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.

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

Positive Behavior Support – A Practical Introduction for Parents & Caregivers

Friday, April 3rd, 2020

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming!
View details & registration

An Introduction to Autism and Anxiety – from Research to the Classroom

Friday, April 24th, 2020

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming!
View details & registration

Advocating within BC’s Ministry of Children and Family Development – A Workshop for Parents

Friday, May 22nd, 2020

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming!
View details & registration

Save the Date! – Events in the coming year

Details & registration coming soon

Thursday & Friday, August 20 & 21, 2020

Two Days of Social Thinking:
A Focus on Emotions

Surrey, BC & Webstreaming
Presented by Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP

Thursday & Friday, October 22 & 23, 2020

Educational Forum – Future Of Special Education In B.C.

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming

Thursday & Friday, November 5 & 6, 2020

Supporting Early So cial and Communication Development through Parent Coaching

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming

Friday, November 27, 2020

Parents are Teachers Too! PBS Scenarios in the Home and Community

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming

Brenda Fossett, PhD, BCBA-D

Thursday & Friday, February 4 & 5, 2021

Toilet Training For Everyone – Revised And Expanded

Vancouver, BC & Webstreaming

Presented by Pat Mirenda, PhD, BCBA-D and Katie Rinald, BCBA

Does your organization have an event, resource listing, or research project to list on ACT’s website?

ACT supports the autism community with special sections on our website for contributions from organizations, researchers, support groups, service providers, and educational training & employment opportunities. Submit to any of these sections:

Share Your April Autism Awareness Month Activities on our Community Events listing

ACT’s Special Needs Community Events listing shares event information from B.C. organizations. Are you planning anything for April to mark Autism Awareness Month? You are welcomed to submit your organization’s events.

Visit Special Needs Community Events to see what is happening around the province,

Participate in research

ACT encourages research that builds evidence-informed approaches to supporting individuals with autism and other conditions. We devote a page on ACT’s website to informing autistic adults and parents of children with ASD about university-affiliated projects which may be of interest.

Visit the Participate in Autism Research page to see all current research projects and project contact information. Submit your research project using our online form to submit your university-affiliated research projects related to the field of autism and special needs. It may take up to one week to post.

Submit a Community Resource to the BC Community Resources Database

ACT is continually adding to our community resources from throughout B.C. You can submit your recommendations for quality resources in your community for inclusion in the BC Community Resources Database. We also appreciate updates or corrections of existing community records.

Categories for submission include

• Community Agencies
• Recreational Activities
• Service Providers,
• Support Groups
• Educational Training & Employment Opportunities

Autism in the News

ACT carefully sources insightful stories, ranging from research and government policy, to the world of entertainment, culture, and lifestyle.

Join ACT’s Facebook page for all the latest updates.

Woman takes up law to fight for son with autism – BBC News

Canadians with lifelong disabilities can lose disability tax credit – Global News

Teachers encouraged by special-needs funding changes – Prince George Citizen

I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder – CBC Books

Girl Scout troop for children with special needs makes scouting ‘meaningful’ – Today

Malena Ernman on daughter Greta Thunberg: ‘She was slowly disappearing into some kind of darkness’ – The Guardian

Autistic teen faced relentless bullying since he came out at age 12. He died by suicide. – LGBTQ Nation

Melatonin may ease autistic children’s sleep troubles – Spectrum News

I’m Autistic, But I Didn’t Know It Until After Marriage And Kids – Yahoo

Alexandra Voroshina, MA, BCBA – Behavioral Consultant, Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD)

Georgina Robinson, PhD – Principal, Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD)

One of the greatest challenges faced by school district staff is how to teach students when they have persistent difficulty following instructions. Gaining student cooperation is vital to set the groundwork for learning in an inclusive classroom. In this one-day presentation, Alexandra Voroshina and Dr. Georgina Robinson will present an overview of POPARD’s Student Cooperation Training (SCT) Model. This approach to intervention, rooted in Behavior Skills Training and Applied Behavior Analysis creates lasting change and increases capacity across multiple layers of the school system. It targets an individual student, but includes training the classroom and school team, and requires district staff to participate and then replicate the model with support from POPARD.

