2023 Conference Schedule
Resetting, Reconnecting and Reimagining: A New Way Forward
April 18th, 19th and 20th, 2023 Best Western Lamplighter Inn, London ON
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
- GLS – click here
- OADD – click here
- RSIG – Click here
If you would like more information about the presentations or the conference please contact the OADD office at oadd@oadd.org
GLS Seminar Day

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 – Organizational Trauma
Pre-Conference Seminar hosted by GLS In-person and Virtual
8:30 am | – | 9:00 am | In-person registration – virtual attendees please join the conference via Zoom | |
9:00 am | – | 9:15am | Welcoming Remarks and Introductions (GLS Board) | |
9:15am | – | 10:30am |
Organizational Trauma: A Clinical Journey to Health and WellnessPresenters: Marnie McDermott, Sandra Martino, Marnie Lye Organizational trauma can impact the whole culture of an agency. Staff become emotionally overwhelmed and their self-protective structures become penetrated. The trauma can impact staff both psychologically and culturally developing a sense of helplessness and vulnerability. A full overview of what organizational trauma is will be highlighted in this session. Clinical resources and tools will be provided to help staff and senior leaders build their resiliency and wellness through the application of the Coaching Approach from the Clinical and Responsiveness Training (CART) Manual developed by the Community Networks of Specialized Care – Central East (CNSC-CE) hosted by CLH Developmental Support Services (CLH DSS) |
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10:30am | – | 10:40am | Break – time is approximate | |
10:40am | – | 12:00pm |
Presentation Continues |
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12:00pm | – | 1:00pm | hosted lunch | |
1:00pm | – | 2:15pm |
Understanding and Implementing Organizational Trauma Informed CarePresenters: Tracy Erb and Leah Jeffery People with developmental disabilities experience mental health issues as a result of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect in greater numbers than the general public. Behaviors are often mistaken as non-compliance, manipulative, and attention-seeking when in actuality they may be a response to earlier experiences of trauma. Through understanding the neurobiology of trauma, participants will begin to reshape their view of behaviors and develop a toolbox of evidenced-based strategies to effectively support those in their care. Research has shown that organizations providing Trauma-Informed Care have higher service user success rates and higher levels of workplace satisfaction. Participants will be introduced to an evidenced-based framework that guides the implementation process of beginning the journey of becoming a Trauma-Informed organization. Through examples and shared learnings, participants will have an opportunity to begin forming their own implementation plan of Trauma-Informed Care.
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2:15pm | – | 2:30pm | Break – time is approximate | |
2:30pm | – | 3:30pm |
Presentation Continues |
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7:00pm | – | 10:00pm | OADD Welcome event sponsored by MedProDirect
A casual drop in event to re-connect and get into the “conference” mood. |
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OADD Annual Conference
Wednesday April 19th and Thursday April 20th, 2023 – In-person and Virtual
Program for Wednesday April 19th
7:30 am | – | 8:30 am | In-person attendees: Breakfast and registration; Virtual attendees: Please join the conference at 8:15 a.m. to test your connection | |
8:30am | – | 9:00am | Opening Remarks – OADD Board Jody Hendry, Director, Developmental and Supportive Services Branch Sponsor Dalikoo Welcome |
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9:00am | – | 10:00am |
Keynote Presentation
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10:00am | – | 10:30am | Break | |
10:30am | – | 11:45am | Concurrent Sessions “1” | |
1A
Co-Creating a Culture of Mental Health and Well-Being in Developmental Services: Learning Together through a Community led InitiativePresenters: Sara Collyer, Jeanny Scantlebury, Nicole Bobbette One in three direct support professionals in Ontario are experiencing moderate to severe psychological distress. Supporting the mental health of Ontario’s Developmental Services workforce is critical to ensuring the well-being of staff, and providing high quality supports to people with developmental disabilities. In this presentation, authors will first share what is known about the mental health of this essential workforce and the people they support, from the perspectives of direct support professionals and agency leaders in Ontario. Authors will then introduce and explore experiences with ‘Cultivating Community Wellness’, an interprofessional province-wide initiative co-developed with staff to respond to the specific mental health needs of this sector. A large focus will be on how agencies are working to gather and implement the tools and resources they need to foster a culture of positive mental health for all. Practical examples will be provided and then we will work together to discuss and create real-time strategies to support mental health in our daily lives, for ourselves, our teams, the people we support and our workplaces. |
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1B
Reimagining Recruitment and Retention StrategiesPresenters: Claudia Ferryman, Ursula Rehdner According to StatsCanada, over the past 10 years in Canada, employment has increased by 10% while the labour force has grown by only 1%. In the second quarter of 2021, Canada had nearly 732,000 vacant positions.
