Caregivers will work together with the Occupational Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist and BCBA, to choose a couple goals. They will then have six hours of 1:1 coaching and/or consultations with any of the professionals, based on what the needs and goals are.

Following a brief screening by the team, you will discuss strategies related to skill acquisition or a behaviour of concern that the family may find challenging. Caregivers will leave the initial consult with specific, measurable goals. The professionals will develop strategies and will then help coach the family or work with the child directly for the remaining sessions.

During this fun group format program, children will learn to self – manage emotional and behavioural responses using Applied Behaviour Analysis and The Zones of Regulation Curriculum in order to be able to continue to engage in learning activities, maintain social relationships and maintain their well – being. 

Objective: Students in this group will learn to identify: 
- Emotions in themselves  
- Emotional/behavioural responses to the environment 
- Coping strategies to self-regulate their emotional/behavioural responses 
- Problem solving related to emotional/behavioural responses 
- The teaching will be done using evidence-based best practices for individuals with ASD.  

Children with ASD commonly face challenges with eating a healthy range of foods for many reasons. Come and learn more about why your child might be struggling with food and strategies to support healthy eating habits and a wider food variety. For further guidance and support, an individualized follow-up session may also be scheduled during the week following the presentation.

Parents of children with ASD will learn how to use visuals to support the learning and understanding of new concepts. Parents will learn how visuals can fit into existing daily interactions and routines and how they can be phased out over time. Parents will also learn how to use visuals to break big skills down into small steps, to make it easier to learn new concepts/skills.

This one-hour presentation offers strategies to support children and youth who experience ASD and anxiety.  

Educational sessions for caregivers wanting to learn more about ASD and social skills. Over the course of these four 1 hour sessions, caregivers will learn about why social language is important, what the key components of social language are, and how to help your child learn about neurotypical communication. Each session will discuss a different topic and will build on the previous one. If you are unable to attend all 4 sessions, you are still welcome to attend.

Conversation Cues is an 11-week evidence-based social skills program delivered virtually for students aged 9 – 17 years of age.

Topics include:
When to start a conversation
How to start a conversation
Take turns appropriately
Maintain conversation with peers
Talk on topic
Identifies disbelief & responds appropriately
Identifies confused, bored, not interested vs. interested & responds appropriately
Learn how to identify your cues
How to end a conversation

Beginner Zones will focus on identifying emotions and the Zones of Regulation®. Flexible thinking, inner coaching, and calming strategies will be explored virtually.

The Next Step (8-12 year olds) will review emotions and zones and focus on the identification of moving through the zones. Strategies to increase ability to self-calm, increase alertness, and increase awareness of potential triggers.

GJCC Focused Consultative ABA services (using the techniques and strategies of Applied Behaviour Analysis – ABA) can help individuals learn new skills, cope with, and tolerate different situations, and decrease some challenging behaviours. Individualized plans will include 1 goal, which is then broken into smaller steps through teaching strategies. Some examples are:
- Improving social skills, taking turns
- Following instructions, transitioning between activities, following a schedule
- Learning to care for personal needs, like: getting dressed, teeth brushing, basic daily self care

You will guide the process. Together, we will talk about your needs, goals, and what you and your child/youth need support with. Do not worry; we will help give clinical recommendations if you do not know where to start.

When you have selected the goal, we will observe and assess your child/youth to see his/her current strengths and needs. Our clinical team will create an individualized 10-week plan for your child/youth based on your goals. Your child/youth will be working 1-1 with a Behavioural Therapist to deliver the plan with the Clinical Supervision of the BCBA.  There are also opportunities for caregiver mediated coaching throughout the 8 weeks of sessions. All services can be delivered virtually or in-person, as determined in collaboration with your child/youth’s Behaviour Clinician (BCBA).  These goals can happen in a variety of environments based on needs and consents.

Children’s Friendship Training is an evidence based interactive program delivered in module sessions in which children and families develop and practice social skills necessary to initiate and maintain meaningful peer relationships.  Caregiver’s attend sessions at the same time as their children/youth.

Through ten modules, children will learn to make phone calls, host play-dates, maintain play, share in the interests of others’, and respond appropriately to bullying/teasing. During these sessions caregivers will learn how to support their children in the exciting new world of social opportunities. 

Facilitators will complete a pre-screening tool with families expressing an interest in participating.

PEERS is a 14-week evidence-based social skills program delivered virtually for students aged 12 – 17. There is a weekly mandatory parent session.

Topics include:
How to use appropriate conversational skills
How to find common interests by trading information
How to appropriately use humour
How to handle rejection, teasing and bullying
How to handle rumours and gossip
How to be a good host during get-togethers
How to make phone calls to friends
How to be a good sport
How to handle arguments and disagreements
How to change a bad reputation (by investigating one new extracurricular activity)

Register for 1 session or all 11, as each session will be different interactive fun activities. Sibshops is an opportunity for the siblings of children with ASD to meet other siblings in a relaxed, recreational setting. In a fun and relaxing atmosphere, facilitators will provide opportunities to discuss common joys and concerns, how to handle commonly experienced situations, and a venue to learn more about the implication of their siblings’ special needs.