The original seven-district POPARD pilot project of the SCT Model demonstrated that targeting skill development of school and district staff resulted in:

• An increase from an average of 30% to an average of 80% in successful teaching techniques.
• Growth in teacher confidence as a result of their students demonstrating positive behaviour change – the pre-requisite for learning.
• Consistent improvement in student skills, as demonstrated by acquisition data.
• Increased quality of life reported by family members, in both home and school environments.

The original pilot has now been expanded to three additional districts as part of this new service now being offered by POPARD.

Through this multimedia presentation, participants will learn how the Student Cooperation Training Model can help build capacity across the province. The components of training and outcomes will be outlined. There will be the opportunity to discuss ways in which POPARD can support, through the involvement of its educational consultants, the implementation of this model in the school environment, with ample opportunity for performance feedback.

Join us at the Simon Fraser University’s beautiful downtown Vancouver Harbour Centre campus or join via live web-streaming from your office, home or school.

Get tickets

Free web streaming registration for school districts teams

School Districts in BC are eligible to register their entire district, watching as a group on one screen, via web stream viewing, at no cost, thanks to sponsorship from Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD). Individual school district participants can register for $50 each. To sign up your district for this offer, contact your POPARD District Partner using the District Partner contact list.

Deadline for submissions of school district registrants is October 11th. You must register to receive a Certificate of Online Attendance.

View web streaming info

Save the date: Upcoming ACT Events

November 15, 2019
Introduction to Navigating BC’s School System
A POPARD Presentation

November 22, 2019
Supporting Indigenous Families Affected by Autism through Engagement and Research
ACT’s 2019 Focus on Research Gathering

November 29, 2019
Behaviors and Mental Health – an Introduction for Families of Children with Special Needs
A POPARD Presentation

Wednesday & Thursday 

September 25 & 26, 2019
Surrey, BC

View details & registration

Web-streaming to BC & Alberta
In-person seats are sold-out!

Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP

Co-Director, Cognitive Connections LLP, Boston

Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP, is coming to Surrey to teach hands-on practical strategies to improve Executive Function skills. These two days include many new strategies, so whether you’ve seen Sarah Ward before, or this is all new, you’re sure to walk away with fresh strategies that you can implement immediately.

Sarah Ward is the co-developer of the award-winning 360 Thinking Program which combines core concepts at the heart of executive functioning: situational and intention awareness, mental dress rehearsals, future thinking, time awareness and visualisation, which promote efficient and accurate completion of tasks. This model facilitates the development of 6 key skills for students: initiation, transition, planning, time management, self-regulation and meta-cognition. As the steps of a task are envisioned, potential obstacles can be anticipated for students to problem solve and achieve independence. See event details for a breakdown of each day. Day 2 builds on Day 1 so all registrants for Day 2 need to have attended Day 1.

Ms. Ward holds a faculty appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions where she provides instruction to graduate level students in the assessment and treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injury and other cognitive communication disorders.

Register before September 12th to save $25!

View details & registration

School District staff please contact ACT to check whether your district has a special rate for this event.

Presented in collaboration with Surrey Schools and the
Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD)

Web streaming discounts for groups

Cost-effective training solutions for school districts and agencies

Is your school district, agency or community group looking for a low cost way to make excellent, practical training, featuring internationally respected speakers, available to your teams with reduced fees and without the cost of travel? Join us at our live events! All you need is a comfortable venue, good internet connection, big screen, and a sound system.

ACT uses a professional film crew, streaming high-quality video and sound along with a live-chat your registrants can use to ask speakers questions.

Groups of registrants watch together on one screen and pay a reduced registration fee. ACT sends all registrants links to the handout and the password for the web stream to the organizer.

Contact info@actcommunity.ca to arrange for your group’s web stream registration today!

View web streaming info

Bursaries for web streaming

Bursaries for those most in need, including para-professionals, parents who have children with special needs, and adults with ASD are available for web streaming, to the best of our financial ability.

For information on how to apply for an ACT bursary, please visit the Bursaries FAQ page

Looking for the 2021 Executive Function Skills with Sarah Ward webinar series? View details & registration here.

