Communication is an ongoing, evolving part of parenting a child with ASD. This workshop will introduce families to naturalistic communication strategies that can easily be incorporated into everyday family routines. The facilitator will assist caregivers to identify a developmentally appropriate communication goal.

Following their participation in the Vocational Training introductory course, youth will have an opportunity to apply their newly learned skills in a small community project selected by the group.

The project will address a community need such as expanding a green space in a non-profit organization; art mural; building items that can be used for play and learning, and/or an innovative idea that will address a community need.

Participants will have the opportunity to practice their skills in the area of resume creation and interviewing, while also developing further knowledge about their community. The project team will work on skills such as planning, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills.

An honorarium will be provided to each selected participant for this project. One to one job coaching and supervision will be provided by an ABA Therapist and a BCBA.

This workshop will support youth on the spectrum that are looking to get into the workforce for the first time. It is geared to youth between the ages of 15-17 who are able to attend independently and participate in a small group setting via a virtual platform or in class.

Youth will learn where to look for job postings, different resume styles, develop the skills for creating a cover letter and resume, Interview tips, common interview questions and how to be prepared for an interview.

Best suited for youth on the spectrum that are looking to get into the workforce for the first time. Youth will be required to attend independently and participate in a small group setting or via virtual platform.

Now what? Toileting skills are more than just learning to void in the toilet. Let’s talk about next steps:
– initiating to go independently
– males learning to stand to pee
– learning to wipe self
– nighttime dryness

To name a few…

Toileting is an essential milestone for all individuals to acquire as this skill is a steppingstone to the development of other skills. This workshop aims to support parents and caregivers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to teach toileting skills; the workshop includes teaching:

• Toileting phases
• Research supported strategies
• Child centered approach
• Collecting and interpreting data
• Reinforcement and troubleshooting

This group will run for 6 consecutive weeks with a facilitator mediating the discussions on various topics. Aimed at getting youths to socialize, providing platforms to build social skills, and using technology to do it!

This workshop has 3 group sessions across 2 months with 2 follow up individual sessions with a BCBA.

Session 1: Review ABA strategies on teaching self help skills
Session 2: Identify and develop a self-help goal
Session 3: Follow up progress and goal monitoring

*Consultative support from a BCBA

Teaching your child play skills to help expand their language and social interactions, for children 2 to 8 years of age who have minimal language during play.

Following a brief assessment of communication skills using the ABLLS-R, your child will be provided with a 45-minute individualized programming session (1-2 times a week) targeting 2 communication goals. Teaching strategies will be based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). A total of 10 sessions will be offered per child, including the brief assessment.

Sessions can be either child-direct or caregiver coaching (if done virtually).

This introductory workshop aims to support parents/caregivers on how to use the Proloquo2go programs to enhance their ability to navigate their child’s communicative device Proloquo2go.

This workshop will provide an overview of the following teaching objectives:

• Adding and removing tiles
• Finding pictures or symbols to use
• Using tablets guided access
• How to block and unblock features such as keyboard and editing options
• How to set up grid plain view
• Changing the voice the program uses
• Troubleshoot concerns in using program or tablet

Following the participating in this introductory training, parents/caregivers will be eligible for a one to one consultation with an ABA Therapist (via virtual and/or in person) to support with individual training goals that may include:

Adding pictures or symbols to child’s device.
Troubleshooting individual questions about navigating the program

This 2-session workshop will explore different ways visuals can support learning, communication, and day-to-day routines. Bilingual facilitators and examples will be available. Following participation in the introductory session, parents/caregivers will return to create visual aids to take home with them for use with their child. This workshop will provide an overview of the following teaching objectives:

How to teach that pictures represent items/activities
How to use visuals to support your child’s communication (e.g., choice board)
How to present expectations visually (e.g., “First-Then” board)
How to organize schedules or routines visually (e.g., visual schedule, task analysis)
How to source pictures or symbols
How to create visuals
Following the completion of both sessions, parents/caregivers will be eligible for a one to one consultation with an ABA Therapist (via virtual and/or in person) to support with individual training goals that may include:

Assist with in home implementation
Assist with generalization
Troubleshooting individual questions about various visuals
Bilingual facilitators are available as requested.

