Children requiring treatment for mild developmental needs may be moved to the front of the line after KidsAbility, a group which provides treatment for children and assistance to parents, received a $187,500 increase in the base funding it receives from provincial ministry of children and youth services.
The additional funding was announced by Guelph MPP Liz Sandals at a press conference on Nov. 1 at the KidsAbility facility at the West End Community Centre in Guelph.
The funding will go into a new program known as “Spark” operated by KidsAbility to shorten waiting times for children with mild developmental needs.
The program was successfully tested last year and will now get underway to clear a backlog of treatment available to children with mild developmental needs.
“This money is in the base, so you can count on it,” Sandals told supporters of the group. “What you’re going to do is look at the kids who have mild needs to get assessment and intervene early and you may not have to have the extended service.”
KidsAbility Centre for Child Development CEO Linda Kenny said the money will help speed up treatment. According to Kenny, treatment of mild cases has continually moved backward, with children on a waiting list from “12 weeks to 12 months.
“The demand is continually outstripping supply,” she said. “This investment moves us a step closure. These kids with milder needs waited a very long time for the very little service they needed.”
Kenny said skills that will be dealt with under the program include treatment for poor motor and reading skills.
“We all know how important early intervention is,” she added.
The organization operates five facilities in Guelph, Fergus and the Waterloo Region. It receives $8.5 million annually from the province for its programs, and another $1 million in donations, and serves about 5,000 children, Kenny said.
The new funding was lauded by Tracy and Matthew Dupuis, whose three-year-old daughter Eloise received early intervention after she was born prematurely, weighing slightly more than one pound.
The parents were concerned with her growth and development and connected with KidsAbility, where Eloise received treatment.
“We were scared until we had our first meeting with KidsAbility,” the mother said. “They taught her to sit-up, crawl and drink from a cup.”
The active three-year-old attended Friday’s announcement, stealing the show with her bright smile.
“We benefitted from early intervention,” Tracy Dupuis said. “She’s a whiz on the iPad.”
The mother said the program is welcomed by many families to clear the backlog for quicker treatment.
Kenny said, “There are so many families still on the wait list. We can take the $187,500, we can leverage that to nearly double and we can help more.”
The Spark name for the program was picked, according to Kenny, because it signified “igniting potential.”