New Cutting Edge Strategies to Improve Executive Function Skills

Wednesday & Thursday, September 25 & 26, 2019
Surrey, BC

Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP

Co-Director, Cognitive Connections LLP, Boston

View event details & registration

Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP, is coming to Surrey to teach hands-on practical strategies to improve Executive Function skills. These two days include many new strategies, so whether you’ve seen Sarah Ward before, or this is all new, you’re sure to walk away with fresh strategies that you can implement immediately.

Sarah Ward is the co-developer of the award-winning 360 Thinking Program which combines core concepts at the heart of executive functioning: situational and intention awareness, mental dress rehearsals, future thinking, time awareness and visualisation, which promote efficient and accurate completion of tasks. This model facilitates the development of 6 key skills for students: initiation, transition, planning, time management, self-regulation and meta-cognition. As the steps of a task are envisioned, potential obstacles can be anticipated for students to problem solve and achieve independence. See event details for a breakdown of each day. Day 2 builds on Day 1 so all registrants for Day 2 need to have attended Day 1.

Ms. Ward holds a faculty appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions where she provides instruction to graduate level students in the assessment and treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injury and other cognitive communication disorders.

Join us at the Surrey School District Education Centre or via live web-streaming.

Register before August 22nd to save $25!

View event details

School District staff please contact ACT to check whether your district has a special rate for this event.

Web streaming discounts for groups

Cost-effective training solutions for school districts and agencies

Is your school district, agency or community group looking for a low cost way to make excellent, practical training, featuring internationally respected speakers, available to your teams with reduced fees and without the cost of travel? Join us at our live events! All you need is a comfortable venue, good internet connection, big screen, and a sound system.

ACT uses a professional film crew, streaming high-quality video and sound along with a live-chat your registrants can use to ask speakers questions.

Groups of registrants watch together on one screen and pay a reduced registration fee. ACT sends all registrants links to the handout and the password for the web stream to the organizer.

Contact info@actcommunity.ca to arrange for your group’s web stream registration today!

View web streaming info

Bursaries for web streaming

Bursaries for those most in need, including para-professionals, parents who have children with special needs, and adults with ASD are available for web streaming, to the best of our financial ability.

For information on how to apply for an ACT bursary, please visit the Bursaries FAQ page

A Shark Watching Cruise in Mexico for one with Nautilus Tours! Sail to the waters of Guadalupe Island off of Baja California to experience the best Great White Shark diving on the planet!

This package includes accommodation and food on the Nautilus Belle Amie, with a spacious salon, sun deck, an expansive dive deck and, of course, a hot tub.

Bidding is now open and will end at ACT’s Songs on the Water event on June 4th. Visit the Songs on the Water page to book tickets for this fundraiser at the Vancouver Rowing Club, Stanley Park. All funds raised will benefit ACT’s free resources.

This trip is valued at over $3000 USD. Airfare not included.

Bid Now

Family Centred, Culturally Responsive PBS

Joseph Lucyshyn, PhD, BCBA-D, University of British Columbia
Dr. Joseph Lucyshyn presents a multi-method study of family centered positive behavior support (FCPBS), designed to be culturally responsive to families raising a child with developmental disabilities. A fascinating case study demonstrates how the family was coached to use PBS strategies to transform their child’s ability to eat a nutritious diet and play with her sibling.

Watch now

Thanks to funding from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration (CIRCA) at the University of British Columbia, ACT is able to provide this edited version of the 2018 Setting the Stage for Success: Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community conference.

Coming soon: Visual Support Strategies for Individuals with ASD with Dr. Brenda Fossett

View all PBS Videos

ACT Videos & Resources Guide – Spring Update

We’ve updated the ACT Videos & Resources Guide – now with 55 videos, as well as details of upcoming events, BC Resources, and the Autism Information Database.

New this issue: ‘Women & Girls with Autism’ and ‘Positive Behavior Support in Home, School, and Community’ learning streams, and a preview of new videos being released later this Spring.

