Category Archives: Autism Videos at ACT

Autism, Sexual Health, and Safety: Empowering Community

Presented by Amy Gravino, Landa Fox, and Jessica Cauchi

Accessible sexual health education is an essential part of learning. In this nine part workshop, sexual health educators present on educational approaches and resources to support age-appropriate, accessible sexual health education for autistic individuals.

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Part 1: Lived Experience Part 1 presented by Amy Gravino

In this workshop, participants learn about:

  • The safety risks posed by a lack of information and empowerment, and the corresponding importance of accessible sexual health education.
  • Developmental norms for sexual behaviors and knowledge, including how to adapt lessons for different ages and goals.
  • Identification of knowledge and skills that may need to be explicitly taught to autistic learners, including consent, body autonomy, and privacy.
  • Common barriers faced by parents, teachers, and support staff, including tips for increasing comfort with sexual health and safety topics.
  • Approaches for assessment and treatment of contextually inappropriate sexual behaviors.
  • Personal insights and lessons learned from lived experience as an autistic woman.

Amy Gravino, MA, is an autism sexuality advocate and Relationship Coach in the Center for Adult Autism Services at Rutgers University. She is also the President of A.S.C.O.T Consulting, which offers autism consulting, college coaching, and mentoring services for organizations, schools, individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families. Amy is an international speaker who has given TED talks, spoken twice at the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day, and presented worldwide to audiences on a variety of topics related to autism, with a dedicated special focus and research on the subject of autism and sexuality.

Ms. Gravino obtained her Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Caldwell University in 2010 and currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Yes She Can, Inc. and the Golden Door International Film Festival of Jersey City, as well as the Scientific Advisory Board of Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research (SPARK). She is an award-winning writer who has co-authored a chapter on autism and sexuality in the Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and her work has been featured in Spectrum, the leading online news source for autism research, and other outlets. Visit www.amygravino.com to learn more.

Landa Fox is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and Certified Sexual Health Educator living and working in lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (Victoria, British Columbia). She has worked in the field of autism and disability support since 2003. Currently, her work focuses on sexual health, relationship, and safety education for autistic and other neurodivergent people. She also teaches sexual health education in schools around Victoria.

Her work often centers around creating and modifying existing sexual health and relationship education to be meaningful, accessible, and inclusive. She also works to create behavior support plans to address contextually inappropriate sexual behavior. Her work is client-centered, values-led, rights-based, and grounded in harm reduction principles.

She also trains caregivers, teachers, staff, and communities about sexual health development and inclusive sex education. Her special interests within the area of sexual health education include how to promote a culture of consent and body autonomy for autistic children and youth; developing affirming and rights-based sex education; and advocating for access to sexuality and sexual health for everyone. Visit www.positiveconnections.ca to learn more.

Dr. Cauchi is a behavior analyst that has worked with people on the autism spectrum for over 20 years. She resides in Ontario, Canada. Jessica received her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Endicott College and is a doctoral level Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Certified Progressive Behavior Analyst – Autism Professional. Dr. Cauchi is interested in research and clinical practice in curriculum development and effective teaching practices in sexuality skills for persons on the autism spectrum, meaningful programming, rapport and assent, and progressive ABA. She has published work in these areas, as well as presented on these topics across Canada and internationally.

Part 2: Safety and Skills presented by Jessica Cauchi

Part 3: The Behavior of Sexuality presented by Jessica Cauchi

Part 4: Accessible Sexual Health and Safety Education presented by Landa Fox

Part 5: Panel Discussion

Part 6: Lived Experience part 2 presented by Amy Gravino

Part 7: I Want To, but Where Do I Start? presented by Landa Fox

Part 8: Questions & Answers with Amy Gravino and Landa Fox

Part 9:  Assessing and Addressing Contextually Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour presented by Landa Fox

It’s the Most Anxious Time of the Year: Autism, Anxiety and the Holidays

Presented by Elsbeth Dodman

The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone— particularly members of the neurodiverse community. Elsbeth Dodman pulls from her personal experiences to provide you with vital tools for the holiday season.

In this video you will learn about:

  • Elsbeth’s lived & personal experiences, and why the holidays can be overwhelming for many.
  • Toolkits and techniques for Autistic individuals to manage stressors that can arise any time, and especially during the holidays.
  • Techniques for families, professionals and community members, to support Autistic individuals during stressful times.

About the Presenter

Elsbeth Dodman is an Autistic woman living in London, Ontario with her family and 2 cats. She has an Honors BA in Fine Art History and Anthropology from the University of Toronto and a post graduate certificate in Autism Behavioral Science from Fanshawe College. Elsbeth has worked with AIDE Canada and the Ontario Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, and has been giving public presentations on Autism since she was 18. 

