Early Intervention Services Supported Matthias to Reach Important Milestones
Matthias first joined CTN through the occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy services provided by our partners at Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital and Royal Victoria Hospital. After being told he may not walk until he was five, with the help of early interventions, he started walking at one and now climbs the walls at three. The support of different physiotherapists provided Matthias and his family with the proper tools and resources, including equipment from CTN’s Equipment Loan Program, to assist with life at home. Through the community events and activities hosted by CTN, Matthias made strides in his development and reached important milestones. Watch Matthias’ full story below.
Through the activities that CTN has hosted, he was able to improve his social skills, independence and fine and gross motor skills. - Matthias’ family
Building Community: A Path Towards Family-Centred Collaboration and Engagement
At CTN, providing opportunities for families to shape their experiences with the network is crucial to our work. Throughout the past year, we worked with CanChild to enhance our family engagement and develop a family engagement framework. CanChild is a research centre dedicated to generating knowledge and transforming the lives of kids and youth with developmental conditions and their families. This collaboration helped to redesign how we approach family engagement by incorporating three key elements: creating connections with families, nurturing inclusion for all and sustaining ongoing family engagement. Through the redesign of our framework, we developed a three-year plan to support this work. This year, we also focused on redesigning our Family Support Program. The process engaged families and service provider organizations through surveys and focus groups. The results identified five priorities: restructuring our Family Support Program, offering more events and opportunities for Indigenous families, hosting more workshops and webinars for caregivers, creating a Facebook group for CTN families to connect and enhancing our online resources. We've already made progress through our collaborative efforts with Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child & Family Services and providing educational resources. Our commitment to collaboration underscores our dedication to meaningful engagement and positive experiences.
Fostering Growth through Learning and Development
Encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing, growth and learning is important throughout our organization and across the network. As part of placing people at the centre of what we do, CTN developed an organizational learning and development strategy that supports innovation, continuous learning and knowledge translation. Throughout the last year, we focused on providing learning opportunities for employees and partner organizations. These learning opportunities are placed in two categories - core competencies and professional development. Core competencies provide employees and partner organizations with a strong foundation of knowledge and skills that support CTN’s mission, vision and values, underpinning how we provide services to kids, youth and families. Professional development is essential to personal growth and allows for new and innovative ways to support clients and families. Our learning and development work is an important contribution to our vision of building community for the kids, youth, families, employees, service providers and volunteers within our network.
Cultivating Connection: The Journey to Employee Engagement
CTN’s SHINE peer recognition program celebrates employees who foster an extraordinary work culture within the organization. Over the last year, 112 SHINE awards were given to employees who embody CTN’s four values of inclusion, collaboration, responsibility and innovation. The SHINE program was created to empower employees to help create a sense of well-being and engagement.
Better Together: A vibrant community where all kids, youth and families belong
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Visit our website at ctnsy.ca for more information about CTN's services and a list of locations in York Region and Simcoe County.
Corporate Office: 13175 Yonge Street Richmond Hill, Ontario L4E 0G6
Children’s Treatment Network is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) and works in close collaboration with network partners funded by MCCSS and other ministries including the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.
