What is Lansdowne?
Lansdowne Children’s Centre is one of Ontario’s 21 Children’s Treatment Centres [CTCs] and a member of Empowered Kids Ontario (EKO). Lansdowne provides services and supports for over 3,000 children and youth annually, and their families.
Lansdowne provides child development resources, supports and services for communication, developmental and physical needs. Our service region includes Brantford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties, and the Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Lansdowne currently operates sites in Brantford, Caledonia, Dunnville and Simcoe.
Our Vision
Working together to realize optimal potential for infants, children and youth.
Our Mission
Providing safe, accessible and quality family-centred services
for infants, children and youth with physical, developmental and communication needs.
Our Values
Respect, Inclusion, Diversity, Empowerment and Safety. [RIDES].
We are committed to safety, accessibility and accountable teamwork.
Lansdowne Children's Centre primarily delivers government funded rehabilitation services for children with physical, communications or developmental needs due to conditions including:
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Autism
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Cerebral Palsy
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Spina Bifida
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Chromosomal disorders
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Neurological conditions
Lansdowne is a SmartStart Hub delivering child development, treatment, respite and recreation services, funded by provincial Ministries and the Lansdowne Children's Centre Foundation.
Our wide-range of resrouces, programs and supports provide one‐stop access for client efficiency. By working with Lansdowne our clients can reduce travel time, coordinate multiple services, develop relationships and expect a level of consistency in communications and service delivery.
Our Story
The origins of Lansdowne Children's Centre go back to 1952 in Brantford, Ontario, when a group of seven families whose children lived with cerebral palsy met on a part-time basis in the Red Cross Rooms on William Street, forming the Parents Council for Cerebral Palsy.
Over the next decade this group would evolve to become the Brant County Cerebral Palsy Association, partnering with the Rotary Club of Brantford in 1960 to open the Crippled Children/Cerebral Palsy Centre at the Brantford General Hospital.
In 1973, the Centre moved to the Clinical Division and Educational Program location at Preston Boulevard, housed in one wing of Lansdowne School.
In 1974, the Lansdowne Children's Centre became incorporated and was recognized as a Group K Hospital under the Ministry of Health, offering outpatient services in physical medicine therapies.
The Centre began receiving funding from the Ministry of Health and the Cerebral Palsy Association altered its role to one of financial support.
Infant Development Program and Special Services at Home Program transferred their administration to Lansdowne Children's Centre in 1985, and became an integral part of our services.
Our services expanded again in 1987, adding a Respite Care Program and School Health Support Services Program, and again in 1991 with the addition of the Early Integration Program.
In 1997 the Ontario Ministry of Health named Lansdowne the lead agency for the Brant Preschool Speech and Language Program.
In 1998, on June 25th, Lansdowne Children's Centre celebrated the Grand Opening of a new building at
39 Mount Pleasant Street in Brantford.
1999 marked Lansdowne's 25th Anniversary as a Children's Treatment Centre (CTC).
On July 7th in 2000, Lansdowne celebrated the unveiling and dedication of the Joanne Renahan Children's Courtyard. Joanne, her son Stephan and husband Peter were in attendance to mark the event.
In 2002 the Kid’s Country Inn was opened, introducing a weekend respite program for medically fragile and/or technologically dependent children and youth.
In June 2004, the Early Autism Program was transferred to Lansdowne Children’s Centre, helping children to develop their skills in the areas of play, communication, socialization and self-help
In 2007, special flexible respite care services were started for families caring for children or youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
In 2014 Lansdowne introduced Holistic Integrated Teams [HITs] to help centralize family communication and coordinate services and supports for clients with multiple service needs.
In 2019 Lansdowne expanded its regional coverage after assuming management of service provider contracts for Haldimand and Norfolk School Based Rehab Services (2020).
In 2020 Haldimand-Norfolk Preschool Speech & Language was also added, creating a unified Brant- Haldimand-Norfolk program managed by Lansdowne Children's Centre.
Also in 2020, Lansdowne assumed operation of the Alternate Care family respite program.
Over 20 years removed from the grand opening celebration, the expansion of services at Lansdowne and growth of the service and support teams have generated concerns about the property's capacity.
In 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Lansdowne Children's Centre quickly 'adapted' service delivery to a virtual model to accommodate children and youth clients and their families.
Combining virtual and in-person care as a hybrid model allowed Lansdowne to stay connected and serve families. The virtual option also helps to address main-site crowding and parking/accessibility concerns, and allowed Lansdowne to deliver service to over 3,000 children and youth and their families.
In 2021, Lansdowne celebrated the dedication of new service locations in Haldimand and Norfolk counties. The additional locations are opened in Caledonia, Simcoe and Dunnville, improving Haldimand-Norfolk access to rehabilitation services.
Growing With
Our Community
Lansdowne Children's Centre is pursuing opportunity to build a new home in Brantford, to help address urgent capacity concerns and waiting times. Our goal is to provide our community and region a new, state-of-the-art children's treatment centre.
Learn more about our needs FOR THE KIDS
and how you can lend your support, investing in our community and in their future.