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1C
Utilizing an Interdisciplinary Approach within Developmental ServicesPresenters: Sarah O’Donoghue, Frances Moore, Jesse Ropat and Nicole Martindale-Coke Subject matter experts (SME) are often scattered throughout organizations and are relied upon heavily for supports and resources, while typically working separately with different access points. To address this gap, Community Living Toronto has formed an internal interdisciplinary team comprised of Behaviour Services/Consultation, Health and Wellness Services, Transition and Social work services. Over the past decade, the increased need for an interdisciplinary approach can be linked to several factors such as supporting an aging population, the need for increased skilled professionals to support complex needs and enabling continuity of care across the lifespan (Nancarrow et al., 2013). The interdisciplinary team works collaboratively, using a biopsychosocial, person-directed approach to set goals, make decisions, and share resources and responsibilities. Interdisciplinary services are accessed through the submission of an integrated online referral system that is reviewed by each service within the team. A lead from the team is then determined and assigned, based on presenting concerns. A centralized electronic information system has also been created, which allows progress notes and updates to be accessed and updated by all team members. In addition to the development of the interdisciplinary team, an online incident reporting tracking system has been designed to ensure automatic notifications are delivered to appropriate services with a focus on crisis prevention through a proactive, coordinated approach. The objectives of the new systems are to break down silos, improving quality of services to the people supported, streamline processes to improve user experience, increase collaboration, and use data to inform decisions. |
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11:45am | – | 1:15pm | Lunch break and choice of Lunch and Learn Sessions:
Caregiver Peer MentorshipPresenters: Danica Cross, Liz Phipps, Sharon Shelton, Judy Verseghy, Monica Richardson
Reconnecting and Maintaining Relationships through Technology
Would you like to know more about how technology can be customized to enhance the lives of people with lived experienced and can be used to promote independence? Let Dalikoo show you the possibilities of keeping you in control of your own data with Microsoft Office 365 cloud. My Music and Me
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1:15pm | – | 2:30pm | Concurrent Sessions “2” | |
2A
Rediscovering the Workplace – Creating an Employee Centred CulturePresenter: Penny Gagnon This interactive presentation will provide an overview of what it means to be employee centred and how leaders can build upon ten central themes evidenced in current research and best practices that create the foundation for an employee centred culture. The presentation will include an opportunity for the participants to complete a self-evaluation centred on the discussed themes, identify areas of strengths, recognize opportunities for improvement, and begin to develop priorities and action steps towards an employee centred culture. The importance of people and culture will be showcased through the ten foundational themes with a message that organizations need to seek for a future that holds employee-centered cultures in high regard.
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2B
Medical Stabilization in Non-Traditional Spaces: Integrated Cross-Sector Responses to Adapt Developmental Services Home Setting and Deliver Accessible, Innovative and Inclusive Rehabilitative CarePresenters: Angela Gonzales, Lee Simpson and Jennifer Altosaar People with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) may have support needs that are perceived as barriers to accessing traditional settings for convalescent care or rehabilitation programs. This workshop describes collaborative medical stabilization through a non-traditional, transitional-stay in Developmental Services home setting. It demonstrates what could be achieved for supporting specialized, innovative, and inclusive rehabilitative care with a Person with IDD in very complex circumstances.
