Our Mission, Vision and Values

Vision

First Words supports families of preschool children (birth to Junior Kindergarten eligibility) of Ottawa and Renfrew County to reach their optimal communication development.

First Words is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services. All services are offered at no charge to families.

To facilitate increased awareness, prevention, early identification, and intervention for early speech, language, and overall communication development for families of preschool children in Ottawa and Renfrew County.

1. Services are available in both official languages and when necessary, in other languages to support diverse communities.
2. Clinical and health promotion activities are decentralized and accessible to all (multiple locations in the community, virtual/hybrid services, cultural interpreters available).
3. We are family and client-centered. We welcome, respect, and value parents as partners and agents of change in their child’s communication development.
4. We respect the unique needs and values of the families of our diverse community.
5. We measure our services and outcomes through the use of evaluation tools.
6. We foster and promote partnerships and an integrated service delivery model.
7. We consult multiple sources of data and assess community readiness and parent satisfaction (parent survey, steering committee, working groups, community of practice, focus groups) to determine activities and locations.