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Salvo credits the LIFEspan program at ɫɫ�� Rehab, part of University Health Network (UHN), for helping her to be where she is today — a university graduate who is also living independently in her own apartment.

An innovative program that showcases why donor support is essential to advances in the delivery of health care, LIFEspan is offered to youth with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury who are transitioning from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital into adult rehabilitation care. More than just medically-focused, LIFEspan is designed to offer a wide range of services to help patients stay active, assist them to reach their life goals and to become fully engaged and contributing members of society.

This includes the unique programs designed to help youth with disabilities find work, purchase medical equipment or access supports they otherwise couldn’t afford, and have a plan to optimize their health when their family is no longer able to support them.

These innovative and life-changing programs are made possible thanks to the philanthropic support of David and Lynn Coriat, who saw firsthand the barriers that exist for caregivers trying to plan for the future of their loved ones with childhood-onset disabilities. Their daughter, Jessica, was born with cerebral palsy.

“As a parent with a child with a physical disability, it is always top of mind how your child would cope when parental support is no longer there. This is where a program like LIFEspan is so critical,” said David Coriat. “We were able to financially afford all the benefits that a program like LIFEspan would offer our daughter. But this is where we realized that, if you aren’t fortunate enough to have the financial ability and flexibility to afford those costs, this unique program could be of tremendous benefit.”

For example, thanks to the support of the Coriat family, at LIFEspan, Salvo — along with receiving regular access to the nurses, social workers therapist and specialists — learned to develop life skills such as cooking, budgeting, setting goals, developing strategies to maintain emotional wellbeing, and engaging in regular physical activity.

She participated in several LIFEspan groups to support independence, including the Moving Out Bootcamp, MyHealth group, Self-Management Group and others. She also benefited from other initiatives, like the Coriat Cares Fund that allowed for an electric door opener installed in her home, allowing her to live on her own.

Dr. Mark Bayley is LIFEspan’s medical director and physiatrist-in-chief at UHN’s ɫɫ�� Rehab. He said LIFEspan is innovative and unique because it is one of the few programs that help people with complex needs transition from pediatric to adult rehabilitation care.

“What makes this program special is that we are really focused on the individuals and their needs as they age, and at different life stages,” he said. “We are very focused on independence and how we can support them to be fully engaged in the community, whether that is work or school or just socializing.”

Bayley said there are about 500 to 600 patients in the LIFEspan program, each with a different neurological disability. Their experience begins by filling in a questionnaire to understand what each patient hopes to achieve — whether it is being able to drive, go to school or live on their own. “We try to structure it all around their goals. Every time they come in, we ask about their goals,” he said.

From there the patients will meet the different specialists, such as the medical team, which will address their medication and other health care needs, and the occupational therapist who will assess how independently they can function. This is not only an assessment of how they walk and talk, but also how they can manage in the community, such as their ability to take public transit or pay their own bills.

There is also a social worker who will help the patients to access any resources related to the financial stresses that come from needing specialized equipment for day-to-day care, as well as offer mental health counselling.

Bayley said LIFEspan reflects UHN’s commitment to patient centred care, where the needs of the individuals come first. Every participant has different difficulties and abilities, and it takes a wraparound approach to ensure they can thrive the way they want, including programs like Project SEARCH.

“We are also trying to address some of the things that are perhaps not as important from a pure health perspective. And an example of that is employment,” he said. “Employment is something that people don’t connect with their health, but research shows that if you are not working, your chance of dying early goes up substantially.”

And, Bayley notes, through other donor-supported initiatives like Future Cares, UHN can help provide families with guidance when it comes to all aspects of future care planning — including housing, finances and future caregiving arrangements for when parents or family members may no longer be around to support their loved one.

“These are questions that are really scary for the family,” Bayley said. “I think the importance of employment and what happens when your family is not able to support you, are just two examples of how, with the really generous support of the Coriat family, we are thinking differently about what is important in health.”

Coriat said he philanthropically supports the work UHN is doing because it also teaches its participants that being disabled is not a bad word. “You are different from other people, but at the end of the day, you have to advocate for yourself to break those barriers so that you are considered part of the community,” he said.

As a parent, Frank Salvo, Bianca’s father, said he has seen the transformative change the coaching and skills taught through the LIFEspan program can have on lives.

“It is difficult to do that type of coaching within the family,” he said. “Family time should be for enjoying leisure, playing games, and taking you away from the stress that is involved with all the life coaching. Knowing that there are programs out there that will help them with their life skills, everyday skills like cooking and banking, shopping and managing their own appointments, it is important.”

“I have seen a big improvement in Bianca since LIFEspan. She is living in her own apartment now and, although there is still a little bit of help that we do give her, she is able to cook and make her own meals and do her own laundry.”

She is also able to continue her education. In September, Salvo is set to begin her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education at the University of Guelph-Humber.

“Being independent was really important to me,” said Salvo. “It was really important for me to take part in UHN’s LIFEspan program because I knew I eventually wanted to move out from living with my parents. They prepared me for that, and I feel like without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Donor support is critical to developing programs that help UHN go above and beyond for its patients. Learn more about how you can play your part at .