WHO WE ARE

Program Mandate

The DDP unit is an 18-bed active treatment program for individuals between the ages of 18 and 64. We provide multi-modal assessments, person-centered care and a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic on site for individuals with Dual Diagnosis in Southwestern Ontario. The term "Dual Diagnosis", in this instance, refers to clients who have:

1. A Developmental Handicap, a term in Ontario's 1974 Developmental Services Act that refers to mental retardation and related childhood onset disorders. The term used most commonly in Ontario today is Developmental Disability. Mental Retardation, in turn, is a DSM-IV diagnosis defined by three particular criteria:
   1. significant sub-average intellectual functioning (IQ lower than either 70 or 75).
   2. significant limitation in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following:
      Communication
      Self care
      Social/interpersonal skills
      Work
      Leisure
      Use of community resources
      Self direction
      Health
      Safety
      Functional academic skills
   3. onset before 18 years of age, and
      
2. a mental health care need. This includes a psychiatric disorder or a severe behaviour problem. The more general term reflects the difficulty, some psychiatrists say impossibility, in diagnosing mental illness in persons with severe or profound mental retardation.