Your donations support free videos

The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone— particularly members of the neurodiverse community. This free video is supported by donations from our supporters.

Your donation means we can empower the Autistic community with vital knowledge, in new ways such as through “ACT Chats”—our free series of informational events, videos, content, and resources.

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Sensory Features and Anxiety in Autism: Implications for families and practitioners

Recordings from ACT’s Focus on Research Conference 2023

The goal of this video series is to improve understanding and support for autistic people who experience anxiety and sensory differences.

Captions and ASL interpretation are available for all videos.

Distinct expressions of anxiety in autistic individuals (and why they matter)
Connor Kerns, PhD

Presentation details

This talk describes challenges to the detection of anxiety problems in autistic individuals and provides a rationale for why overcoming these challenges – by recognizing and better understanding the distinct way autistic individuals may experience anxiety – is so important.

Dr. Connor Kerns has conducted and published studies on a broad array of topics including the role of paternal age in ASD risk, the co-occurrence of childhood psychopathologies, and differential predictors of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’s (CBT) efficacy for child anxiety. Her present research focuses on the overlap, assessment and treatment of anxiety and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her ongoing projects aim to explore the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in ASD and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment. Dr. Kerns is also preparing to extend this work to the understudied area of traumatic events and their sequelae in youth with ASD. Another area of interest is the use of technology to facilitate the dissemination of empirically based treatments. Dr. Kerns is currently working to develop cost-effective, computer-assisted CBTs for youth with ASD and anxiety, interactive social stories to improve skill generalization in ASD, and video-enhanced ASD screening and educational tools. Her long terms goals include developing a parsimonious model of psychiatric co-occurrence to inform the design and dissemination of cross-diagnostic assessments and treatments that improve child wellbeing and development.

Presentation handouts:

Panel: Experiences with Anxiety

Presentation details
Moderated by Grace Iarocci, PhD

Grace Iarocci, PhD is a Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, and the Director of the Autism and Developmental Disorders Lab. A registered psychologist, Dr. Iarocci works closely with government and community agencies in BC to disseminate research information on ASD and influence policy on ASD and other developmental disabilities. Grace has a particular interest in researching quality of life issues among families living with ASD.

Kenzie Curby

A 20-year-old, late diagnosed, autistic self-advocate with a strong voice, hoping to aid in the inclusion of the autistic community. Kenzie is passionate about voicing the importance of understanding demand avoidant profiles and co-occurring mental health disorders in autistic individuals. With over seven years supporting autistic youth both in the home and school settings, Kenzie’s goals are to bring acceptance and understanding for autistic individuals.

Coralee Curby

Coralee is a mother of two amazing neurodivergent kids, an educator and lover of learning new things. She has worked as a School Psychologist over the past 23 years with a combined background in education, counselling psychology, school psychology and specialized learning interventions. Coralee is most passionate about learning alongside her own children, working within schools to discover the unique gifts and strengths of each student, supporting strong and collaborative communities of care. Coralee is forever changed by the gift of mothering.

Kelsey Richards

Kelsey Richards, BSc. Kin., MOT is an Occupational Therapist at the Centre for Child Development in Surrey, BC. Kelsey conducts sensory assessments for children/youth referred by the Child and Youth Mental Health Team and Ministry of Children and Family Development Social Workers. The purpose of the sensory assessment is to help the child/youth and their caregivers gain awareness of unique sensory needs, explore and identify strategies to meet sensory needs, help reframe behaviour from a sensory lens, and finally support families to advocate for accommodations to enable participation in meaningful daily activities.

Narinder Bains

Narinder Bains is a registered nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Outside the hospital, Narinder is an advocate for her 20-year-old nephew who has been diagnosed with autism since the age of three years old. For the past 17 years, his mother was the expert on how to advocate for her son and my role was to support her. After Narinder’s family suffered from her sisters loss last year, Narinder has been learning how to take on a role as advocate to ensure her nephew has his voice being heard in this space.

Hardeep Orimaco

Hardeep Orimaco has been working in the field of caring for others since she was 17 years of age. Hardeep first completed her community support worker diploma and worked in residential homes supporting young adults with mental health challenges and special needs. Hardeep went back to school and completed her practical nursing in 2003. This led Hardeep to work in long-term care and palliative care. In 2007 Hardeep started to foster children and youth with special needs in her own home. She is passionate about stabilizing and making a difference in the lives of the children and youth. Hardeep received her Bachelor of nursing in 2008. Since 2010 Hardeep has been a program manager overseeing operations of residential staffed homes for children and youth with special needs. Hardeep is a huge advocate for the children and youth in her care. She has two of her own biological children, a 9-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. Hardeep believes in life-long learning and enjoys reading and nature walks.

