Autism Services

This group will help parents and caregivers learn strategies to support their child across a variety of group-based activities. The teaching strategies used are based on the science of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and will help you to prepare your child to transfer their skills to different settings, such as school, recreational activities, camp, etc. The focus will be on learning readiness skills, including attending to a leader/teacher, following a visual schedule, transitioning between activities, and remaining appropriate near peers. Parents/caregivers will participate along with their child within this group, which is facilitated by Autism Therapists who provide hands-on coaching with supervision from an OAP Clinical Supervisor.

Is your child interested in sports? Do they have readiness skills to participate actively with their peers? This group will build upon your child’s interests and readiness skills (e.g., shooting baskets, kicking a soccer ball) by helping them learn to communicate with their teammates, work together (e.g., passing the ball to score a goal), and be a good sport (e.g., winning or losing) while playing various team sports. Parents/caregivers will participate along with their child to support them to practice the strategies taught. This group will be facilitated by Autism Therapists with supervision for an OAP Clinical Supervisor.

The Making Friends group will provide children with opportunities to socialize and build skills to make friends. This group will teach children how to ask peers to play or join activities, respond to feedback from their peers, and further develop their conversational skills. Parents and caregivers will participate along with their child to help coach them to respond and engage with their peers. This group is facilitated by Autism Therapists with supervision from an OAP Clinical Supervisor.

Mental health assessments are used to explore social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties that are causing significant concerns about your child.  These difficulties may also be getting in the way of your child’s ability to cope and navigate life successfully.  These assessments may be used to make a decision as to whether their mental health challenges can be accounted for by additional diagnoses such as anxiety, mood, or obsessive-compulsive disorders.  Recommendations are made to inform treatment planning and enable access to appropriate supports at school, home, and in the community.

Would you like to increase your financial literacy or become more financially independent?

As a parent or caregiver, do you hope your teen can start to learn skills that will help them be financially responsible in the future? In this workshop, youth and their parent or caregiver will
participate together as facilitators introduce ways to support financial independence. Topics will include considerations around opening a bank account and having a credit/debit card, monitoring online banking, completing transactions, budgeting and saving money. Activities for youth to practice financial literacy will be suggested and helpful tools
(e.g., apps and websites) will be shared.

The days and months after a diagnosis of autism can be overwhelming.  This workshop provides a step-by-step checklist for parents, an overview of community services and funding options, and an opportunity to ask specific questions about supports for your child.