An analysis by Dr. Pat Mirenda, Professor Emerita, University of British Columbia, supports concerns that these proposed tools have not been properly assessed by MCFD, in terms of their fit for ensuring that children have access to services. 

To date, MCFD has not provided details of how it intends to use these pediatric evaluation tools, known as PEDI-CAT and Vineland-3. The only jurisdiction where this combination has been used internationally is Australia, where a study revealed that the PEDI-CAT tool disqualified 25% of children whose parents were concerned and whose pediatricians referred them for assessment. The Vineland-3 tool disqualified 4% of children.

In a recent letter to MCFD, a collective of organizations who work with and support families of children with disabilities, including ACT, noted that more consultation is needed to ensure that over reliance on these assessment tools will not cause harm or exclude children and families from the supports and services they need.

The British Columbia Disability Collective is a group of BC-based organizations, as well as clinicians, researchers, and businesses with hundreds of years of combined experience supporting tens of thousands of children and youth with disabilities and complex needs. They thank Dr. Mirenda for her analysis of a complex issue.

Read the full analysis  

Inclusive Rally in Victoria

Wed, February 9, 2022

11:30AM- 1:30 PM PST
BC Legislative Building, Victoria

Join parents, advocates, caregivers and service providers of the most vulnerable children in BC on February 9th in person on the lawn of the BC Legislature in Victoria, as well as virtually for those that cannot attend in person. This is an Inclusive Rally to keep the pressure on the BC NDP and the Minister of Children and Family Development to Stop, Consult and Listen to all concerns with regards to the elimination of individual autism funding, the At Home Program and moving to a hub/centre-based system. There has been extensive criticism of the new framework by families, Indigenous leaders, opposition parties, disability groups and the media.

It is the position of the rally organizers that if MCFD really wants to help children with FASD, Down syndrome, ADHD and other disabilities, then the Minister should engage in meaningful consultation and give the choice of individual funding. 

Details & RSVP Here  

MCFD Announces CYSN Family Connection Centre Sessions

Please join the Ministry of Children and Family Development for small group sessions to discuss and explore the journey of children and youth with support needs and their families in the family connections centres. To maximize time for discussion and answer as many questions as they can, they will email you some pre-recorded materials to watch in advance.

LIMITED SPACES ARE AVAILABLE. REGISTER TO SECURE YOUR SEAT.
 

How to Register:
Families can register here. 
Service Providers and Sector Partners register here. 

Thank you to our Presenters, Donors, Members and Sponsors

ACT has served more people in 2021 then ever before – responding to the acute need during the pandemic for online resources and training to support those with autism and other neurodiverse conditions. In 2022, with your support, ACT will continue with our information and training work. As the provincial government continues to ignore the concerns of families, researchers and clinicians, ACT will step up our work with other disability organizations to raise public awareness of the risks to vulnerable children from MCFD’s new framework.

ACT’s accomplishments are the result of extensive collaboration. A very big thank you to all those who volunteer their time and expertise. Together, our members, donors, presenters and sponsors enable ACT to provide a wealth of free information and training resources for those with autism and other neurodiverse conditions.

See ACT’s Accomplishments in 2021 including a video timeline showcasing our work over the past two years.

In 2021, ACT stepped up global advocacy efforts:

• Launched MCFD Framework for Children with Support Needs to bring together information on the campaign to have MCFD reconsider the framework.
• Partnered with supporters to translate our advocacy tips into Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, Farsi, Hindi, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

In 2021, ACT provided:

• 53,000 hours of training to 6,000 registrants  – a 194% increase in hours of training over 2020.
• 12 evidence-based training opportunities.
• Training to audiences in 131 BC towns and cities; 10 provinces and 21 countries.
• $35,000 in bursaries for low-income registrants and for our capacity-building program for Indigenous communities.
• A highly active Facebook page with over 9,000 followers. Follow ACT on Facebook.

In 2021, Autism Videos @ ACT (AVA):

• Added 12 new videos on a range of practical topics: toilet training; parent coaching; community recreation, sexuality and mindfulness.
• AVA now has 77 free online videos, edited versions of our live events, at www.actcommunity.ca/videos.

Donations to support the expansion of our work in 2022 are very welcome.

As a federally registered charity, ACT provides tax receipts.

