatment homes funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. While each of the agencies has its own priorities and operating processes based on the needs of the people they support, the agencies also work together on regional strategies and initiatives through the Central East Network of Specialized Care.

Team Analysis and Community Treatment Committee (TACT), a committee of the Central East Network of Specialized Care, developed and recommended a consistent ‘best practice’ set of processes and tools adopted by specialized accommodations in the Central East Network of Specialized Care. The term ‘Best Practices’ refers to a set of techniques or methodologies that have proven to reliably lead to the desired outcomes. Embracing the bio-psycho-social model, the Network assures ethical, effective treatment to the individuals receiving support in the specialized environments.

This presentation will highlight the best practices for specialized accommodations for individuals with an intellectual disability, mental health needs and/or challenging behaviours. The focus will be on person directed planning; access and process; evaluation and discharge; and staffing and operations.

Self Esteem for people with intellectual disabilities must directly confront the negative messages that exist in society regarding the “value” of disability. Research shows that people with intellectual disabilities experience some kind of negative attitudes or social violence regarding disability on a regular basis. Vita has been teaching “Self Esteem” to people with disabilities for 2 years and our curriculum addresses both pride and prejudice. People have the opportunity to explore what disability means and what it doesn’t mean. The concept of disability pride is new to many attending classes. It is a message that is profound and is received as such. This session will look at what people with disabilities need to learn in order to develop a sense of “disability pride” through “self esteem”. .

Kerry's Place Autism Services Mission is to enhance the quality of life of the people we support. Two of the tools we use to assist in achieving our mission are Quality of Life measures and a Person Centered Plan. Personal Outcome Measures (POMs for short) were developed by an organization called the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL). CQL moved from defining quality services as being compliance based (i.e. ensuring basic safety standards) to reflect responsiveness and the individuality of people receiving support. After completing focus groups with people with disabilities and their families a list of things was developed that were felt as being most important to people to have a good quality of life. This list was named "Personal Outcome Measures". The list has evolved over time and now consists of 21 POM’s plus an additional KPAS outcome for communication. The communication outcome was added because communication is such a critical factor for people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. POM’s help identify which outcomes are priorities to each person and are re-evaluated over time. We also assess the Supports provided and see how appropriate they are to the achievement of outcomes.

A person’s priority for their personal outcomes can guide the Person Centered Planning process, by helping to identify potential goals. A Person Centered Plan ensures that the wishes, desires, hopes and dreams of the people we support are recognized by those supporting them. Information from POM interviews, the clinical support team and incident records can assist the planning process. All this information is collected and put into the computer software program called KCIS that was developed for Kerry’s Place Autism Services. In this format, the information is available for use by the staff who need and should have access to provide the supports and services required. The plan is developed by the person and their Person Centred Planning Circle (Support Circle) which is made up of a group of people who care about the person supported. The Support Circle works together to help a person to achieve their goals. Personal Outcome Measures and Person Centred Planning work together with additional information from incidents and the clinical team to ensure that the quality of life of the people we support is enhanced in order to achieve our KPAS mission.

OADD Annual Conference

Under Construction!

please check back to get full details.

2012 Conference Program

2012 Conference Program

Please note: there are changes to the program layout and dates.
Please review the program and registration information carefully to ensure you are registered for the choices you want. Availability of all options will be on a first come, first serve basis.

OADD Annual Conference

Under Construction!

please check back to get full details.

2012 Conference Program

2012 Conference Program

Please note: there are changes to the program layout and dates. Please review the program and registration information carefully to ensure you are registered for the choices you want. Availability of all options will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Please note: there are changes to the program layout and dates.
Please review the program and registration information carefully to ensure you are registered for the choices you want. Availability of all options will be on a first come, first serve basis.