Thursday, May 07, 2020
We hear you! CHEO offers emergency respite services to families during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ottawa, May 7, 2020 — Families with a child or teenager with autism and other special needs have made a plea for extra help during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the side of families, CHEO has launched emergency respite services to deliver what these families want – extra support. These measures will be in place until early summer and then will be reevaluated.
Respite in this case is defined as care delivered by CHEO clinicians, in the place of family caregivers so they can have a temporary break from the responsibilities of providing care to a family member at home. These are highly trained health-care professionals with experience working with children and youth who have special needs.
The sessions are at CHEO, free and allotted in 4-6 hour blocks, Monday to Friday. At launch, the program can accommodate up to 35 children or youth per week – focused on meeting individual needs while respecting physical distancing. CHEO will consider growing the program and reaching more children with broader special needs across the region, if there is demand.
CHEO uses a clinically-informed decision aide to fill the program. Eligibility is not diagnosis-specific, rather it is needs-based and the goal is to help as children and youth with special needs as many possible. Considerations include the following factors (not limited to):- Behaviour and level of distress of the child or youth
- Family stress such as single parent, housing issues
- Psychosocial factors such as increased isolation, cultural barriers
- Access to support including family, friends, community organizations, spiritual support
When onsite, every hospital safety precaution is in place including screening, physical distancing, hand hygiene and universal masking. CHEO clinicians also have full access to Emergency support services if required.
Anyone interested in CHEO’s respite care for children and youth with special needs, please email RespiteSpecialNeeds@cheo.on.ca.
Quotes:
“Thanks to your amazing team – my child was able to get out of the house, interact with someone other than his parents, play with new toys, run and be a kid! All while we had some much needed time to focus on other areas of our lives we’ve been neglecting.” –Emily, parent of child with special needs
“Emergency respite does not replace therapy for special needs children. This programming focuses on delivering fun, recreational activities with children and youth so that family caregivers can have a temporary break from the responsibilities of providing fulltime care at home during this pandemic.” – Monique Lugli, Vice-President, Child Development and Community Services, CHEO
“At a time like this, we need to help family caregivers to keep caregiving. This program will help adults stay healthy, so that they can continue keeping kids safe.” – Taylor Johansen, Manager, CHEO Autism Program
Media contact
Paddy Moore, CHEO
pmoore@cheo.on.ca, 613-769-5553
About CHEO
Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, children’s treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care — where, when and how it’s needed. CHEO is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario.
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