Autism Services

Following an assessment with an Occupational Therapist, these therapy sessions offer strategies to facilitate your child’s engagement and independence in their daily activities. You will learn how to apply these strategies to support your child’s development and participation in the identified goal areas of your occupational therapy assessment. Resources and materials will be provided to support practice at home. Recommendations by our OTs may include information related to location of therapy, number of hours, staffing levels, parent/caregiver involvement, and number of goals.

Cost will vary depending on service plan.

This intake assessment is completed by an OT and is used to evaluate your child’s strengths and needs in the domains of sensory processing, self-regulation, self-care tasks, and fine and gross motor development. The OT will meet with you to review a written report which will provide strategies and make recommendations regarding therapy.

This workshop provides an overview of the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) including how children/youth with Autism often perceive the world around them differently. Participants are provided with information about what can be challenging for children with ASD, as well as some helpful strategies and resources.

This workshop provides an overview of currently available ministry funding options. For more in-depth assistance, parents and caregivers will be encouraged to register for application-specific workshops, such as Special Services at Home (SSAH) or Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD).

Connect with other parents and caregivers who have a child/ youth with autism and share similar experiences to you, whether you are the parent/caregiver of a child who has
received a new diagnosis or who may be focusing on the development of their child/youth’s social and life skills or have a youth transitioning into adult services.
These sessions are facilitated by a Family Service Coordinator in collaboration with clinicians from the McMaster Children’s Hospital Autism Program.

PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) is a teen social skills group that targets: conversational skills; how to find common interests; use humour; be a good host; make a phone call; handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours, gossip and disagreements; and how to change a bad reputation. Parent participation is required at each session. Teen and parent groups are run concurrently.  Facilitated by Autism Therapists with supervision from an OAP Clinical Supervisor.