History
The Developmental Disabilities Program (DDP) was established within Western University's Department of Psychiatry in 1988.
The Program is dedicated to clinical education, and the facilitation and fostering of scholarly research in the field of Developmental Disabilities.
Mandate & Overarching Functions
- Academic leadership: Provide academic leadership to inculcate the attitudes, skills and knowledge of the discipline of developmental disabilities.
- Development: Contribute to the development of expertise in developmental disabilities of both programs and people through collaboration, outreach and education across the Southwestern Ontario.
- Resource management: Provide a mechanism for recruiting and retaining psychiatrists, physicians and allied health clinicians while providing a forum for decision making, regarding human and financial resources and operational and strategic planning in collaboration with other partners.
- Communication: Provide a forum for communication between members from diverse backgrounds and agencies.
- Advocacy: Function in an advocacy role for the needs of individuals with developmental handicaps by advocating for the academic development of developmental disabilities and dual diagnosis within the Departments of Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Paediatrics, allied health disciplines and both university and college health sciences and human sciences programs.
- Prevention: Strive to develop ways and means for the early detection of developmental disabilities (secondary prevention) and psychiatric complications (tertiary prevention).
