1991

March
• "Oxford County Study of Services for Special Needs Children" by Dean Darnell Consutants, identifies speech and language service gaps in Oxford County

• Oxford County Children's Services Planning Committee Establishes Task force to address gaps in S&L services. Sharen Heath a parent Task Force member

April
• Oxford County Board of Education announces $600,000 in Special Education cuts. All Speech and Language services eliminated effective January 1992

• Parents and professionals make presentations to Oxford School Board but school board argues that they have no mandate to provide these services and that they do not need to provide services. Suggest that Sharen contacts provincial government. •Sharen Heath connects with Professor Geneses Warr-Leeper, Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Western Ontario

May-June
• Parents and professionals rally, meet with Minister of Education, Marion Boyd. Minister agrees that there is no mandate or requirement for school boards to deliver the services, and that school board services are determined locally.

• Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) produce video on impact of cuts

November
• M.P.P. Kimble Sutherland arranges for Ontario Inter-Ministerial Committee on School Health Supports to visit Oxford County and meet with parents, professionals and school board representatives
 

1992

January
• Inter-Ministerial Committee responds with a report saying "keep up the good work" and encouraging agencies and parents to find a local solution.

February
• Perth County Board of Education cuts Speech and Language Services

Summer
• Oxford Speech and Language Task Force designs alternative service delivery models. Impossible to get agreement amongst agencies.

Fall
• Provincial Coalition for Equity Education formed by groups concerned about service cuts (sponsored by OSSTF)

• Sharen Heath meets Enid Varga (Chief Speech - Language Pathologist with the Halton Board of Education) who is concerned that more boards may cut services

• Oakville - Trafalgar Hospital cuts speech and language services for children
 

1993

Winter
• Parents and professionals from across the province contact Sharen with concerns about threatened cuts to speech and language services in schools and hospitals. There is no mandate or requirement for any agency to provide speech and language services to children and cuts to hospital and school budgets make speech and language services a target for service cuts.

Spring
• Coalition for Equity Education expands mandate as school boards threaten cuts to other programs, including Junior Kindergarten, and loses Speech and Language focus.

• Sharen and Enid Varga attend meeting of Tri-Ministry Committee on Services for Children and Youth to present concerns about cuts and present case for schools providing speech and language services.

Fall
• Sharen, Genese Warr-Leeper, Enid Varga and others consider founding a provincial organization and hold a meeting at Sharen's kitchen table

• Barbershoppers " Harmonize for Speech Fund" approached for assistance in founding organization
 

1994

Feb.
• Application for Legal Incorporation of the Ontario Association for Families of Children with Communication Disorders (OAFCCD) started.

April
• First formal Board Meeting of OAFCCD

September
• First Chapters formed in Halton and Huron in response to announcements of speech and language service cuts

October
• Inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Oakville

November
• Legal Incorporation approved
 

1995

January
• Application submitted to Revenue Canada for Charitable Status

February
• OAFCCD members meet with Jill Hutcheon, Assistant Deputy Minister for Ministry of Education and Training (MET) at Ontario Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (OSLA) Schools Workshop

April
• Information packages about OAFCCD and the importance of speech and language services mailed to all school boards

• OAFCCD starts to nominate representatives to school board Special Education Advisory Committees (SEAC)

Fall
• Provincial government announces funding cuts to transfer payment agencies, including hospitals and school boards

October
• Second OAFCCD AGM held at OSLA Conference with presentation from representatives of three Ministries

November
• Revenue Canada request additional legal objective.

• Application made for Supplementary Letters Patent.

• Peel Hospital proposes to eliminate out-patient services including Speech and Language services for children
 

1996

February 1996
• OAFFCD presents Provincial model to representatives from Inter-Ministerial Committee on Services to Children and Youth

Winter-Spring
• Provincial education and hospital funding reduced - school boards and hospital plan service cuts

April-June
• OAFFCD members make presentations to school board and hospital trustees across the province. It is clear that OAFCCD members can not fight every school board and every hospital to maintain services, and that the solution is to get the province to require provision of the services.

• Request to maintain services mailed to all school boards

• OAFCCD drafts a provincial model of speech and language services

May
• Provincial Government announce $20 million in annual funding for preschool Speech and Language services

• Members of OAFCCD very excited about the news!!!