Exploring Sensory Processing Subtypes in Autism
Nichole Scheerer, PhD

Presentation details

Autistic individuals often show different reactions to sensory information (e.g., sounds, sights, smells, etc.) in their environment. These reactions vary across autistic individuals and across sensory modalities. These sensory differences have been shown to promote behaviours that challenge and cause distress in autistic individuals. Sensory behaviours are predictive of other functions including motor, social, and cognitive abilities. Preliminary research suggests that specific sensory differences may cluster together within individuals creating discrete sensory processing subtypes. This talk focuses on research examining the existence of, and predictive power of sensory processing subtypes. Further, the relationship between sensory differences and anxiety are discussed.

Nichole Scheerer is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Nichole received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Laurier in 2015. Nichole then completed postdoctoral training in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Lab at Simon Fraser University, as well as the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University. Nichole’s research combines behavioural and electrophysiological techniques to investigate sensory processing in both typically and atypically developing people.

Presentation handouts:

Attention and Neurodivergent Sensory Experiences
Patrick Dwyer, PhD (c)

Presentation details

This presentation explores sensory processing and attention for neurodivergent people. Specifically, data and practical suggestions are presented on the relationship between hyper-reactivity and hypo-reactivity, and how anxiety and attentional hyper-vigilance are closely intertwined.

Patrick is an autistic PhD candidate in developmental psychology in the Neurocognitive Development Lab at the University of California, Davis. His main research interest is using various research methods, such as questionnaires, electrophysiology, eye-tracking, and cognitive tasks, to explore and understand sensory processing and attention in autism. More broadly, Patrick is interested in anything relevant to the well-being of autistic and neurodivergent people, and he has studied community perspectives regarding intervention and neurodiversity controversies. Patrick is a co-founder of the Autistic Researchers Committee at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and helped to found a neurodivergent peer-support and advocacy community at UC Davis. He maintains a blog, autisticscholar.com. On a local note, Patrick grew up in B.C. and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria.

Presentation handouts:

Using artificial intelligence to improve quality of life of autistic children with decreased sound tolerance
Elina Birmingham, PhD & Siamak Arzanpour, PhD

Presentation details

Many children on the autism spectrum suffer from decreased sound tolerance (DST). When exposed to these sounds, children feel very distressed, which can cause them to react with behaviours such as covering their ears, yelling, or attempting to escape. Accommodations for DST, including earplugs or earmuffs, noise canceling headphones, or allowing them to take breaks in a quiet area may interfere with the child’s full participation in educational, community and family activities. To address this gap, we have developed a listening device that both detects and filters out specific sounds, delivering a “clean” signal to the user’s ears. We are currently testing the performance of the system in a VR environment.


Elina Birmingham, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Educational Psychology area of the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She completed her PhD in Cognitive Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2008, followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the California Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University. The overarching goal of her research is to better understand and support children, youth and adults on the Autism Spectrum. Her recent research spans the disciplines of psychology, education, and engineering. For example, in an interdisciplinary collaboration with SFU Mechatronic Systems Engineering (Siamak Arzanpour), she is working on creating smart technology using artificial intelligence to support autistic children, youth and adults who experience decreased sound tolerance. This work is funded by the Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN), a Network of Centres of Excellence.

Dr. Siamak Arzanpour received his PhD. in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2006. After two years of research as a Postdoctoral Fellow, he joined the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University in 2008.

Presentation handouts:

Panel: Early Development & Sensory

Presentation details
Moderated by Dr. Grace Iarocci

Grace Iarocci, PhD is a Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, and the Director of the Autism and Developmental Disorders Lab. A registered psychologist, Dr. Iarocci works closely with government and community agencies in BC to disseminate research information on ASD and influence policy on ASD and other developmental disabilities. Grace has a particular interest in researching quality of life issues among families living with ASD.

Keith Landherr, MA, OT

Keith is the Director and founder of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy Incorporated, where he strives to provide family-centred treatment to children and families. For over 30 years, Keith has been identifying and treating sensory processing differences in individuals from birth through adulthood. By honouring their unique histories and individual differences, he is able to create effective client centered practices. His work includes intensive early intervention programs, school-based services and private Occupational Therapy clinics in the lower mainland and New York City.