When providing consultative supports to childcare centres, educators are often overwhelmed by the technical jargon and seemingly ‘clinical’ approach recommended by Early Learning & Inclusion Consultants. As such, working with a Consultant can be daunting and frustrating without realizing how ABA already exists within Early Learning – approaches are often similar, just given different names between the two fields. This webinar aims to compare Early Learning pedagogy with ABA strategies to illustrate how the two fields overlap and ways that ABA may already be naturally embedded into Early Learning programming.

From this, it is the goal to enhance the relationship between ABA practitioners and Early Learning Educators to further a collaborative approach to learning and development.

This workshop aims discuss strategies on reducing transition related problem behaviours. We will review guidelines for deciding when the advance notice is viable with the aim of reducing problem behaviors as a whole.

Nothing seems to work! Understanding, Preventing and Responding to Challenging Behaviour. This workshop will review how to establish positive rapport, examine the functions of behaviour, and discuss strategies to prevent and deescalate challenging
behaviours.

Come together and prepare a meal! Cooking is a basic life skill that can lead to greater independence and possibly a job within the food industry. It can also be a way to make community and family connections by meaningfully contributing to bake sales, pot lucks, or get-togethers. People are also more apt to try a new dish they’ve made themselves, so through exposure, your child may be interested in trying new foods and expanding their food repertoire!

Participants will work 1:1 with a Therapist to follow a recipe and contribute to a meal that is prepared by the group. Participants will be taught basic cooking techniques and kitchen safety considerations. Each session ends with an opportunity to practice social behaviours and mealtime etiquette while enjoying each others’ culinary creations.

In order to foster generalization of skills, participants will be asked to bring their own utensils from home so they can learn with and practice using the items they would have available to them at home.

Best suited for youth on the spectrum that are motivated to learn independence in the kitchen and interact with peers in a mealtime format.

Children’s Friendship Training is an evidence based interactive program delivered in module sessions in which children and families develop and practice social skills necessary to initiate and maintain meaningful peer relationships.

Through ten modules, children will learn to make phone calls, host play-dates, maintain play, share in the interests of others’, and respond appropriately to bullying/teasing. During these sessions, families will learn how to support their children in the exciting new world of social opportunities.

What is resilience? Resilience is the set of skills and abilities that allow people to cope with challenging situations. Building resilience helps to prevent problems with behaviour and mental health.
Caregivers will assess their child/youth’s resilience and learn about the specific protective factors known to build resilience in children and youth: proactive parenting, emphasizing strengths and achievements, self regulation, social competence and fostering connections, attachment and community. Our approach is evidenced through strength-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).

Caregivers participate in a weekly 1.5-hour webinar for three weeks and receive one 1-hour phone or video consultation to implement individualized strategies with their child at home.

This fun, naturalistic intervention uses LEGO© as a medium to teach children the complexities of social interactions. Participants will be grouped with peers based on their strengths in relation to play styles: parallel, cooperative, or collaborative. This group will encourage practice of such skills as:

Following group-based rules and routine
Communication
Interacting with peers in group settings (e.g., sharing, asking for help, giving feedback, etc.)
Self-monitoring
Creative collaboration and problem solving
Peer mentorship (as appropriate)

This workshop will support participants in the development of social skills, while also having fun in completing a small building project!

Each session, participants will have one new project per session to complete on their own and to take home. Participants will also have an opportunity to use their imagination and create their project according to their style and abilities.

Objectives will include introduction to protective gear; how to safely use common tools such as a hammer, drill, screwdriver and their proper use; and learning how to follow step-by-step instructions.

These sessions are geared to children and youth between the ages of 5-14 who are able to attend independently and participate in a small group setting in class.