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2C
Striving for Less Intrusive Supports in Supported Living SettingsPresenters: Emily Wykes, Elissa Moretto Historically, supported living environments relied heavily on the use of intrusive measures to manage challenging behaviour. Changing standards of care, through quality assurance measures, and ministry guidelines have ensured that all intrusive measures are monitored, reduced and appropriately faded. At Kerry’s Place Autism Services (KPAS), there has been a deeper examination of all restrictive procedures used in internal behavioural supports, and further gains have been made in decreasing these intrusive measures. This presentation will share an overview of strategies used with the focus of decreasing intrusive measures. Examples include systems to categorize support plans, implementation of treatment adherence, as well as enhanced staff education. A case study will also describe the results of a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach to decreasing the use of a specific intrusive restraint across one region.
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2:30pm | – | 3:00pm | Break | |
3:00pm | – | 4:15pm | Concurrent Sessions “3” | |
3A
Resilience in Challenging TimesPresenter: Claudia Ferryman In these difficult and uncertain times, we recognize how vitally important it is that everyone pay close attention to their mental health and wellbeing by finding ways to enhance resilience and manage stress.
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3B
A Cross Sectoral Approach to Supporting People with Complex Exceptional Support NeedsPresenters: Cindie Evans, Whitney Faragher, Samantha Airhart The Community Networks of Specialized Care-Central East (CNSC-CE) has developed a variety of programs to support adults with Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities with high support and complex care needs. Cross sectoral planning is frequently essential to provide linkages to specialized services to stabilize persons with complex care needs. Often individuals become so dis-regulated that they need support through various service systems such as: justice, health, mental health, and developmental services. The CNSC-CE has specialized professionals that provide this cross sectoral support through specialized transition coordination, health care facilitation, complex support coordination, clinical justice coordination and clinical Applied Behaviour Analysis programming. |
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3C
Racismaffectsmetoo: the Impacts of Anti-Blackness in the Developmental Services SectorPresenters: Marty Lampkin, Joanne Marcano, Alicia Gonen Many people are aware of how discrimination exist in our society, organizations and services against individuals and families living with Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and autism spectrum disorder. In the Black Community, research shows that 38.3% of Black Canadian residents (’Shining a light’, 2021) say that they have received poor or fair mental health supports. However, gaps exist in understanding on Anti-Black Racism impacts Black individuals living IDD/ASD as stated by Kresh-Nash ” Racism and ableism are often thought of as parallel systems of oppression that work separately”. This presentation will highlight this intersection that continues to be neglected in service provision and delivery by outlining the impacts of Anti-Black racism on the lives of Black individuals living IDD/ASD. |
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4:15pm | – | 7:00pm | In-person attendees: Dinner on your own; Virtual Attendees: Conference resumes Thursday April 20th | |
7:00pm | – | 11:00pm | OADD Networking Event sponsored by CARF
This casual event is planned as a perfect way to end the day, relaxing with friends, old and new. Join us for finger foods and a cash bar |
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Program for Thursday April 20th
7:30 am | – | 9:00 am | In-person attendees: Breakfast and registration; Virtual attendees: Please join the conference at 8:45 a.m. to test your connection | |
9:00am | – | 10:15am | Concurrent Sessions “4” | |
4A
Workplace Psychological Safety and Congregate Workers Quality of LifePresenter: Dr. Claudine Cousins Participants will learn about mental health effects of vicarious trauma on DS sector employees (e.g., organizational productivity and employee performance). |
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4B
Creating Independence Summer CampPresenters: Eliza McClelland, Melanie Quevillon, Laura Vanos Over the summer of 2022, L’Arche London launched and hosted its first annual Independence Summer Camp. This camp was geared toward disabled high school graduates ages 18 to 35. The goal of this camp was to reinforce life skills learned in high school while introducing a set of new skills needed for independent living. Furthermore, summer camp served as a site for connection and relationship building. This initiative was abundantly important, especially after the intense isolation and lack of programming that came along with the COVID-19 pandemic. We took this as an opportunity to imagine and create a new program at L’Arche London to welcome a younger population while addressing a need to support the transitional-aged population in our community. The end of high school should be filled with excitement and hope, but this can be overshadowed by the daunting dramatic decrease in services for this population – exacerbated by pandemic regulations and realities. Independence Summer Camp was created to address this complex combination directly. Our presentation will include impact statements, reflections from the camp staff team, and data collected from a survey completed by campers and their families. As this presentation will highlight, facilitating learning in an informal setting with disabled young adults proved to have its benefits and challenges; however, a summer camp proved to be a very effective opportunity for reinforcing and introducing life skills after high school.
