Letters of Endorsement

  • “ACT’s online videos provide caregivers with objective information and strategies from leading practitioners and researchers. These videos give 24/7 free access to workshops that many parents would otherwise be unable to attend, whether due to financial or geographic barriers, a lack of childcare, or conflict with work schedule. Parents who are sleep-deprived or face frequent interruptions from their children can pause and restart the videos as needed, or watch them over again. Others in the community, such teachers, special education assistants, recreational workers, and coaches, can also watch the videos at no charge to improve their understanding of our children and their approach in working with them.”
    Leslie Clark, Parent; Member of RASP Advisory Panel
  • “ACT workshops have been instrumental in reaching out to families and professionals across BC. As a non-profit organization, we appreciate the feedback from our consultants, who have consistently shared that they benefitted tremendously from the information that has been curated and presented to them.”
    Fernando Coelho, CEO, posAbilities and Kavita Kamat, Clinical Director, Laurel Behavior Support Services, posAbilities.
  • “ACT was integral in supporting my own successful transition to adulthood. After I was diagnosed, my family and I were quickly introduced to ACT, and we attended a number of ACT workshops which provided us with important information relevant to managing my own transition. Two stand out in my mind. In 2010, when I was 16 and entering Grade 11, we went to Vancouver for a workshop on transition with Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pamela Crooke. The following year, ACT came to Victoria and organized a workshop on adult issues featuring. Dr. Anthony Bailey and a panel of other speakers. These presenters were essential in providing me, my family, and my teachers with the information we needed to plan for my future. I am not sure where I would be now if not for ACT.”
    Patrick Dwyer, Student at University of Victoria; Adult with ASD. 

  • “ACT has been able to bring “live” events to communities here that would otherwise go under-served. We are so fortunate here in the Kamloops region to have services extended to us by ACT. I feel this community would definitely benefit from more of these live events not less. I am constantly being asked “why are the workshops always in Vancouver?” The feedback I get from parents is that they aren’t able to travel for a variety of reasons. Not all parents can sit and watch the amazing (free) videos they offer online either. Some folks need to be at a live event to really grasp the material being taught. Yes, this population we serve has complex needs as does the rest of the family that accompany them. For some they can only squeeze in their learning while the individual with ASD is in school. As a parent myself, I know how valuable attending ASD workshops and conferences was. I continue to encourage others to pursue this type of learning to assist their family reach their potential.”
    Betty-Ann Garreck, Parent; Coordinator, Autism Kamloops.
  • “ACT has forged strong connections with many of the finest researchers and practitioners in the autism community throughout North America, and in doing so have established ACT as a credible venue and British Columbia as a desirable location to invest time and effort to organize and conduct professional workshops. Through dialogue and collaboration with workshop presenters, they have ensured that workshops are designed to actively teach skills to participants through concrete activities and exercises, rather than simply share information in a 4 to 6 hour format. They have developed an exemplary video library of ASD related information that will surely continue to grow from year to year, thus increasing access to evidence-based knowledge about ASD and exemplary practices for families and professionals living in distant locations in B.C.”
    Dr. Joseph Lucyshyn, Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia.
  • “The schedule of training events that ACT offers annually is both extensive and comprehensive – ranging from autism assessment, to toilet training, to transition planning for adolescents and adults, to social skill interventions, to workshops on eating problems and other challenging behaviors. ACT invites both provincial and international experts to conduct these workshops, which are known across Canada for their high quality. For example, ACT’s Focus on Research event, which been held annually since 2010, attracts hundreds of participants from BC, Alberta, Washington State, and many other states and provinces. ACT’s workshops enable families and professionals across the province to build more advanced skills and have greatly enhanced treatment and intervention expertise in the province. It is important to note that many of ACT’s workshops are available to families and others at no cost as online webcasts, thanks to ACT’s ability to attract and work productively with community sponsors. These include UBC’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA), Simon Fraser University, the Ernie Els for Autism Society, Row4Autism, and many other charitable groups. In addition, ACT sponsors its own fundraising events, such as the 2016 Seymour Triple G bicycle event, to raise funds that can support these online workshops. It is clear from the number of people who take advantage of these workshops that this is an important, essential resource, especially for families in remote and rural areas who cannot attend the live ACT workshops that are held across the province.”
    Dr. Pat Mirenda, Professor, UBC; Director, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA), University of British Columbia.
  • “One of the first ACT workshops I attended was a two-day Social Thinking workshop by Michelle Garcia Winner in Victoria, where I live.  This workshop gave my husband and me a framework with which to start to work with our sons. Over the next few years I attended many other ACT workshops in Victoria and in Vancouver, on a variety of subjects. Through those workshops and through reading books recommended by ACT presenters, I gained the knowledge I needed to help my sons.  My older son is now a successful university student, and my younger son is doing well academically and socially in high school. Given the serious challenges both my sons had ten years ago, I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that neither of my boys would be nearly as successful or happy without the help ACT gave us.”
    Mary Ellen Ross, Parent.
  • “ACT also provides a widely recognized and respected service in its workshop for parents and professionals. Indeed, ACT provides the highest quality ASD workshops of any organization in the province. They bring in both local and internationally recognized experts to teach on a range of topics and issues of relevance to parents and professionals/educators serving children with ASD. Parents and professionals travel from all across the province (and beyond) to benefit from ACTs excellent workshops. Additionally, ACT recognizes that travel is a barrier to workshop attendance for many people across our large province and has overcome that barrier by professionally recording and offering free on-line access through its website as part of Autism Videos @ ACT. I frequently make use of these resources by referring parents and teachers to particular videos of relevance to their children/students and they are always impressed by the quality of the content and free access.”
    Dr. Richard Stock, Coordinator, Instructor, Applied Behavior Analysis – Autism Department, Capilano University.
  • “The challenge of supporting people with ASD will only be met with a multisectoral and interdisciplinary approach, and ACT exemplifies this through its commitment to empowering families through the production of quality resources in many forms, including talks and Autism Videos @ ACT, and by hosting meaningful workshops  that are responsive to the needs of their stakeholders.”
    Dr. Jonathan Weiss, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chair in ASD Treatment and Care Research; Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, York University.