We are pleased to offer drop-in clinics to access a 50-minute consultation session with Dr. Price. This service would be appropriate for caregivers of children of any age or adolescents who wish to have an individual consultation themselves. Clients will be able to schedule a time during one of the clinic days, where they are able to discuss any current mental health concerns, learning basic strategies that can be implemented at home and in the community, and to receive recommendations to plan for next steps.

This caregiver group involves participation in a Parent Management Training (Kazdin, 2008) program that aims to enhance parenting skills to improve challenging behaviours in children, such as aggression, hyperactivity, and non-compliance. The training will take place virtually in a group session. Handouts will be emailed to participants prior to each scheduled session.

The Resilience Builder Program (Alvord, Zucker, & Grados, 2011) is designed to support children, aged 9 to 12 years, to bounce back from stress by developing resilience and protective factors, such as self- awareness, self-regulation, flexible thinking, and social competence. This virtual caregiver group intends to provide program material and psychoeducation regarding the above topics for caregivers to didactically support the needs of their child(ren) at home. All materials will be provided.

Facing Your Fears (FYF) is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program for children and youth with ASD who experience significant symptoms of anxiety. This group focuses on helping children and their caregivers in identifying worries, developing coping strategies, and practicing managing anxiety. This group consists of 12 weekly in person sessions. Caregiver AND child participation in each session is required.

SibShops are events which provide 8-13 year old brothers and sisters of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) an opportunity to meet other siblings in a relaxed, recreational setting.
SibShops intersperse information and discussion activities with high-energy games, new friends, and craft activities to get children talking, laughing, and learning. An introduction to ASD will be included to provide participants with a better understanding of the disorder and how it may impact their sibling.

Based on the Circles® Curriculum, parents will join a virtual group session to learn about one strategy we can use to teach about different degrees of talk, touch, and trust associated with various people in their child’s life. This program fosters communication about social and relationship boundaries and helps parents develop a visual support to teach these concepts to their child.
In the weeks following the virtual group session, we will meet individually with each family (virtual or in person) up to 3 more times to support the development of their own individualized ‘Circles’ that can be used for reference within the home. We will discuss any successes or barriers to using this visual to explain these concepts to your child, and whether any ‘tweaking’ has to be made to make the visual more effective for you and your child.
It is recommended that your child not attend the virtual workshop; however, it may be appropriate for them to attend follow-up consultations with their parent and the facilitator.

In our virtual group session, we will discuss a strategy that may help with communication around emotional or social scenarios: The Incredible 5-Point Scale. Children or youth who are interested in learning about the strategy for themselves are welcome to join their parents!
In the weeks following, we will meet individually with each family (virtual or in person) up to 3 more times to support the development of their own individualized scales that can be used within the home. We will discuss any successes or barriers to using the scales and whether any ‘tweaking’ has to be made to make the scales more effective for you and your family.

Want to learn how to make money? Want to learn how to volunteer? Are you ready to join the workforce? Join us from the comfort of your own home to learn how to pursue jobs you might be interested in. By the end of the group, you’ll know how to search online for jobs, you’ll know what you need to write a resume you can hand out to potential employers, and you’ll have practice with an ‘actual’ interview situation. Take the next steps toward being a part of your community!
Fine print for caregivers: Participants will join group sessions online with 1-2 facilitators. Peers will learn alongside each other how to search for employment (volunteer or paid), actively apply for jobs, and participate in interviews. Participants will be expected to complete a mock interview in their final session individually with a novel facilitator (i.e., not with the whole group present) so they may demonstrate the skills they learned in the previous 7 sessions.

Following brief assessment of language and play skills, child-parent dyads participate in 20 programming sessions of up to 1-hour (2 times weekly) based upon evidence based naturalistic developmental and behavioural principles. Sessions will increase child play and language skills, as well as caregiver confidence in teaching their child new skills. This service is intended for caregivers and children with ASD who are between the age of 4 and 8, minimally verbal and/or who use little appropriate independent or creative play.

PEERS® is an evidence-based social skills program designed to improve social interactions for youth who want to learn how to make and keep friends. During the 12 weekly 1.5 hour group sessions, specific social skills will be taught, and participants will have the opportunity to practice the skills during fun activities and role playing. There will be weekly corresponding homework assignments, therefore parent support is strongly encouraged. Caregivers also participate in two, 1-hour phone or video sessions with one of the facilitators to discuss their child progress and strategies to help them. Appropriate for youth between 13 and 16 years with ASD who have friendship problems, agree to participate voluntarily and to attend weekly. A screening questionnaire will be completed prior to the start date to verify criteria for the program are met.

Following brief assessment of social communication skills, the child or youth participates in 20 individualized sessions up to one hour each supervised by a BCBA. The goal is to increase conversation and turn taking through fun games and interactions. This service is intended for children or youth age 8 and up who are verbal, speak in sentences and have basic reading skills. It is ideal for those who need to build important social communication skills prior to participation in a social skills group.