The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs

The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs operates under the administrative leadership of Lakehead University, in partnership with the:

• Government of Nunavut;
• University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, British Columbia;
• Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland;
• Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

These organizations make up the core group that provide direction to the work of the Centre.

A significant proportion of Canadian children and adolescents live with special needs. Many programs aimed at decreasing the risk for mental health problems, school failure, learning disabilities and other developmental difficulties have been developed in Canada, but few have focussed on special needs children living in rural and remote communities.

The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs is focused specifically on rural and remote communities and in particular on children and youth with special needs living in Canada's North. The Centre investigates models of prevention and intervention for special needs in rural and remote communities. It also considers the most appropriate ways to deliver those services given challenges such as professional availability and cost, and geography and distance, identifying service innovations that hold the greatest promise for equivalency to supports and services in the urban South. Related research issues include the potential of new and emerging information and communication technologies and the role of traditional, community-based treatment and approaches in defining a new service environment for special needs in rural and remote Canadian communities.

The work of this Centre contributes to ensuring that children and adolescents with special needs regardless of where they live in Canada, will have access to linguistically and culturally appropriate programs.

Other key organizations that contribute to the work of this Centre include Northern Ontario Educational Leaders, the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, the Government of Newfoundland Department of Health and Community Services, and the Early Intervention Association of Nova Scotia. Many of the consortium's 30 partners contribute financial and in-kind resources over the five-year lifespan of the Centre. These contributions supplement the funding provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada.

For more information on the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs:

Dr. Julia O'Sullivan
National Director
Centre of Excellence for Children & Adolescents with Special Needs
Lakehead University
954 Oliver Road
Thunder Bay, ON
P7B 5E1
Phone: 807-343-8219
Fax: 807-346-7991
E-mail: coespecialneeds@lakeheadu.ca