iPad’s in Autism March 10th – Last Chance to Register
Faster than a Speeding Bullet:
iPads in Autism Intervention
March 10th, 2018, Vancouver
with Dr. Brenda Fossett, BCBA-D
Save $50 when you register by March 5!
For an update on the latest and greatest educational and communication apps for children and adults with special needs, join Dr. Brenda Fossett, BCBA-D for a day that will ensure you are up to speed!
Since the iPad was first released in 2010, the use of iPads and other tablets have become common learning tool in the educational environment. For individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, they have been seen as “miracle” devices. However, for these devices to be effective, there is a lot to be considered.
This workshop will review a number of skill areas in which the iPad can be a useful instructional tool and/or an aid for daily living. Current research regarding the effectiveness of iPad and other tablet-based applications in a variety of skill areas, including communication, academic, daily living, social and employment skills will be reviewed.
Relevant apps will be discussed and/or demonstrated. This presentation will address the age range, from young children to adult. It is aimed at those who need considerable support in communication and behaviour.
Event Details & Registration
About the Presenter
Dr. Brenda Fossett, BCBA-D is an inspired teacher who is widely admired for her ability to convey complex concepts to those who work with children and adults with special needs, whether they are educational professionals or parent. Dr. Fossett has been on faculty in the Applied Behavior Analysis – Autism Department at Capilano University since 2013.
ACT News Round-Up: Register for events online with parent bursary, Autism in the News, BC Resources and Autism Information redesign
Upcoming ACT Events
New! Parents of children with ASD can now
register for events online for $25 a day.
Parents are no longer required to call or email to use MCFD event bursaries.
“I’m going to be a video game designer!”
Helping Teens Prepare for the REAL Adult World
February 23rd, 2018, Sidney
with Pamela Crooke, PhD, CC C-SLP
Director, Social Thinking Training and Speakers’ Collaborative, San Jose, California
At ACT, we hear from many families concerned that their teens with ASD are unprepared to graduate. Academically able students also need help to develop the life skills they need to thrive in higher education and employment. School and home teams are more effective when they consider these issues at 12 rather than 17!
This one day workshop with Dr. Pamela Crooke, who works extensively with able teens and young adults, will provide school teams and parents with a practical approach to helping young people with ASD thrive either in higher education or employment.
Event Details & Registration
Faster than a Speeding Bullet:
iPads in Autism Intervention
March 10th, 2018, Vancouver
with Dr. Brenda Fossett
Since the iPad was first released in 2010, the use of iPads and other tablets have become common learning tool in the educational environment. For individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, they have been seen as “miracle” devices. However, for these devices to be effective, there is a lot to be considered.
This workshop will review a number of skill areas in which the iPad can be a useful instructional tool and/or an aid for daily living. Current research regarding the effectiveness of iPad and other tablet-based applications in a variety of skill areas, including communication, academic, daily living, social and employment skills will be reviewed.
Relevant apps will be discussed and/or demonstrated. This presentation will address the age range, from young children to adult. It is aimed at those who need considerable support in communication and behaviour.
Event Details & Registration
Parents can Register for this and any other ACT Event for $25 a day:
Visit any ACT Event and choose
“Parent of Child with ASD” when you add to cart
Bursaries for those most in need, including para-professionals, parents who have children with special needs other than autism, adults with ASD, and professionals who need to travel outside of their home regions are also available, to the best of our financial ability. We will also be providing reduced registration fees to attend our web streamed events. For information on how to apply for an ACT bursary, please visit the Bursaries FAQ page
We’ve moved!
Our new office is located at
204 – 2735 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Our phone number and other contact information are unchanged.
New BC Resources and
Autism Information portals
Our recently re-designed portals to Autism Information and BC Resources are now available. These pages make it easier than ever to discover ACT’s autism resources, community events, and information in multiple languages.
BC Resources
Search B.C. Community Resources, find Community Events, look through the Autism Manual and New Diagnosis Hub, discover educational opportunities, and much more.
Autism Information
Search the Autism Information Database (AID), browse by subject, find autism information in Chinese and Punjabi, along with dozens of languages in the AID, browse videos in the Online Mental Health and Autism Project, and discover the latest in autism research.
Autism in the News
Get the latest on our Facebook page
Parents Are Making Their Children Drink Bleach to ‘Cure’ Them of Autism – Newsweek
Finally, a Sensitive Portrayal of Both Autistic Women and Star Trek Fans – Slate
Skirting the wait list, Edmonton schools aim to diagnose autism on their own – Edmonton Journal
Weighing up autism’s obesity crisis – Spectrum News
Drawings connect autistic student with the world – Salmon Arm Observer
How David Bowie helped my autistic son become himself – Slate
Brentley’s journey with autism: A three-year-old Penticton boy has a new direction in life – Pentiction Western News
Edmonton schools cope with explosion in number of students on autism spectrum – Edmonton Journal
Another rug bites the dust: A mom laments the collateral damage of autism – Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area
Sensory sensitivity may share genetic roots with autism – Spectrum News
Lake Nona hospital creates special room in ER for autistic children – WFTV
Autism advocate launches ‘prescription television’ show – Philadelphia Tribune
Girls with autism need help honing social skills in realistic settings – Spectrum News
Professor put on leave after allegedly mocking U of G student with ‘severe anxiety‘ – CBC News
Garda probe into alleged threat to ‘bash the autism out of’ mum’s children – Herald News
France faces down its outdated notions about autism – Spectrum News
Nonverbal Canadian woman appears on ‘Late Show,’ turns tables on Colbert – CTV News
Mom who quit job to care for son with autism questions Trudeau about national ‘crisis’ – CTV News
New measure yields rapid diagnosis in adults with autism – Spectrum News
ACT is offering $50 bursaries to all school district staff for a workshop being held on February 23 at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney
The speaker is Dr. Pamela Crooke from the Social Thinking Collaborative in San Jose, California, which was founded by Michelle Garcia Winner. Dr. Crooke will be addressing the transition needs of more able students with autism, who are often ill prepared to graduate because of the assumption that their academic profile will compensate for their lack of social awareness in employment or higher education settings.