Keith has presented to child development centres in British Columbia and New York City, and has provided lectures for ICDL’s DIRFloortime® Training Program, New York City Department of Education, Babies and Children’s Hospital of New York, and as an adjunct professor of Occupational Therapy at NYU. Keith is a graduate of New York University’s (NYU) Occupational Therapy Program and has advanced training in Sensory Integration, Multiple Therapeutic Learning Systems, Neuro-Development Treatment, and is a certified DIRFloortime ®Trainer.

Anamaria Richardson

Anamaria Richardson is a (community based) pediatrician that works in Vancouver – prior to pediatrics she was a highschool teacher.  Currently, she works with many Spanish speaking patients given her Latina heritage, with children who have severe behavioural complexity, and with Indigenous communities both local and remote.  Her interest in health equity have resulted in a research program that aims to better understand the needs of specific patient populations as well as identifying leverage points for systems change – she believes we can always do things better.

Camila Ranasinghe

Chamila Ranasinghe is the mother of a 15-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder. She has been running an Applied Behaviour Analysis home program for her son for 13 years, with involvement of Behaviour Consultants, Behaviour Interventionists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists. Chamila has more than 20-years experience working with children, as a teacher (English Language Learners) and an Early Childhood Educator.

Leaf Ludwig

Leaf is an autistic advocate who loves long naps with dogs, aquafit, and spending time in the forest. After obtaining a degree in biology from the University of British Columbia, Leaf has spent the past three years furthering their education and training. Currently, they are studying to work with people with sensory and communication disabilities. As a multiply disabled student, Leaf hopes to support their community by improving disabled students’ access to STEM education in particular. Leaf is committed to sharing their knowledge and experiences through consulting on autism focused research, and has been involved in various studies over the past few years.

Panel: Future in Research

Presentation details
Moderated by Michelle Schmidt, PhD

Michelle Schmidt, PhD is the Executive Director of ACT – Autism Community Training. Prior to joining ACT in 2022, Michelle Schmidt was involved in public education in British Columbia, as an educator, school psychologist, and administrator. Most recently, Michelle served as Director of Instruction in the Surrey School District, where she was responsible for inclusive education and supports for students with diverse abilities.

Connor Kerns

Dr. Connor Kerns has conducted and published studies on a broad array of topics including the role of paternal age in ASD risk, the co-occurrence of childhood psychopathologies, and differential predictors of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’s (CBT) efficacy for child anxiety. Her present research focuses on the overlap, assessment and treatment of anxiety and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her ongoing projects aim to explore the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in ASD and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment. Dr. Kerns is also preparing to extend this work to the understudied area of traumatic events and their sequelae in youth with ASD. Another area of interest is the use of technology to facilitate the dissemination of empirically based treatments. Dr. Kerns is currently working to develop cost-effective, computer-assisted CBTs for youth with ASD and anxiety, interactive social stories to improve skill generalization in ASD, and video-enhanced ASD screening and educational tools. Her long terms goals include developing a parsimonious model of psychiatric co-occurrence to inform the design and dissemination of cross-diagnostic assessments and treatments that improve child wellbeing and development.

Patrick Dwyer

Patrick is an autistic PhD candidate in developmental psychology in the Neurocognitive Development Lab at the University of California, Davis. His main research interest is using various research methods, such as questionnaires, electrophysiology, eye-tracking, and cognitive tasks, to explore and understand sensory processing and attention in autism. More broadly, Patrick is interested in anything relevant to the well-being of autistic and neurodivergent people, and he has studied community perspectives regarding intervention and neurodiversity controversies. Patrick is a co-founder of the Autistic Researchers Committee at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and helped to found a neurodivergent peer-support and advocacy community at UC Davis. He maintains a blog, autisticscholar.com. On a local note, Patrick grew up in B.C. and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria.

Nichole Scheerer

Nichole Scheerer is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Nichole received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Laurier in 2015. Nichole then completed postdoctoral training in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Lab at Simon Fraser University, as well as the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University. Nichole’s research combines behavioural and electrophysiological techniques to investigate sensory processing in both typically and atypically developing people.

Anamaria Richardson

Anamaria Richardson is a (community based) pediatrician working in Vancouver. Prior to pediatrics she was a high school teacher. Currently, she works with many Spanish speaking patients given her Latina heritage, with children who have severe behavioural complexity, and with Indigenous communities both local and remote. Her interest in health equity has resulted in a research program that aims to better understand the needs of specific patient populations as well as identifying leverage points for systems change – she believes we can always do things better.

Camila Ranasinghe

Chamila Ranasinghe is the mother of a 15-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder. She has been running an Applied Behaviour Analysis home program for her son for 13 years, with involvement of Behaviour Consultants, Behaviour Interventionists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists. Chamila has more than 20-years experience working with children, as a teacher (English Language Learners) and an Early Childhood Educator.

