MARCH 1986

Founded by our first Executive Director Jim Reaume under the name Durham & Northumberland Community Support Program. LRCSS originally served children and adults in Northumberland and adults in Durham Region.

The agency started in lockstep with the deinstitutionalization movement driven by caregiver and advocacy groups seeking inclusion and a desire to bring their family and community members home and back into society.

OCTOBER 3, 1989

The agency was eventually divided regionally separating the Northumberland and Durham branches. With it came a contest for a brand new name in Durham with the winner being announced on Oct. 3, 1989. We would be called Lake Ridge Community Support Services. Fun fact the naming contest was won by Karen Lahay who’s still with the agency in 2026.

MARCH 2, 1990

Lake Ridge Community Support Services incorporated as a registered nonprofit making our new name official. At the time there was no such thing as Lakeridge Health.

FEBRUARY 10, 1992

Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis was founded in 1992. Our very own Jim Reaume was on the very first Board of Directors for the agency. 32 years later the association would play a critical role in making ABA a regulated profession in Ontario.

JANUARY 2005

In 2005 Lake Ridge Community Support Services launched an IBI (Intensive Behaviour Intervention) program in partnership with Kinark, Durham Mental Health and Tri County Support Services (now Canopy). This doubled the size of the agency.

MAY 2, 2006

In May 2006 we launched the first ever Autism Fun Fair inspired by the Toonie for Autism campaign. After running it for several years we took a break but have sinced revived the event as an annual community engagement and fundraising initiative.

JULY 1, 2011

Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) officially launched establishing a new, centralized regional system to act as the single point of access for adult developmental services and supports. This became the access point for adults seeking funded services at LRCSS and still is to this day.

APRIL 26, 2013

2013 marked the start of an annual professional development tradition, the Stone Soup ABA Conference. Our speaker was Dr. Peter Sturmey and Dr. Maurice Feldman acted as our Accredited Continuing Education Provider. Today the conference runs virtually and is opened to attendees from all across North America and beyond.

DECEMBER 2013

Our founding Executive Director Jim Reaume retired after 27 years at the helm. Jim left a lasting legacy immortalized in the Jim Reame Award in honour of his dedication, values and contributions. The award is given to the clinicians who best represent Jim’s values and commitment.

JUNE 2017

The Ontario Autism Program (OAP) officially launched in 2017 as a means to provide family-centred decision making, individualized intervention and the possibility to choose a specific private provider. The program never really got off the ground after the change in provincial government in 2018. This set the stage for a new era in how families would access services across the province.

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

LRCSS has always been committed to professional growth of our staff. 2017 marked the first year LRCSS provided training for staff as an Accredited Continuing Education Provider through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. This offered us immense flexibility and opportunities to educate our staff through events like Stone Soup. That year our speaker was Dr. Patrick Friman, Ph.D, ABPP. Up until that point trainings happened through Brock University.

DECEMBER 17, 2019

Minister of Community, Children & Social Services Todd Smith announced the changes to the OAP. This marked a massive shift away from an agency funded model to a direct funded model we know today. Despite the timelines provided it would not officially launch for families until 2021. LRCSS had already begun the process of preparing for this pivotal transition from funded to fee based service.

APRIL 1, 2020

LRCSS launches the #ABAforAll fundraising initiative to help reduce costs of needs-based ABA programs through individuals, local business and events.

JUNE 2021

The Ontario Autism Program – Durham (OAP-D) partnership, which includes Grandview Kids, Lake Ridge Community Support Services (LRCSS), Resources for Exceptional Children & Youth (RFECY), and the Regional Municipality of Durham, officially launched and began piloting its integrated services including Caregiver Mediated Early Years, Urgent Response and Entry to School Programs.

OCTOBER 30, 2023

LRCSS officially launches S.A.F.E. Hub a service designed to provide sexual health education for individuals and to train mediators on how to support individuals with autism and intellectual disbabilies.

MARCH 20, 2024

Spearheaded by our very own Karen Chartier (retired Clinical Director) the Regional Municipality of Durham officially recognized WBAD when the Regional Chair and CEO, John Henry proclaimed March 20, 2024, as World Behaviour Analysis Day in the Durham Region.

JULY 1, 2024

Behaviour Analysts in Ontario become regulated under the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO). LRCSS transitions our staff from BACB to CPBAO certifications.