Too often the students themselves have an unrealistic vision of their employment prospects, hence the title of Dr. Crooke’s presentation: “I’m going to be a video game designer!”- Helping Teens Prepare for the REAL Adult World. See ACT’s website for details of the presentation, including learning outcomes, and how to register. You can learn more about Dr. Crooke here. Dr. Crooke has presented for ACT before and audiences have been overwhelmingly positive about her engaging, frank and humorous style.
School District Staff Discount: Register online and receive $50 off when you use your staff email address and this coupon code: sd50. Register by January 11 and save an additional $25.
Registration & Event Details
ACT is moving!
As of Friday, January 19th ACT’s new address will be:
204 – 2735 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC
V5K 1Z8
Our phone number and other contact information remains unchanged.
We will be moving to our new offices on Friday, January 19th. Please email [email protected] for any inquiries on that day.
Herring for Autism Sale!
Sunday, January 14 – 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
To kick off fundraising in 2018, ACT – Autism Community Training will benefit from a ‘Herring for Autism Sale’, sponsored by Oceanside Fisheries, on Sunday, January 14 in Steveston, Richmond, the heart of the Lower Mainland’s fishing industry.
ACT is stepping up its fundraising efforts to ensure it can maintain its extensive free online autism resources. The B.C. Liberal Government cut funding for community-based autism information services in 2017.
When: Sunday, January 14: 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
Where: Oceanside Dock, 3080 Moncton Street in Steveston (next to Garry Point Park), Richmond Map
Why: Fresh herring is a delicacy for many international cuisines, from Scandinavia to China.
Cost: The bags are $20 each with all proceeds going to ACT. ACT volunteers will deliver the herring to the cars of eager customers. Payment in cash, credit, or debit.
Steveston’s fishing industry is renowned for its generous support for those with special needs in B.C., but Oceanside Fisheries owners Mike Rekis and Anne McCaw have a special tie to the autism community: “Our daughter is a very able adult now, but we haven’t forgotten how important ACT is to the success of children and adults with autism. We are supporting ACT because our family believes that the next generation of B.C. children deserves to have access to ACT’s impartial information and training resources,” explains Anne McCaw, a former ACT Board Member.
“ACT is heartened by the support we are receiving from Oceanside. We support all of B.C. with our free online information and training resources,” says Deborah Pugh, ACT’s Executive Director, “Every bag of herring sold will help us continue to provide families with vital information on how to help their children.”
ACT’s Quick Facts 2018
About Autism Spectrum Disorder in BC
- According to the Government of B.C., nearly 1 out of every 61 children in the province has an autism diagnosis – nearly 13,000 children as of the end of 2016.
- ASD affects a child’s ability to communicate and engage socially. With effective intervention and support at home and at school, the majority will learn to communicate and to engage effectively in school, the community and in employment environments.
About ACT – Autism Community Training
- ACT provides evidence-informed information and training on ASD to parents and professionals – the most comprehensive community-level autism information service in Canada.
- Since the government of B.C. cancelled funding in 2017, ACT’s relies on sponsors, donors and registration fees to support our information resources. ACT is a registered charity; our charitable tax number is #861691236RR0001.
- ACT’s services support individuals with autism to live productive, satisfying lives within their communities, ensuring that families and professionals, wherever they live in BC, have access 24/7, 365 days a year, to:
- BC Community Database
- Over 1,200 vetted B.C. community resources from dentists to horses!
- 7,000 keyword searches in 2017
- Autism Information Database
- 1,300 curated resources sourced internationally
- 31,800 searches in 2017
- Autism Videos @ ACT (AVA)
- Instant access to 28 free online videos produced by ACT
- 19,000 views in 2017
- ACT’s Autism Manual for B.C.
- 13 online chapters – from diagnosis to employment
- B.C.’s Special Needs Community Calendar – a free community listings service
- ACT’s Facebook page – over 3,800 followers around the world
- ACT’s Monthly News Round-Up – reaching over 7,000 individuals and organizations in B.C.
- actcommunity.ca – the portal to ACT’s resources – over 32,000-page views in 2017
- BC Community Database
- ACT hosts conferences and workshops featuring leading Canadian and international autism researchers and clinicians:
- In 2017, ACT held nine events in three communities.
- 1,200 people received over 14,000 hours of training, in-person and via live web streaming.