New Autism Videos Every Week
Latest videos
The Role of Medication in the Management of ASD – Dr. Anthony Bailey Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Dr. Christopher Gillberg Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Practical Strategies for supporting Mental Wellness of Women and Girls – Dori Zener+ 2 more videos part of the Online Mental Health & Autism Project
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!
Upcoming Live Events
ACT provides a wide-range of autism-related training to parents and professionals, mostly at Simon Fraser University's Downtown Campus in Vancouver, Canada. We also web stream events and these are open to registrants internationally. We offer bursaries to parents and professionals, targeting low-income participants.
Visit our events page to see ACT's 2018 upcoming events:
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
New Video: ESSENCE with Dr. Christopher Gillberg! New videos released weekly on ACT's Online Mental Health & Autism ProjectGet the latest updates in your email. Subscribe to our newsletter for news, resources, and events:
ACT is committed to respecting your privacy. We do not share information with any other organization or individual. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read ACT’s Privacy Policy for more details.
INVESTing in Girls and Women with ASD
November 2nd - Vancouver & Streaming Live
INVEST: Identify Needs, Validate, Educate, Strengthen and Thrive has been developed by Dori Zener based on her extensive clinical experience with women and girls with ASD.
Event DetailsPractical Strategies for Supporting Mental Wellness of Teenage Girls and Women with ASD
Girls and women with autism are often hard to identify due to their polished rote social skills and internalized ASD characteristics. This presentation discusses clinical techniques to help support girls and women on the spectrum.
Watch NowSearch the Autism Information Database
Search over 1,300 vetted information resources related to ASD, including online articles, videos, and websites.
Upcoming Events
October 29 - November 2, 2018 - Vancouver
November 2nd, 2018 - Vancouver
B.C. Community Resources
News from ACT on Facebook
A story from Latvia, where a school of design graduate has created a series of objects she says are intended to help the sensory development of children on the spectrum.
Paula Lorence designs Taktil objects for children with autism
dezeen.com
Riga School of Design and Art graduate Paula Lorence has created a series of objects to help children with autism spectrum disorders with their sensory development.Girls and women with ASD largely camouflage their characteristics in an effort t-o pass as neurotypical. Due to their difficulties reading social cues, girls and women with ASD are disproportionately victims of bullying, sexual assault and abusive relationships. Mental health challenges such anxiety, depression, panic, eating disorders, ADHD, OCD and addictions often come to the attention of professionals before an ASD diagnosis is given, if at all.
INVEST: Identify Needs, Validate, Educate, Strengthen and Thrive has been developed by Dori Zener based on her extensive clinical experience with women and girls with ASD.
During this one day workshop, participants will learn how to use the INVEST model to:
+ Assess needs and elicit strengths
+ Create a therapeutic environment that validates and fosters resilience
+ Teach models for introducing important topics such as personal safety, gender identity, adapting to change
+ Use therapeutic techniques to develop emotional regulation, social skills and greater self care
+ Support girls and women as they thrive with new challenges and experiences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Presenter
Dori Zener, MSW, RSW, is an Individual, Couple and Family Therapist in Toronto. She has been working with individuals affected by ASD and learning differences for over a decade, with a particular interest in girls and women. She hosts “Asperfemme,” a free support group for women on the spectrum.
Costumes, masks, unfamiliar sights and sounds-Halloween can be a difficult time for some kids on the spectrum. Here's a look at how three families have made it a fun day for their children.
How parents of kids with autism practice Halloween to make it fun
today.com
While Halloween costumes and flashing lights can be fun, for kids with autism it can feel overwhelming.This story describes concerns some parents have about how special needs funding is being spent in the B.C. school system, and indicates that a new funding formula will be introduced next year.
Public BC Parents of Students w/Special Needs-Equitable Access to Education
Minister Fleming is correct, that shouldn't be happening. But parents in 12 other school districts reported the same type of incidents in our informal group poll today. Thank you @GlobalBC for this ex...
BC Ministry of Education doesn't have a 'watchdog' they have no accountability. At least MCFD has RCY...Who is watching out for our kids at school and the funding provided to them?
Unfortunately it's all politics. Not really about what's best for the kids. If it were then there would be psychologists making the decisions and not administrators. It puts so much more pressure on parents who are already fighting tooth and nail for their kids. The rise in PTSD symptoms in primary caregivers is staggering. We started this ball going when our daughter was 2.5 yr old. Diagnosis at 5, she's in grade 2 and we still have to fight. The IEP is a good start but you (caregiver) have to be on top of it 24/7. I'm a very hands on parent and I'm totally exhausted every day. I would like to see this new model as well. What are they going to take away next... pessimistic yes... but considering how it has been working, am I really.
SD43 has an "Inclusion Support Team" for children with autism that won't meet with parents. Ridiculous. How are they supposed to know a child, a unique individual, while excluding parents. Huge waste of money.
anyone know what this "new funding model" is? and should we be worried?
That system has been so corrupt for 30 years, if you think NDP will make it better and put the kids first you are dead wrong. In the 90's we voted them in as parents and they made things worse, fought harder in court against us and spent millions more for lawyers to fight. They will keep it corrupt and put out a fake idea to make it look like they're doing more. They were a proud group, very proud to brag about their dislike for autistics getting therapy. They did "lose" and parents "won"... but not much and it was a costly fight. Their system with special needs aids is all about seniority of those aids, and the senior aids of course pick the "highest paying kids", even when they have no interest or knowledge of that child's needs. Then the aid gets sick of the parents demanding they do their job and they move to another kid... then original kid gets stuck with next in line seniority who also probably doesn't care but likes that child's paycheck. It is never set up so the best aid for the child gets the job. Unfortunately all government officials are sociopaths there for self gain only. The need for real people to get into politics is still there... real people who aren't swayed by billionaires.
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