Foundational Family Services

Following a 1-hour consultation meeting with our on-site BCBA, your child will receive 3 hours of 1:1 follow up service with our clinical team, at our center, for up to 4 weeks. Session dates and times will be arranged with each individual family.

This is a consultative service for parents/caregivers who are looking for support with 1-2 specific goals with their child. The following are examples of suitable areas of need to be addressed via this consultative model:
Sleeping
Toileting
Picky Eating
Daily Living Skills (e.g., dressing, brushing teeth, taking a bath or shower etc.)
Increasing Basic Communication (e.g., pointing/gestures, eye contact, joint attention, word
approximation, sentence expansion, persistence in communication etc.)
Augmentative Communication Systems (e.g., Picture Exchange Communication System – PECS
and/or Proloquo2Go.
Pre-Vocational/Vocational Skills
Emotional regulation
Social Skills
Executive Functioning Skills
Strategies for dealing with problem behaviour

*in some cases, the clinician might find it beneficial to work with the child/youth directly for part or all of the session depending on the goal. This will be determined during intake and discussed with families.

Are you a caregiver of a young child recently diagnosed with ASD? Do you have questions about ASD symptoms, or where to begin with planning services? Would you like to learn some easy ways to add ABA-based teaching into your child’s everyday routines? Or are you a caregiver of a pre-teen/teenager looking to address new skills and challenges that come with maturing?
A Brief Behaviour Consultation is a flexible way for caregivers to connect with a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). A BCBA is a professional with extensive knowledge in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Many BCBA’s also have considerable experience working with individuals with ASD and their families.
During this consultation we can discuss strategies related to a single skill acquisition or behaviour reduction goal you have for your child. Caregivers will leave the consult appointment with a specific, measurable goal, as well as a few strategies that can be implemented during family routines.

Following a 1-hour consultation meeting with our on-site BCBA, your child will receive 3 hours of 1:1 follow up service with our clinical team, at our center, for up to 4 weeks. Session dates and times will be arranged with each individual family.

Following a consultation with our Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, caregivers will develop a goal for their child. They will then have access to 3 hours of 1:1 coaching and/or continued consultations with the BCBA or Lead ABA Therapist for the following 4 weeks. Consultations will occur via telehealth, phone, and in-person where possible.

This group will focus on basic organizational skills for everyday life. Emphasis will be placed on organizational strategies for the school and home. Participants will learn the importance of being organized in their daily lives and strategies for how organization can be maintained. Organizing one’s time will also be addressed as this is a necessary life skill, particularly in adolescence.

In this presentation, participants will learn how to define behaviour, including examples of appropriate and challenging behaviour. Participants will learn how to apply the Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence (A-B-C) Model, looking at the different functions of behaviour and general teaching strategies

Difficulties with transitions are common challenges associated with an ASD diagnosis. This 2-hour group workshop will involve learning opportunities to explore several evidence-based strategies to support with everyday transitions such as going to the grocery store, leaving the house for recreational activities, morning/bedtime routines

Participants will learn the strategies to apply prior to a big life change and how to cope with the change. Big transitions may include moving, going to preschool, moving to a new school, having a new sibling, death of someone close, divorce, etc.

In this workshop you will learn practical strategies to teach your child daily living skills such as handwashing, brushing teeth, getting dressed or taking a shower. Strategies include learning how to break down a skill into smaller parts and how to use motivation to encourage success. This is accompanied by a one-hour follow up consultation to support with how to teach the daily living skill in the home setting.

This workshop will discuss strategies that are proven effective when teaching toileting skills. Participants will gain knowledge of steps of toilet training, teaching strategies to implement during the toilet training journey. This is accompanied by a one-hour follow up consultation to support implementation into the home setting.

Using evidence based social skills, participants will explore the skills related to dating.

Topics covered include:
Letting someone know you like them
Flirting
Choosing appropriate people to date
Online dating
Asking someone on a date
Accepting rejection
Turning someone down
Planning and going on dates
Dating do's and don'ts
Handling pressure from partners.

Content adapted from PEERS for Young Adults. A social coach/caregiver session will be offered concurrently to the youth session. It is recommended a social coach attend to support the youth outside the session.

Go-Getters; Motivation & Organization is a 12-session program for those looking for support with learning to get organized and motivated. Sessions will include video modelling, games, activities, and practice.

Topics covered:
Do My Best
Planning Ahead
Being on Time
Note-Taking
Organization
Persistence
Break it Down
Flexibility
Focus
The Big Picture
Memorization
Mistakes

Sibshops is an opportunity for those who have a sibling with an ASD diagnosis. Sibshops is not therapy, but rather a venue for sibs to have fun, laugh, talk about the good and not-so-good parts, play some great games, learn something about the services/diagnosis of their brothers or sisters, and have some more fun. This all-day session includes snacks and lunch.

