As of March 21, 2025, MGH’s main entrance on Coxwell Avenue is closed as the next phase of our redevelopment project begins. Patients and visitors can use the new temporary main entrance on Sammon Avenue between Coxwell Avenue and Knight Street. View our campus map.
When Eden and her family moved to Canada from the Philippines in 2021, finding care for her son, Sebastian, was one of her top priorities.
While living in the Philippines, Sebastian had been diagnosed with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and had been exhibiting behaviours such as worrying and excessive repetitive asking. Before their move, he received speech therapy and occupational therapy, but the family needed more support in Canada.
Now 10 years old, Sebastian is being treated by Michael Garron Hospital’s (MGH) Extensive Needs Service (ENS), a new program that launched last year to support children with complex needs and their families.
According to Eden, the program has worked wonders for Sebastian’s development. MGH staff have helped him gain verbal skills and develop techniques to prevent his repetitive asking.
“Before starting his treatment program, Sebastian would constantly ask for a specific toy or activity almost every minute throughout the day. He struggled to understand the concept of time,” Eden says. “After working with the ENS Program, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in his repetitive asking, and he’s becoming more aware of time. He now understands days of the week and how long he needs to wait."
Sebastian has also become more communicative and is able to better express his feelings.
“He speaks to us more. And we were very surprised by it,” Eden says. “He greets me when he comes home from school, saying ‘hi mommy’ the moment he comes in. It’s amazing because he hadn’t done that before.”
Sebastian is one of many children who have been supported by MGH’s ENS since the program’s launch.
MGH’s program is part of a larger ENS network throughout Ontario that is led by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, McMaster Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and is funded by the provincial government.
ENS provides wraparound clinical services for children and youth with multiple complex neurodevelopmental, behavioural, medical and physical needs, as well as social vulnerabilities.
"ENS is designed to reduce barriers to much-needed treatment for some of the most vulnerable children in the community,” says Jenna McLeod, Manager of Child and Youth Mental Health Services at MGH. “Families who come to ENS have typically tried to seek care elsewhere, but did not have their needs met and require access to more intensive health and developmental services.”
ENS patients are connected to a team of MGH professionals, including social workers, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, behavioural therapists and psychiatrists.
The team works together to provide tailored support based on the individual needs of each child and their families.
Services are individualized and can include prescribing or adjusting medications, behaviour therapy, occupational therapy, social work – including counselling for parents and caregivers – and other specialized interventions to support children and youth to build skills such as communication and self-regulation.
Eden shares that it was the individualized care that made the difference in Sebastian’s treatment.
“In other programs that we were enrolled in before we found ENS, the treatment was more rigid and the same for each child,” Eden says.
“The staff at MGH are great at communicating, talk to me about progress and areas of concern, and allow me to share my own ideas and thoughts,” she says. “They understand what Sebastian needs.”
Visit our ENS webpage to learn more about this program, eligibility and the referral process.