Visit the AdvoCon 2021 website for details, full schedule, and tickets.

BCEdAccess is proud to present our 7th annual education advocacy conference! Join us online Wednesday, Sept. 22nd to Sunday, Sept. 26th for workshops, panels, and presentations for parents, guardians, educators, self-advocates, and supporters of students with disabilities and complex learners. ASL interpretation and CART captioning for all sessions.

Watch the conference live with chat and active listeners, or watch at your own pace. Hop onto Zoom for workshops and at the start and end of each day to get to know other attendees.

Friday, October 1, 2021
9:30 a.m.to 2:45 p.m. Pacific Time

Register by August 23rd to save $10

Presented by Hilary McClinton, M. Ed. &
Nicole Shallow, M. Ed., BCBA

This presentation focuses on sleep education, providing practical strategies to encourage healthy sleep.

This presentation will include:

• An introduction to the architecture of sleep and how it differs in the neurodiverse community. 
• A review of basic sleep problems (e.g., early waking, insomnia) and how analyzing the child’s behavior can support families to achieve healthy sleep with a positive, pro-active approach. 
• Through case studies, the process of assessment, plan development and support implementation will be described. 
• A discussion of tangible takeaways to support healthy sleep for adults and children.

View Details & Registration

Registration closes Monday, September 27 at 4pm Pacific time.
Bursaries are available. 

Improving Family Mealtimes, One Bite at A Time

Friday, November 26, 2021

9:30 a.m.to 2:45 p.m. Pacific Time

Register by September 27th to save $10

Presented by Lauren Binnendyk, PhD, BCBA-D &
Chantal Juilfs, M.Ed. BCBA

Many children and adolescents with autism and other neurodiverse conditions present significant concerns to carers who are trying to ensure proper levels of nutrition. The presentation will begin with a discussion of selective eating and the factors that can affect a child’s eating. Dr. Binnendyk will then discuss how food preferences develop and the importance of children tasting a wide range of foods.

View Details & Registration

Registration closes Monday, November 22 at 4pm Pacific time.
Bursaries are available.

flickr.com

Canada Day 2021 is provoking mixed feelings among Canadians including shame that Canada has done so little to mitigate the horrific legacy of residential schools, despite calls to investigate the fate of Indigenous children who disappeared while in government care. Now we are confronted by evidence of hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children. ACT believes that offering practical support is the most effective way to express ACT’s respect for Indigenous communities.

At our recent Annual General Meeting, ACT announced to our membership that we would provide free registration to our workshops and events for Indigenous organizations and families affected by autism and related conditions as a practical way of providing support to communities that continue to be severely marginalized.

All that is necessary is to submit a bursary application – apply for Executive Functions Skills with Sarah Ward directly here. We would also like to offer the support of our staff for Indigenous families who wish to better understand the Autism Funding Program but do not want to contact offices of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. We can be contacted at info@actcommunity.ca or toll-free at 1-866-939-5188.

ACT has also translated the New Diagnosis Hub in Chinese, as part of ACT in Chinese, to meet the needs of many families across BC. There are several other large immigrant communities, as well as deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, we would like to better serve by providing captioning and translation. It is very difficult to understand autism and services if you don’t have a strong command of English. Indeed it is very challenging even if you do. Please support ACT’s ability to caption and translate resources in additional languages by donating to our special translation fund.

Visit the New Diagnosis Hub

新手家長的下一步

ACT 的這個新診斷中心，是要幫助卑詩省新確診為自閉症譜系障礙（通稱自閉症）兒童的家長們建立一個有效的治療計劃。中心內的資訊同時也適用於一些孩子已經得到診斷有些時日，但正在重新考慮孩子治療計畫的家庭。

新診斷中心 New Diagnosis Hub

Wednesdays, April 7 – June 9

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. – 10 sessions

Presented by Georgina Robinson PhD & 
Zoey Ryan BSc, PCC

Mindful Compassionate Parenting is a 10-week course that combines empirically-based practices from Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), along with research that supports caregiver and family wellbeing.

This small group program is limited to parents and caregivers in British Columbia, 20 spaces are available. ACT is providing full bursaries for applicants to attend for free. Please apply using this online bursary form. ACT will notify all applicants if they have received a space by March 16th, 2021. Please apply as soon as possible, as we will close the application process once all spots are filled.

