Programs & Services

Social skills classes are for teens, youth and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Classes and lessons are based on structured learning for individuals who can participate in a group setting independently. Participants who attend the social skills classes find new ways to communicate and express themselves, learn to better understand basic communication rules, better interpret social cues, and learn improved ways to interact with their peers, family and their community.

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This program uses a practical curriculum to facilitate insight into social conventions and regulations. As a result of completing the activities, participants with ASD will be better able to avoid causing offense or getting into trouble with the law.

These classes are designed to teach basic cooking skills that will give young people semi-independent living skills. Participants will be given a hands-on opportunity, in small group sizes, from start to finish in meal preparation. Focus of this program is on learning new skills, healthy affordable cooking and kitchen safety.

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Physical activity is an essential part of all teens and young adults’ foundation for a long, healthy life. Facilitators will integrate fitness knowledge and fun activities to help encourage and persuade teens that exercise is important to everyone’s well-being. We will explore the benefits of exercise such as reduced anxiety, stress, and depression, improved self-esteem, boost in academic performance, and helping establish lifelong healthy habits etc.

For teens & youth with ASD, problems with flexibility and goal-directed behavior can be a major obstacle to success in school and in life. But flexibility and goal setting can be taught just like any other skills.

This program will teach you what flexibility and executive functions are and how to improve them by teaching participants self-regulatory vocabulary scripts, and routines. Helps participants with ASD to effectively and calmly manage unexpected events, cope with disappointment and frustration, keeps and open mind, navigates disagreements with friends, sets & achieves goals, learns how to compromise, create a Plan B when Plan A doesn’t work and more.

Parents have typically organized the daily lives of young adults with ASD, but once they leave home, young adults with ASD can be overwhelmed by the choices that they must make every day. They will need to master the skills required to make good choices and plan their day themselves. For example, some young adults may live in an apartment alone or with a roommate. With either option they must learn to handle tasks of everyday living such as; grocery shopping, preparing meals, doing laundry, studying, paying bills and maintaining their living space. For example, getting out of bed for classes, work or an appointment in the morning can be a significant challenge for individuals with ASD. We believe young adult can thrive, not just survive with the support of a Life Coach.

This program provides a clear road map of carefully designed lessons that will empower participants to develop appropriate self-regulatory strategies that will ensure success in life well beyond adolescents.

Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges faced by children with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. This program will help participants conquer their fears and participate more fully in home, school, employment and community life. It has been developed to address the specific needs and challenges of children with high-functioning ASD and Asperger syndrome.

This social skills training program presents social skills needed to develop and maintain friendship. Friendship curriculum includes; rules and steps for social skills, strategies for improving conversational skills, tips for expanding social opportunities, strategies for handling peer rejection and bullying, and more.

Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) is a 14- week evidence-based social skills intervention for motivated teens and young adults who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends.

During each group session teens are taught important social skills and are given the opportunity to practice these skills in a session through role-playing and naturally occurring activities (ie. board games, video gaming, etc.) Parents will receive simultaneously instruction in a separate class setting where they will be taught how to assist their teens in making and keeping friends. Parents will also be expected to provide ongoing feedback and coaching to their child during the completion of weekly homework assignments.

This program is designed to help young people on the autism spectrum to cope with the many challenges of adolescence. It will encourages them to explore their identity, develop their friendships and to begin to think more about adult relationships, tackling the important related issues of puberty, sexuality, gender identity, body image, dress codes, self-care, safety and conventions for touching along the way.

Join other in a fun and relaxed setting to participate in video games, chess, board games, foosball, and karaoke singing. This group is designed to bring young people together over a shared interest, at their own pace, to work on skills such as conversational skills, social confidence, and friendship building. This group is appropriate for teens and young adults that have conversational language skills and can participate independently and cooperatively in a group setting. Come and show off your skills and meet new friends who love gaming as much as you do! Participants are welcome to bring their own games, but it is not a requirement.

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Join us for a fun evening of games, movies and popcorn! Friday night social club will provide teens with planned activities to socialize with others in a safe and positive environment. Participants are welcome to bring their own games, but it is not a requirement.

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The daily lives of many young people with ASD have typically been organized by a parent however once they transition into adulthood, individuals with ASD can be overwhelmed by the choices that they must make every day. They will need to master the skills required to make good choices and plan their day themselves. Our Autism Services believes that if young adults have the right support, they can thrive rather than just survive. This support is provided with one-on-one Life Coaching. A life coach will guide and motivate individuals with ASD in the achievement of personal objectives such as attending post-secondary education, choosing careers, improving social skills and relationships, setting goals, and determining priorities.

Before you begin looking for a job, you need to identify your career interests and goals. It is also very important to recognize your strengths so you can find jobs that allow you to use those strengths. When you can use your strengths in a job, you are more likely to be successful and happy. It is also important to be aware of the types of jobs and work environments that would not be a good fit with your skills, interests, and personality. In this portion of Stream B, you will take a social skills assessment, interests quiz, and work environment assessment to help guide you towards specific careers.

In order to get the job you want, there are a number of tasks for you to complete. Most people have to go through a process in order to get hired for a job. It takes time and hard work to get a job. In this portion of Stream B we will support you step-by-step on how to successfully complete these tasks, such as writing a cover letter and resume and completing applications.

There are many ways to start the job search. This section will introduce some common approaches to finding a job. Once you have narrowed down what type of job you are looking for, we will support you with where to look and how to conduct a job search.

Within this section we will help you determine what you should do before, during and after an interview to make a good impression. We will conduct mock interviews so that you will know what to expect and be prepared for your interview. We will also discuss the pros and cons of disclosing your Autism and help you decide whether or not you would like to disclose.

Once you have been hired for a job, there are many important things that you need to do to keep that job. Sometimes, people become very unhappy in their jobs because they don’t always know how to manage certain situations. Some people are even fired from their jobs because they cannot cope with the job responsibilities and social demands within the work environment. There are many written rules you have to follow at work, but there are also many unwritten rules that you must follow in order to be successful in your job. Unwritten rules are social rules that no one tells you, but you are expected to follow them anyway because everyone else follows those rules as well. In this section we give you step-by-step instructions and guidelines on many topics to help you keep your job.

Once you have secured employment your job coach will help to develop a training strategy which is most suitable for you, your employer and the position. Your job coach will actively train alongside you on the job and will remain available to you, the employer and your co-workers as an on-going resource during your transition into the workplace. As you become more confident in your position, you job coach will begin to fade out their involvement in order to promote independence and integration. However, the job coach will continue to visit you and your employer at the workplace to ensure a positive long-term relationship.