Our upcoming events all incorporate a distinct family component, from managing distressed behaviour to supporting kids during mealtimes. And, with summer at our doorstep (hopefully!), we are also inviting providers in BC to submit their summer camps to our community events list. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the upcoming Mental Health Week starting on May 6, 2024. See all the details and additional information below!

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Upcoming Events

We are happy to inform you that all ACT registrations are eligible for Autism Funding coverage.

Taking Steps to Overcome Restrictive Eating and Transform Mealtimes

Wednesdays, May 22 – June 19
5-Week Program, Live on Zoom, 12pm -1pm

Presented by
Lauren Hershfield (OT), and Elise Fairey (RD)

This online parenting group will teach parents and caregivers how to best support their child with restrictive eating, facilitate positive food interactions, and work towards expanding their diet and less stressful mealtimes. This program has a maximum capacity of 30 people.

Limited Spots available. Registration ends May 17.

Managing Distressed Behaviour for Parents, Families and Caregivers

Saturday, June 1, 9.30 am – 3.30 pm
KPU – Langley Campus

Presented by
Allison Balfour, Sharon Power, and Heather Lavigne

This in-person course is designed to guide you from beginner to advanced levels and to emphasize practical, non-confrontational approaches for preventing and assisting individuals at risk of or experiencing significant distress and exhibiting challenging behaviors. The course will be facilitated by certified instructors and has a maximum capacity of 15 people.

Limited Spots available. Registration ends May 30. Web-Streaming will not be available.

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Summer Camps

Every year, ACT posts accessible summer camps in BC to our Community Events page. This page is viewed hundreds of times every month by parents from around the province. To be included in our listings, your camp should have a substantial accessible component, preferably geared towards autistic kids or youth. Below are some good examples of such camps.

Camps in Various BC Areas

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Mental Health Week is May 6 – 12, 2024

We all have the capacity to be compassionate. This year’s CMHA Mental Health Week is centered on the healing power of compassion. In a world plagued by suffering, CMHA emphasizes that kindness is equally intrinsic to our humanity. Join from May 6 to 12, 2024 to explore how compassion connects us all.

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Video recording now available on Autism Videos @ ACT

SLP and OT Support for Autistic Children & Families

We are excited to inform you that our latest series of videos on “SLP and OT Support for Autistic Children & Families” is now available.

We would like to express our gratitude to Kate Chase, PhD, SLP, BCBA and Emily Lee, OT, BCBA from Nurture Learning & Development for their insightful presentations.

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Help ACT Spread the Word!

Join here to become a Friend of ACT. This free program keeps you updated with the latest events and resources from ACT. It also provides a 10% discount on a single ticket for all events.

Know someone who could benefit from our events and resources? Share on your networks:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

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News from the Autistic Community

We are putting together our June 2024 Newsletter and we want to make sure we include the latest updates and news for the Autistic Community. Would you like to share anything with us? We are all ears! Send us an email at [email protected].

We are happy to announce that Eva-Maria Rauter has recently joined the ACT Team in the role of Administrative Events and Marketing Coordinator.

Eva-Maria is originally from Austria. Before she moved to Canada in 2024, she worked for a large healthcare organization in Switzerland for seven years. In her last role as Chief Networking Officer, Eva-Maria was responsible for managing impactful mental health-focused events and building extensive professional networks.

She is strongly committed to enhancing the support services for people affected by autism and mental illness, and their families. Eva-Maria holds a Master of Arts in Social Science & Social Work from Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, a Certificate of Advanced Studies (Social Work, mental health focus) from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Klagenfurt. Eva-Maria is very excited to join ACT and contribute her passion and expertise to the Autistic community.

We are already looking forward to our upcoming events in spring 2024. Don’t miss the chance to participate and register today!

Every year, thousands of researchers from around the world dedicate their time and effort to produce scientific papers on autism. These papers are a testament to the unwavering commitment of the scientific community to understand and address the challenges faced by individuals with autism.

ACT’s team is dedicated to curating a selection of the most insightful and impactful papers focusing on specific topics and local researchers. We believe that this approach will help us to better understand the nuances of autism and develop more effective interventions. Stay up-to-date with the latest findings and insights.

Areas of Autism Research you can explore

Our gratitude goes to everyone who donated to us in 2023! We are very grateful for our volunteers who spent their time to support ACT’s work – we could not have done it without you!

A special thank you to our board of directors, supporters, event speakers, our members, and newly formed Autistic Advisory Committee and Indigenous Advisory Committee. 

“I appreciate the concerted effort of the many individuals at ACT that organize events and keep a key role in advocacy in our community. It is a well done job!”

-Community Professional

“I value ACT conferences and workshops that address pertinent issues and provide opportunities to meet with others facing similar challenges.”

-Professional & Parent / Caregiver

“I appreciate ACT not forgetting about the broad spectrum of needs by children on autism spectrum.”

-Parent / Caregiver

“Thank you for all your hard work!”

-Parent / Caregiver

Your donations support our free events & resources

We are so grateful for your support as a donor or a volunteer. ACT’s supporters are the reason we can continue our work throughout the year.

We know that many of you are facing challenges due to the economic situation, and we want to make it easier for you to join us. That’s why we are offering:

• Free events
• Free videos
• The AID Search
• More access to bursaries.

Thank you for being part of our community!

It is difficult to believe that it has been one year since I began the role of Executive Director. Since then, our small but mighty team has accomplished great things and achieved many milestones.

In 2023, we hosted several presenters including Amy Weatherby; Michelle Garcia Winner & Pamela Crook; Ross Greene; Sarah Ward; Greg Hanley; Amy Gravino, Landa Fox and Jessica Cauchi; and our annual Focus on Research event with keynote presentations by Connor Kerns and Tiffany Woynaroski, as well as research presentations by Nichole Scheerer, Patrick Dwyer, Elina Birmingham & Siamak Arzanpour.

Many of our events have included panel presentations highlighting lived experiences and we have offered three ACT Chats – one of which was in collaboration with Kids Physio Group. In addition, we have made improvements to our website and the AID Search. We are proud of our work to break down barriers by providing American Sign Language (ASL) translation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services for our events as well as having volunteers able to provide support in languages other than English. During the past year, we have provided bursaries totalling almost $55,000.

Early last year, ACT sent out a survey seeking input on the direction ACT should take moving forward. In response to your valuable feedback, we will be hosting more neurodiversity affirming content focused on Autism acceptance, and tackling sensitive topics such as the prevalence of mental health needs and suicide among Autistic people and how to provide support.

As we plan further into 2024, we will be guided by your responses to our current survey, as well as our Autistic Advisory, and Indigenous Advisory Committees.

Please take the time to complete the survey here.

As a small Not-for-Profit organization, we rely on the generosity of our donors as well as our volunteers who give of their time in many ways throughout the year. We realize that the current economic climate has made for tough times for many of you, so we are making every effort to ensure registration costs are reasonable by offering “ACT Chats” free of charge, and by broadening our reach in promoting bursaries.

With Giving Tuesday around the corner, and as we near the end of the year, please consider offering your financial support—every amount is appreciated.

As always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions or concerns, please always feel free to reach out to me—my door (virtual or otherwise) is always open.

With sincere gratitude,

Michelle Schmidt, PhD
Executive Director, Autism Community Training