T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A
Department of Physical Therapy
Faculty of Medicine
212-2177 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
Phone: 604.822.7392
Fax: 604.822.1870
October 25, 2009
Lesley Du Toit
Deputy Minister, Children & Family Development
P.O. Box 9721
Station PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC V8W 9S2
Dear Deputy Minister Du Toit:
I am writing to you as one of many concerned advocates for the needs of infants and young children in the province of BC. The proposed closure of the Provincial Advisor’s Office of the Infant Development Program (IDP) of BC is a serious mistake that will have far-reaching and dire consequences for the families and infants being served by this highly lauded early intervention program that has served as a model throughout North America for more than 30 years.
I speak both from my long experience as a pediatric physiotherapist as well as from my perspective as a researcher who has studied and written extensively about the positive benefits of early intervention for infants at risk and their families.
In May 2004, Dana Brynelsen, Provincial Advisor of the IDP, received an honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia for her many and sustained contributions to enhancing the lives of infants with special needs and their families during her long tenure in that office. In her acceptance speech for that prestigious honour, Dr. Brynelsen remarked: “The Infant Development Program of BC grew out of the birth of a baby with Down syndrome. When Pamela Vickers was born in l969 there were no early intervention services for her or her family. Conventional professional advice at that time was to institutionalize infants with intellectual disability. Her mother started the first Infant Development Program in Canada and to date these programs in BC have served nearly 50,000 families. Every life has the potential to create great things. Anything is possible.”
During her 35 years as the IDP Provincial Advisor, Dr. Brynelsen has worked tirelessly to enhance the potential of lives of thousands of BC infants and their families. Having worked directly with a number of these families and seen their children flourish as a result of this family-centered early intervention approach, I believe that the proposed closure of the provincial IDP office will have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of future infants at risk and that this decision must be reversed as soon as possible.
As Dana Brynelsen eloquently stated in her UBC acceptance speech: “Every life has the potential to create great things. Anything is possible.” It is because of Dr. Brynelsen’s leadership at the helm of the provincial office that IDP has become an exemplary model of early intervention that is highly regarded and recognized in both Canada and the US.
Please remember that “anything is possible” – and that includes reinstating the Provincial Advisor’s Office of the Infant Development Program. I implore you to reconsider this decision for the continued and future benefit of the thousands of British Columbian children and families who will then be able to continue to flourish and reach their full potentials.
Sincerely,
Susan R. Harris, PhD, PT, FCAHS
Professor Emerita, Department of Physical Therapy &
Associate Member, Department of Pediatrics
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