Project Description

Challenge

While every neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) has its unique challenges, there are consistencies among them, one of which is the difficulties parents face navigating the system.

Project Summary

The Integrated Navigational Support Program is working to make it easier for families to access supports and services. The project currently has three sites—Vancouver, Edmonton, and the Yukon—where team members have connected with families, government and community-based partners. The idea is to identify existing gaps in the system where families struggle and to implement unique approaches to address these challenges. Learnings from the project will generate a ‘navigational systems’ blueprint for other communities that can be adapted to address their local needs.

Looking Towards Cycle III

The team will continue to build capacity within the extensive, and still growing, local networks of partners in each region. Sharing learning for use by regions across Canada is being reflected in guide development. The project will inform the processes of service access and navigation, especially concerning issues of integration across the systems of care, and other vital components that may influence the navigation experiences of families raising children with NDD.

Funding

Contributions Received to Date:
Kids Brain Health Network – $199,992
Anonymous Donor – $660,344
The Azrieli Foundation/La Fondation Azrieli – $750,000
Family Support Institute – $205,485
Sunny Hill Health Centre – $662,675
Yukon Government, Department of Heath and Social Services – $230,375
27 other partners – $945,493

Team

Principal Investigators

David Nicholas, University of Calgary
Lucyna Lach, McGill University

Co-Investigators

James Reynolds, Queen’s University
Kaitlyn McLachlan, University of Guelph
Anton Miller, University of British Columbia
Gail Andrew, University of Alberta
Jennifer Zwicker, University of Calgary
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, University of Alberta
Dorothy Badry, University of Calgary
Gina Dimitropoulos, University of Calgary

Implementation Partners

AIDE: Autism and Intellectual Disability Exchange Network
Autism Edmonton
Autism Yukon
Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta
Challenge Disability Resource Group
Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton
Edmonton and Area Fetal Alcohol Network
Family Support Institute of BC
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society Yukon
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton
Help and Hope for Families Society
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Vancouver
The Asante Centre, Maple Ridge, BC
Yukon Government (Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Justice – Corrections Branch)
Yukon Interagency Network on Disability (YIAND)
Yukon Legal Services Society

Other Key Partners

The Azrieli Foundation/La Fondation Azrieli
Alberta Health Services
Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children
Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton
Family Support Institute of BC

Previous Cycle II Initiatives

Integrated Navigational Support for Families of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities