New PBS Learning Series
Watch ACT's new Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community series. This learning stream of eleven presentations tackles the serious issue of how to work with children with challenging behaviors.
How Classmates Can Facilitate Positive Social Behaviors for Children with ASD Tier 3 Interventions and Supports – Behavior Technician Training for Paraprofessionals
B.C. Resources
Looking for autism & special needs resources specific to British Columbia? Visit the new B.C. Resources page to find community agencies, recreational activities, service providers, support groups, education & employment, community events, the autism manual, new diagnosis hub, transition to adulthood, and much more!
Mental Health and Autism video series
Latest videos, + 4 more new videos. Part of the Online Mental Health & Autism Project.
Mental Health in Post-Secondary Education: What is It Like for Students with ASD and What Does the Research Say? - Dr. Rashmeen Nirmal Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Dr. Christopher Gillberg Practical Strategies for Supporting Mental Wellness of Teenage Girls and Women with ASD – Dori Zener
Find Autism Information
Find practical autism resources with the AID search. We've made it even easier to find resources and tools for parents and professionals with a new subject listing. Free and relevant world-wide.
You can also find 自閉症社區訓練協會 (ACT in Chinese), ACT in Punjabi, Online Mental Health & Autism Project: Looking Beyond Autism, and Autism Research.
Latest News
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Women & Girls with Autism
Researchers are increasingly recognizing that autism affects women and girls differently than males. Delays in diagnosis are common, reducing access to services, with implications for long-term mental health and employment prospects.
These presentations feature recent research, with a focus on the experience and perspectives of women and girls with autism.
Watch NowSongs on the Water: A Musical Showcase in Support of ACT
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at the Vancouver Rowing Club
Welcome summer 2019 with a very special evening of music, food, and friendship to benefit ACT – Autism Community Training. Featured artists include Melanie Dekker, Kate MacColl, Ben Heffernan, Yvonne McSkimming, and Mark James Fortin.
Event DetailsSearch the Autism Information Database
Search over 1,300 vetted information resources related to ASD, including online articles, videos, and websites.
News from ACT on Facebook
While researchers try to figure out how to reliably identify children on the spectrum as early as possible, a major obstacle to early identification that this article only touches on briefly remains the failure of some family doctors and paediatricians to take the concerns of parents seriously.
The Search for a Biomarker for Early Autism Diagnosis
nytimes.com
Children with autism spectrum disorder took significantly longer to look away from a video when their names were called, a new study found."Very few of the reasons that an autistic child is ‘acting up’ are because of purposeful defiance or disobedience. Punishment is both inappropriate and cruel, and seclusion, while frequently advertised by its proponents as a way to safely calm down, is in actuality one of the harshest of punishments. A terrified autistic child melts down, confused and overwhelmed, and they are put in a small, confined space to work it out on their own. This isn’t modeling what we want them to do differently next time. This isn’t helping them, soothing them, or looking for a source of their distress. Restraining a child is similarly damaging."
Restraining students with disabilities is harmful
baltimoresun.com
Very few of the reasons that an autistic child is “acting up” are because of purposeful defiance or disobedience. Punishment is both inappropriate and cruel, and seclusion, while frequentl...this is so common sense
Its ABUSE I belive the law calls it unlawful confinement... Just sayin
I wish some of these articles actually included examples of the "many methods that are safe and supportive to help children with strong behaviors" so that they can lead to positive change. Districts need to be informed of the kind of staffing, training, infrastructure, etc. is needed to best support students who communicate using challenging behaviour. It can be challenging navigating students' needs and reactions even in a 1-to-1 setting. It is not realistic nor safe to expect one teacher to stop teaching and supervising the rest of the students in the class to help one student co-regulate when they are melting down.
“‘Stories are told about us but not by us,’ the journalist Belo Cipriani, who is blind, once said. He is right. Disability reporting needs to improve, and the solution is simple: we need more journalists with disabilities in newsrooms.”
Why disabled journalists should report on disability
cjr.org
Early last year, I published a story about my life with chronic illness and disability. I thought I did well, and used the correct terms to describe myself and other people with disabilities in a resp...An overview of the difficulties many face qualifying for Canada’s disability tax credit, with a look at a case where the Canada Revenue Agency denied the credit to a woman who has social anxiety disorder, phobias, anxiety and depression. (In the end, a judge overruled that decision.)
Canada’s disability tax credit is valuable, but qualifying for it can be a huge challenge
business.financialpost.com
Jamie Golombek: A tax case decided earlier this month provides us with yet another example of how difficult qualifying for the DTC can beDisability Alliance BC is a great resource for persons applying to the DTC. And for more information Plan Institute has a helpline you can ask questions and find support for all things financial (DTC, RDSP, wills estates trusts etc)
Special Needs Community Events
ACT lists workshops and conferences in B.C. related to autism and other special needs that are provided by local agencies and organizations.
View Community Events自閉症社區訓練協會 | ACT in Chinese
ACT 自閉症社區訓練協會，
是加拿大卑詩省內針對家有自閉症兒童的家庭提供諮詢及轉介服務的非營利機構。
ACT in Punjabi
ACT has been able to both create and identify valuable resources for the Punjabi-speaking community in British Columbia.
View Punjabi-language Resources