The course content is relevant for caregivers who support any child or family member, including those who support adults. Participation will teach skills to help you recharge your emotional and physical reservoir, cope with stress effectively, improve your caregiving relationship and build associated skills in your child or family member.

For those who dedicate their lives to caring for others, this is an opportunity for you to dedicate some time to important self care, learning how to treat yourself with kindness, and soothe any ragged emotions during difficult times.

View Details & Registration

ACT’s Bursary Fund is made possible by the support of our individual donors. If you would like to contribute your support to ACT’s bursary fund, please consider making a donation.

Combating Compassion Fatigue

A new workshop on Autism Videos @ ACT – free!

Presented by Georgina Robinson, PhD 

Caring for children is frequently exhausting. Parenting children with special needs is even more demanding of families, compounded by the need to navigate and advocate across systems. Driven by love, these families are at high-risk of neglecting themselves and developing compassion fatigue. In this 13-part workshop we begin by exploring the “costs of caring” and its potential physical and emotional toll. Then we consider research supported strategies that can empower families and build their resistance to ward off compassion fatigue. Systems supports, self-care, and mindful self-compassion are featured.

Watch here

Thank you to our Donors and Presenters

A very big thank you to all the donors, sponsors and presenters who have enabled ACT to provide a wealth of free information and training resources for those with autism and other neurodiverse conditions. Despite the pandemic, ACT has served many more people in 2020 throughout BC, across Canada and a growing number of fans worldwide. See our full 2020 Report to Donors for details.

A few highlights for 2020 compared to 2019:

• ACT’s website was accessed 524,000 times, a staggering 40% increase.
• The COVID-19 Resources Hub has had 15,000 visits since March.
• Autism Videos @ ACT users increased 64%.
• ACT’s Facebook followers grew by 31% to 8,500.
• Subscribers to ACT’s online ‘News Round-Up’ reached 8,900.
• 2,500 registrants received 18,000 hours of training in 2020.

ACT is facing a $30,000 deficit in 2020, as most of our events were free. Donations to support the expansion of our free training in 2021 are very welcome. As a registered charity, ACT provides tax receipts.

Donate to ACT

View the 2020 Report to Donors (pdf)

Online ‘Herring Sale for Autism’ Fundraiser Open! With full pandemic precautions!

ACT’s annual Herring Sale is back on January 16! For the health and safety of all our customers and volunteers, all orders will be made in advance through our online booking system. Customers can book a one-hour time slot to order 20lb bags for $20. Orders can be picked up during the time slot on your ticket at 3080 Moncton Street in the Steveston Village, where we will have a drive-thru loading system to ensure all COVID-19 safety precautions are in place.

Our thanks to Oceanside Fisheries and the Steveston Harbour Authority for their sponsorship.

Avoid disappointment – Pre-Order Today!

View Herring Sale

Sales end January 14th. Please note that there will be be no sales on January 16 – all orders must be made in advance.

Volunteer at the Herring Sale

If you can donate 2-3 hours of your time on January 16 to lift 20 bags of fish into the trunks of our eager customers, please email info@actcommunity.ca.

You are invited: free SFU Panel Discussion featuring BC’s Representative for Children & Youth

Addressing the Impact of the Pandemic on Families of Children with Special Needs

Many BC families have been severely shaken by the impact of COVID-19. Research undertaken by Simon Fraser University, the Representative of Children and Youth, ACT, Family Support Institute and Inclusion BC have all highlighted the lack of engagement on the part of the Ministry for Children and Family Development in supporting children with special needs.

To hear parental concerns addressed, join a panel discussion organized by Simon Fraser University on Friday, January 8, 11am -12pm. BC’s new Minister of Children and Family Development, the Honourable Mitzi Dean, has been invited.

Confirmed participants include:

• Representative for Children and Youth, Dr Jennifer Charlesworth
• Tracy Humphreys – Chair, BCEdAcess
• Karla Verschoor, Executive Director, Inclusion BC

For a full list of panelists and to register visit the event page.

Free live web stream

Toilet Training for Children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities has been ACT’s most popular online video since 2014. This reflects how important successful toilet training is for a person to be fully included in the community. Now, presenters Pat Mirenda and Katie Rinald return for an updated version of this workshop which will be presented via live web stream.

Register now

Co-sponsored by: