Our Origins

It all started in October 1982 when a small group of concerned community members formed a non-profit society, the Upper Fraser Valley Neurological Society (UFVNS), to bring services for special needs children to the Upper Fraser Valley. At the time, Variety Treatment Centre in Surrey (now The Centre for Child Development) provided the only available services — outreach physiotherapy services — three days a week at the Clearbrook Community Club.

The original board of directors and those who followed were tireless advocates. As a result, services soon expanded to include occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. In 1988 the Ministry of Health began funding UFVNS to provide therapy services. The “Abbotsford Children’s Treatment Centre” was created and Dr. Lionel Traverse joined as Medical Director. Children from all over the Upper Fraser Valley began to access services.

In 1990 we officially became the “Fraser Valley Child Development Centre (FVCDC).” The Ministry of Health began making greater investments in community-based therapy services for children, causing yet more expansion of the organization.

The 1990s was characterized by continual growth, and the Supported Child Care Program took root and the Infant Development Program joined the Centre. By 2000 more than 45 FVCDC staff members were serving over 1,000 children and their families from three locations in the Fraser Valley.

Today over 105 staff members — with an astonishing array of skills and expertise — are serving 2,300 children in Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope, the Fraser Canyon, and surrounding communities.