View the Spring 2019 ACT Guide

Autism in the News

Parents decry cuts to B.C. autism program – CBC News

COMMENTARY || You can’t take autism and cut it out of me. I am who I am. – Folio

I’m autistic, not a child: Are casual cruelty and condescension neurotypical traits? – Salon

Kind flight attendant soothes autistic boy, 5, who had ‘meltdown’ on plane – Metro

‘Church’ to offer ‘miracle cure’ despite FDA warnings against drinking bleach – The Guardian

Autism runs in families with history of brain conditions – Spectrum News

How to ‘Hug’ a Kid With Autism – Offspring

Canada’s disability tax credit is valuable, but qualifying for it can be a huge challenge – Financial Post

Restraining students with disabilities is harmful – The Baltimore Sun

Miami Int’l Airport Opens Its First Multi-Sensory Room For Kids With Autism – CBS Miami

Family-Run Car Wash Employs 83 Workers with Autism: ‘It Provides Hope’ – People

3 Ways NYU Is Training New Teachers to Use Special Ed and ELL Strategies to Better Serve All Kids – The 74

Dimmed lights, no noise: Sensory friendly shopping coming to Vancouver Island – CTV News

Different for girls: understanding autism – The Guardian

Children who outgrow autism label end up with other diagnoses – Spectrum News

Every child matters: What principals need to effectively lead inclusive schools – The Conversation

‘Learning to trust himself:’ cook with autism works toward independence – Indiana Daily Student

Unique program pairs students, adults with autism – KARE11

What People Get Wrong About Autism – Esquire

Practical Ways to Decrease Challenging Behaviors in School, Home and Community Settings

Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel, respected internationally for her research and clinical practice, discusses various intervention procedures for decreasing challenging behaviors.

Dr. Kern Koegel also provides many example of how challenging behaviors can be avoided in the first place. This presentation will appeal to both professionals and families for its reliance on important research as well as respect for individuals with autism and challenging behaviors.

Watch now

WTF – What’s the Function?

Problem behaviors are one of the greatest barriers to student learning and is a significant problem for school staff and parents alike. Understanding why they occur is critical to developing preventative and educative solutions in-order-to benefit students and those who support them.

Dr. Richard Stock will dispel myths about why students engage in problem behaviors and teach participants about the four functions of behavior.

Watch now

Thanks to funding from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration (CIRCA) at the University of British Columbia, ACT is able to provide an edited version of the 2018 Setting the Stage for Success: Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community conference.

Visit the Positive Behavior Support video release page

New ACT Fundraiser

Songs on the Water:
A Musical Showcase in Support of ACT

June 4, 2019

Vancouver Rowing Club, Stanley Park

Welcome summer 2019 at the Vancouver Rowing Club, with a very special evening of music and friendship to benefit ACT – Autism Community Training. Featured artists include: Melanie Dekker, Yvonne McSkimming, and Mark James Fortin.

June 4th is an opportunity for the autism community and its friends to join with us for a fabulous evening in support of ACT’s free online resources. Organize a table or attend on your own. Either way you will meet old friends and make new ones.

Tickets for the evening are $50 – a $30 tax receipt will be provided. Demonstrate your support for ACT’s free online resources – sponsor a table – contact ACT for details.

ACT thanks the Synergy Collective Society, a community-based organization that blends art with social responsibility to support and create cooperative community programming.

Event Details & Tickets

Upcoming events

Two Social Thinking® Days for Young Children

April 11 & 12, 2019

Vancouver & Web streamed

Kari Zweber Palmer from the Social Thinking Speakers’ Collaborative is back in Vancouver with two days of training focused on younger learners. This is the fourth time ACT has presented this training and it always sells out! Save money and register by April 4th!

Live stream: Watch and participate live from anywhere by registering for web streaming.

Day 1 – Teaching Social Thinking through Stories and Play

Day 2 – What Does Play Have to Do with Classroom Learning? Exploring Social Executive Functioning and Social Emotional Learning for Early Learners
Event Details & Registration

Register by April 4th to save $50!

Please note that this training is geared for children with ASD who have age-appropriate language but struggle with social/emotional engagement. It is also effective for children with ADHD.

You may email ACT before registering if you have questions: info@actcommunity.ca

Special group rates of $150 per person for 3 or more people watching via web-streaming on the same screen – a great team-building opportunity for schools and clinics to train staff. Contact us to learn more.

Summer Camps are a hot topic! 

It is time to plan for summer camps! Parents are welcome to search ACT’s BC Community Listing for camps. We have 100 listed but you can narrow down the results by adding the name of the community where you live.

Are you a camp provider? You can submit your camp here!

If any listing is out of date please let us know or send us an update using the handy alert function on each record.