Join us for a mid-summer camp, just for the siblings. Sibshops is an opportunity for those who have a sibling with an ASD diagnosis. Sibshops is not therapy, but rather a venue for sibs to have fun, laugh, talk about the good and not-so-good parts, play some great games, learn something about the services/diagnosis of their brothers or sisters, and have some more fun. This all-day session includes snacks and lunch. Our 5 day camp includes snacks and lunch.

Sibshops is an opportunity for those who have a sibling with an ASD diagnosis. Sibshops is an opportunity for those who have a sibling with an ASD diagnosis. Sibshops is not therapy, but rather a venue for sibs to have fun, laugh, talk about the good and not-so-good parts, play some great games, learn something about the services/diagnosis of their brothers or sisters, and have some more fun. This all-day session includes snacks and lunch.

Increase financial literacy with our Money Talks program. Participants will learn through a mix of games, practice, videos and other activities.

Topics include;
Making purchases with cash or debit
Budgeting basics
Needs vs. wants
Cheques
Tips & gratuities
Taxes
Types of savings & loans
Travelling with money

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a method of functional communication for anyone with a language disorder, including autism. PECS can be taught by professionals and parents, in all everyday settings. The PECS is based on the motivation of the chils and aims to bring about spontaneous and autonomous communication. Its teaching is rigorous and goes through 6 learning phases. It can improves the quality of life of the person and his family to the extent that it allows effective communication. This workshop focuses on learning the 6 phases of PECS as well as the assessment and intervention of ABA strategies. Each participant will have access to 3 consultations to support implementation and the continuation through next Phases of PECS.

Transitions can be difficult for children and youth with ASD, but they don’t have to be. Parents will be provided with the tools, education and knowledge for advocacy skills and navigating systems seamlessly in order to support their child to experience smooth transitions. Sectors included can be between years of study and/or between school settings, secondary and post-secondary or for the adult sector, work force and community settings. These individual consultations and relevant ressources will be child/youth specific in response to their personal strengths, needs and specific needs of the family.

Welcome to Holland! Simple and effective Applied Behaviour Analysis strategies can easily be incorporated into everyday life at home. This webinar offers practical solutions for families to develop a routine, integrate visual aids into daily life, keep children busy, master controlled choices, Before and After, and following through. The one hour consultations will focus on direct parent training that can be incorporated into everyday life (between the loads of laundry and making supper).
3 one hour virtual Individual sessions scheduled in accordance with family availability.

Following brief assessment of social communication skills, the child or youth participates in 20 individualized sessions up to one hour each supervised by a BCBA. The goal is to increase conversation and turn taking through fun games and interactions. This service is intended for children or youth age 8 and up who are verbal, speak in sentences and have basic reading skills. It is ideal for those who need to build important social communication skills prior to participation in a social skills group.

PEERS® is an evidence-based social skills program designed to improve social interactions for youth who want to learn how to make and keep friends. During the 12 weekly 1.5 hour group sessions, specific social skills will be taught, and participants will have the opportunity to practice the skills during fun activities and role playing. There will be weekly corresponding homework assignments, therefore parent support is strongly encouraged. Caregivers also participate in two, 1-hour phone or video sessions with one of the facilitators to discuss their child progress and strategies to help them. Appropriate for youth between 13 and 16 years with ASD who have friendship problems, agree to participate voluntarily and to attend weekly. A screening questionnaire will be completed prior to the start date to verify criteria for the program are met.

Following brief assessment of language and play skills, child-parent dyads participate in 20 programming sessions of up to 1-hour (2 times weekly) based upon evidence based naturalistic developmental and behavioural principles. Sessions will increase child play and language skills, as well as caregiver confidence in teaching their child new skills. This service is intended for caregivers and children with ASD who are between the age of 4 and 8, minimally verbal and/or who use little appropriate independent or creative play.

Want to learn how to make money? Want to learn how to volunteer? Are you ready to join the workforce? Join us from the comfort of your own home to learn how to pursue jobs you might be interested in. By the end of the group, you’ll know how to search online for jobs, you’ll know what you need to write a resume you can hand out to potential employers, and you’ll have practice with an ‘actual’ interview situation. Take the next steps toward being a part of your community!
Fine print for caregivers: Participants will join group sessions online with 1-2 facilitators. Peers will learn alongside each other how to search for employment (volunteer or paid), actively apply for jobs, and participate in interviews. Participants will be expected to complete a mock interview in their final session individually with a novel facilitator (i.e., not with the whole group present) so they may demonstrate the skills they learned in the previous 7 sessions.

In our virtual group session, we will discuss a strategy that may help with communication around emotional or social scenarios: The Incredible 5-Point Scale. Children or youth who are interested in learning about the strategy for themselves are welcome to join their parents!
In the weeks following, we will meet individually with each family (virtual or in person) up to 3 more times to support the development of their own individualized scales that can be used within the home. We will discuss any successes or barriers to using the scales and whether any ‘tweaking’ has to be made to make the scales more effective for you and your family.