August
• Supplementary Letters Patent approved

September
• District Health Councils (DHC) start planning process for preschool speech and language funds. OAFCCD representatives join many of the committees.

• OAFCCD mails provincial model to all DHCs

October
• Charitable Status approved by Revenue Canada

November
• Third AGM held with presentation on preschool funding by Marlene Stein from Ministry of Health

December
• Mailing to all DHCs with parent suggestions for enhancements to preschool services
 

1997

January
• Ontario government announces major reform involving schools. Responsibility for education funding moved off property tax, exchange of municipal responsibilities, amalgamation of school boards from 174 to 69

Jan-Feb
• OAFCCD members meet with senior representatives of Ministry of Education and Training (MET) and present case for speech and language services in the school and share provincial model and Continuum document,

March
• OAFCCD submit SLP Ratio analysis paper to MET

April
• Several more school boards plan S&L service cuts and OAFCCD members make presentations to Trustees

• Announcement by Premier of first approved Preschool Speech and Language Service Plans in Peel, Ottawa, and Lanark

May
• OAFCCD leaders present at Canadian Association of Speech - Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) Conference in Toronto

• Government announces details of education reform and establishes Education Funding Model Task Group

September
• New education legislation (BILL 160) announced and results in strong opposition from Teachers

October
• Fourth AGM held at OSLA conference with presentation by Jim Brown from the Education Improvement Commission

• OAFCCD increases efforts to obtain funding for association activities

December
• Roy Hill Foundation grant of $10,000 and TDS Grant of $2,000 received by OAFCCD
 

1998

January
• Ministry of Education announces new education Funding model and nine major grants, including protected funding for special education

• Foundation Grant specifically includes funding for professionals such as Speech-Language Pathologists

March
• Ministry of Health makes series of announcements regarding funding approvals for Preschool service enhancements

May
• Criteria and application process for Intensive Support Amount (ISA) Grant announced

• OAFCCD hold Annual General Meeting in Kitchener

June
• ISA applications completed and submitted by school boards and it seems that there may be an opportunity for school boards to obtain funding for Speech-Language Pathologists through the ISA applications

July
• OAFCCD representatives meet with Minister of Education and Training, Dave Johnson

• Verification of ISA Grant Applications commences

September
• OAFCCD Newsletter calls for letter writing campaign by members to Minister of Education

• Minister of Education and Training appoints Task Force to review ISA criteria

October
• ISA Grants for each school board announced

• OAFCCD awarded $25,750 grant by Ronald McDonalds Children's Charities of Canada
 

1999

January
• OAFCCD receives letter from Minister Dave Johnson indicating review of Policy/Program Memorandum 81(PPM 81) to commence

April
• New draft criteria for ISA Grants announced and funding levels maintained for 1999-2000 school year. However, students with speech and language disorders specifically excluded from ISA eligibility

May
• Provincial election called by government

• OAFCCD Annual General Meeting held in Toronto

• OAFCCD reps invited to participate in development of Transition Planning Guides for students over 14 years with speech and language impairments

June
• Conservative Government re-elected, Janet Ecker appointed as new Minister of Education

August
• Steering Committee for Review of PPM 81 commences work

October
• Ministry of Education host first meeting of Task Groups involved in the review of PPM 81. OAFCCD representative participates in monthly Speech and Language Task Group meetings
 

2000

Winter
• OAFCCD starts development of a video on the impact of speech and language impairments on children and their families

January
• Minister of Education announces additional funding for special education and that the Ministry will develop program standards for all Exceptionalities, to be developed over next three years

Spring
• Families in Ottawa-Carleton fight proposed cuts to speech and language services by school board

May
• Provincial government presents annual Budget which includes:
$3 Million dollars in additional funding for preschool services to five year olds
$7 million dollars for infant hearing screening program
$70 million dollars in additional special education funding for early intervention services and services for students with speech and language disorders and learning disabilities

• OAFCCD Annual Meeting held in Ottawa

• OAFCCD Video completed and shown at AGM and at special event in Tillsonburg Ontario

• OAFCCD announces Trillium Foundation Funding of $45,000 over three years

• Final reports of PPM 81 Task Groups completed by members

Summer
• OAFCCD reps participate in meeting at Ministry of Health on transition planning for children leaving preschool speech and language services and starting school