Supporting Neurodiverse Youth Transitioning to Adulthood

The recording is from an ACT Chats event on May 30, 2023.

This presentation is a comprehensive guide to accessing services for adults with developmental disabilities. It provides information and resources on assessments, eligibility, and how they relate to accessing Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities (STADD) Navigators. The presentation also covers adult services, including Community Living BC (CLBC) and Adult Day Services. Additionally, it provides information on eligibility and access in relation to Persons with Disabilities benefits, including working while collecting disability benefits.

About the Presenter

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Michelle Schmidt, PhD

Michelle Schmidt, PhD is the Executive Director of ACT – Autism Community Training. Prior to joining ACT in 2022, Michelle Schmidt was involved in public education in British Columbia, as an educator, school psychologist, and administrator. Most recently, Michelle served as Director of Instruction in the Surrey School District, where she was responsible for inclusive education and supports for students with diverse abilities.

With over 30 years of experience in the education system, Michelle provides insight into the relationship between BC Schools and the human rights legislation, as well as Ministry of Education and Childcare policies and practices, including inclusive education designations and ministry compliance.

Presentation resources

Resource TitleWord DocPDF
My Transition PlanDownloadDownload
Plain Language Planning WorkbookDownload
Transition Planning ChecklistDownloadDownload
Transition Planning: Cross Ministry Planning Protocol Tasks and RolesDownloadDownload
Transition Planning: My Personal Transition GoalsDownloadDownload
Transition Planning: What to Know About MeDownloadDownload
Transition Planning: IndependenceDownloadDownload

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Kids Physio Group – Physiotherapy & Autism

The recording is from an ACT Chats event on July 5, 2023.

“ACT Chats” is a free new series of informational events, content and resources presented by ACT.

In this video, Jessica and Taylor from Kids Physio Group discuss how some autistic kids can benefit from physiotherapy. They describe how physiotherapy can treat physical challenges that are common among kids with autism, such as hypertonia, motor planning, toe walking, and proprioception. Learn what caregivers can watch for as autistic kids develop, what to expect when starting physio, and how they make physio fun for kids of all ages and abilities.

Chapters help you navigate through a video to find the information you’re looking for. Click the blue dots on the timeline to navigate chapters, or see all chapters through the chapters icon on the bottom right of each video.

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About the Presenters

Jessica Harris, DPT, BA

Jessica is a dedicated and experienced Doctor of Physical Therapy, having completed her degree in Spokane, Washington in 2011. Throughout her career, she has worked in various settings, including acute care and a pediatric outpatient neurodevelopmental clinic. Her passion for working with children led her to focus on Early Intervention and School Aged Physio when she returned to B.C. in 2014. With a particular interest in complex disorders in babies and young children, Jessica’s expertise covers a broad spectrum of conditions and age groups, ranging from infants to teenagers. Her skillset encompasses treating neurological conditions, developmental disorders, gross motor delays, toe walking, coordination concerns, torticollis, plagiocephaly, and more. As a RASP-certified (Registry of Autism Service Providers) Physiotherapist, Jessica’s approach revolves around placing the child and family at the center of care, and she is thrilled to help children achieve their goals.

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Taylor McElwain, MPT, BKin

Taylor is a dedicated and compassionate physiotherapist whose work centers around his core value of family and his passion for helping children thrive. He firmly believes that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed and is committed to breaking down barriers that hinder their participation in life. Growing up locally, Taylor’s love for sports, especially hockey, shaped much of his identity, providing him with invaluable experiences in relationships, challenges, and leadership. These formative moments played a significant role in his decision to become a physiotherapist. Prior to pursuing his career in physiotherapy, Taylor garnered diverse experiences working with kids and adults in sport camps, adapted programs, coaching hockey, behavior intervention, and assisted living facilities.

As a physiotherapist, Taylor has successfully worked with children and families of all ages, addressing a wide range of presentations. He approaches each individual with genuine interest, taking the time to understand their unique stories, and collaborates with them to develop personalized treatment plans. Taylor’s impressive educational background includes a Master of Physical Therapy and a Bachelor of Kinesiology from UBC. Moreover, his dedication to furthering his expertise is evident in his numerous certifications which include being a Registered Autism Service Provider (RASP), and having completed training in fields such as Anxiety, Self-Regulation and Postural Control, Sensory Integration and Autism Spectrum Disorders, among others. Through his extensive knowledge and experience, Taylor strives to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children and their families, helping them achieve their goals, whether that means returning to sports safely or gaining independent mobility.