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4C
What’s Going On?Presenters: Paul Fleming, Janeen Halliwell Your instincts may be telling you that the DS Sector is changing in substantial ways, that what worked for the last few decades will need to change going forward. You are right. This informative session will look at ‘Journey to Belonging’ and how current and emerging trends in the Developmental Service sector interact with each other. These changes, which have already started, represent a fundamental evolution of how the province, TPRs, communities and families will be supporting people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for decades to come. As this evolution accelerates over the coming decade it will impact funding for people and organizations, the supports organizations provide, the ‘customers’ they will provide them to, and the choices that the people supported will be making. The presenters are hoping that participants will engage in a lively discussion post presentation. |
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10:15am | – | 10:45am | Break | |
10:45am | – | 12:15pm | Panel Discussion | |
How to Use the Modernized Core Competencies to Build a Strong WorkforcePresenters: Christine Kuepfer, Holly Duff, Ann-Marie Binetti, Indu Radhakrishan, Mark Benner and Elizabeth Foreman The Developmental Services Workforce Initiative was formed with the focus to address one aspect of Journey to Belonging, Choice and Inclusion, Namely, Planning for a skilled workforce. This part of the plan is about supporting a skilled, diverse and professional workforce that will help people participate meaningfully in their communities and live good lives. …. Modernizing the DS Core Competencies is one component to support this outcome. Sponsored by People Minded |
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12:30pm | – | 2:00pm |
OADD Awards and AGM
12:30 p.m. Opening Address – OADD Board Chair |
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2:00pm | – | 2:30pm | Break | |
2:30pm | – | 3:45pm | Concurrent Sessions “5” | |
5A
Your Mood Makes My Day: Adjusting Attitudes for SuccessPresenters: Lenore Philion and Sam Byers We all want to be the person who provides high-quality service with a smile on a day-to-day basis, but what happens to the quality of service we are able to provide when we are working while we are feeling fatigued and unwell?
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5B
Technology as a Tool to Support Autonomy and ChoicePresenter: Corey Dalgleish, Shelby Pillon Abstract to come
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5C
How a Microboard can give Families and Agencies Peace of MindPresenters: Karen Bell, Xavier Voordermeet, Kathleen Gifford The DS sector is about to experience a huge generational shift as primary support for people with an intellectual/developmental disability transfers from parents to siblings or other family members. This provides a challenge for siblings trying to fill their parents’ role, and agencies/support workers, in continuing to provide person-directed supports. Microboards are an option that can provide seamless transition from one generation to the next, and also support agencies/support workers in ensuring a person continues to be supported at every stage of their life by a committed group of friends and family.
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4:00pm | – | 4:15pm | Raffles, Prizes and Vendor Bingo!!
In-person and virtual attendees are included but you must be there to win so don’t disconnect |
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We would also like to thank the following sponsors:
- CARF
- MedPro Direct
- HJ Group
- PMB
- Dalikoo
Information on the April 18th, 2023 RSIG seminar day is posted on their web-pages.