October News Roundup

In this issue:

COMMUNITY EVENTS
- Celebrating the Official Launch of Specialisterne in Canada – November 5, 2013
- Autism Awareness Event in Punjabi & English – ‘Building a Brighter Future for our Children’
- SFU to Host Three Family Quality of Life Panels.
NEW RESOURCES
- Advocacy Support for Young Adults Eligible for CLBC
- Creating a Medical Profile – A Free Tool for Parents and Caregivers
- ‘A Friend’s Guide to Autism’ – A New Autism Speaks Family Support Tool Kit
- Autism Related Books and DVDs by Mail!
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
- Employment Supports Speciality Certificate – