Understanding your Services with the Centre 

To get the most out of your child’s first appointment, we recommend you:

• Write down any questions or concerns you have and bring them to the assessment
• Call a few days before the appointment to confirm the date and time
• Bring a pad and pen, or use a note-taking application on your phone, to record information you receive during the meeting, which may include recommendations from staff or details about your child’s assessment
• Bring along a family member, if you like, who can provide support and help take notes
• Ask questions, especially if there is something you do not understand or if there are medical terms or words you are not familiar with
• Make sure you are clear about the next steps with Niagara Children’s Centre staff – for example, individual therapy sessions, a re-check appointment, a group session, etc.
• Ask Niagara Children’s Centre staff any questions or concerns you have about the assessment process

We look forward to working with you! Your child’s first appointment at the Centre is an important first step in your child’s care, and this section provides information to help you prepare.

Your first appointment is an opportunity for you and your child to meet your assessment team, and for the team to do a preliminary assessment of your child’s strengths and needs. You will remain in the room with your child during the appointment, and you are encouraged to ask questions and provide information about your child. You are welcome to invite other professionals involved with your child’s care to attend the assessment. At the end, the team will summarize their observations, provide you with their recommendations, and discuss next steps.

We use a variety of different therapies and approaches to service. All therapies and approaches to services are based on:

• The best available evidence as to what is the most effective approach to your child’s particular needs
• The goals you have for your child
• The results of your child’s assessment
• You and your child’s readiness skills or ability to participate
• The progress your child is making towards their goals based on the model of service they are receiving

The Centre uses a Response to Intervention or Tiered Approach to therapy. This involves starting with more generalized strategies and regularly monitoring your child’s progress. We only move on to more individual models if the less-intensive models are not working.

Service Delivery Models may include:

• Home programming
• Parent/caregiver education, coaching, and training (group or individual sessions)
• Consultations to provide strategies to be implemented at childcare centres and schools or community agencies; and/or
• One-to-one work with your child in group or individual sessions

We will discuss with you the approach/model most suitable for your child and develop a service plan at one of your initial appointments. Your clinician(s) will regularly monitor your child’s progress to determine if your child is meeting their goals and/or to determine if another service delivery model is more suitable and/or referrals to other agencies may be appropriate for your child.

The Centre embraces the “F-words” as the goals and objectives that we work toward helping children achieve:

For more information regarding goal setting, please visit CanChild’s goal setting resources. 

Telepractice (Virtual Care) refers to the use of information and technologies to deliver health care services when the client and clinician are in different physical locations. The following information refers to video-conferencing on either the Zoom Healthcare platform or Microsoft Teams that is “live” and interactive.

Your child will be discharged from particular services, the Centre as a whole or your child may be transitioned to services provided in their school or other agencies for any of the following reasons:

• Your child/family moves out of the Niagara Region
• Where applicable and possible, our clinicians can facilitate a transfer to similar services within Ontario.
• Your child’s skills are within normal limits, your child has achieved the goals you and your clinician(s) have established, or your child no longer meets the eligibility requirements of the specific service.
• Your child reaches the age limit of particular services.
• Your child would be best serviced by another agency or by a service model that is only provided by another agency (e.g. children’s mental health services).
• You decline assessment or treatment at any time during the course of intervention.
• Your child is involved with private services that do not meet our concurrent therapy policies (private clinician(s) do not keep in contact with Centre clinician(s) when contraindicated by their regulated health college; private therapy approach is not compatible or conflicts with the Centre therapy approach).
• You do not respond to phone calls, emails, or letters from Centre staff. It is your responsibility to keep your contact information up to date with your clinician(s) or by calling Reception.
• Any situation as described in our attendance and cancellation policy.

In all cases, you will be kept informed of any plans to discharge or transition your child’s services.

In many cases, children may be re-referred for particular services as their needs or circumstances change.

If your child had been discharged from a particular service due to attendance or cancellation policies, they will be placed on the regular waitlist for that service if a re-referral is made and they meet eligibility criteria.

As a client of the Niagara Children’s Centre, you may have access to our online Family Portal. The Family Portal is supported by our electronic health record system called “AlayaCare”. It gives you secure, real-time access to your child’s appointment details, reports, and care information—at home, at work, or on the go.

Families must review the Privacy Policy and information around electronic communication in our Family Guide before getting Portal access.

If you are new to Niagara Children’s Centre, you will be given the option to join the Family Portal at the time of your Intake Call.

If you are an existing client, you must ask for a secure access code from your clinician to gain access.

If you have a login, click here to access the Niagara Children’s Centre Family Portal:  

If you have any questions, please email familyportal@niagarachildrenscentre.com

Setting up the Family Portal

Access must be requested using an online form. Your clinician will provide you with a link to this form, along with a secure access code. 

Try the App!

The Family Portal can be accessed on a browser on any device. We also invite you to try the AlayaCare Family Portal App, available in the Google Play or Apple App Store.