Developmental Disabilities Association of Vancouver Richmond

The Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA) was founded in
1952 by a small group of parents who wanted their children to
receive an education without living in an institution.
As their children grew, so did DDA! The seeds of our community child care, residential, day programs, and employment services came from these humble beginnings. Infant development services started at DDA
as new children with disabilities were born and, decades later, we continue our partnership with the University of British Columbia to ensure that we stay current as developments emerge in the field of early childhood development. Our inclusive childcare services evolved from our special needs child care centers, developed in the days when generic child care centers did not accept toddlers with special needs.
With our sound foundation maximizing early childhood development, all children now benefit at today’s inclusive DDA centers. After founding the Oakridge School for children with special needs in Vancouver, DDA gifted their educational facility to the School Board when the B.C. government passed inclusive education legislation.
Under the leadership of successive Boards of Directors, DDA has been on the forefront of innovation in community living services for several decades, and this remains true today in our embrace of technologies that assist the people who we support to reach their goals of life-long learning and greater independence. Over the past 20 years, DDA has developed a sound assistive and information technology infrastructure that supports our ommunications, Family Support and other program areas. Our services to adults and children with developmental disabilities support over 1,800 individuals and their families every year at 50 programs in the community and are based on the most recent research available. As Treasuer on the DDA Board your goal is to (along with others) create a community where everyone belongs.