Resource Centre

Preparing for Adult Life: The LIFEspan Service

A Partnership Initiative of Bloorview Kids Rehab and Toronto Rehab

The transition from pediatric to adult health-care services is often difficult for young people and their families.  It has often been very hard to find health care providers (doctors, nurses and rehab professionals) who work at adult health care centres and understand the needs of someone with a childhood-onset disability such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophies and brain or spinal cord injuries that occurs during childhood. 

Since disabilities don’t stop at age 18, Bloorview Kids Rehab has partnered with Toronto Rehab to develop a service that aims to help with the transition from pediatric to adult care as well as to improve coordination of services throughout the adult lifespan of our clients. The LIFEspan Service is the new model of care being developed for people with childhood-onset disabilities. 

Different than other transition models that tend to focus on pediatric settings, the LIFEspan model involves a true partnership between pediatric (Bloorview) and adult (Toronto Rehab) providers. Recognizing that you can’t have successful transition without adult services to which the young adult can move and continue to receive services, the development of an adult service model with the potential for lifelong access is a key feature of the LIFEspan model. Additionally, the LIFEspan model supports the need for early preparation and skill building throughout childhood to help young people and their families be ready when it is time to transfer to adult services. The Growing Up Ready framework (PDF: 74 KB) is a key element of the overall LIFEspan model.

To test the model, Bloorview and Toronto Rehab established a demonstration service for clients with Cerebral Palsy and Acquired Brain Injury. The demonstration service involved clients seen through two clinics at Bloorview Kids Rehab that were 18 years of age and over and ready for transfer to an adult service provider. The interdisciplinary LIFEspan team began seeing clients through the demonstration service in November of 2006.

With some dedicated funding approved through our local Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network in early 2008, we are able to continue this service and increase it to allow access to individuals with CP and childhood-ABI no longer being serviced by Bloorview (i.e., young adults and adults from the community). We eventually plan to open the service to other populations, such as young adults with Spina Bifida and spinal cord injury (planned for 2009), muscular dystrophies and musculoskeletal conditions (in subsequent years).

The LIFEspan service is offered at Toronto Rehab’s Rumsey Centre site, conveniently located right next door to Bloorview (across the parking lot) at 345 Rumsey Road. 

For further information, please contact: 

Joanne Maxwell
Tel: 416-597-3422, extension 5390

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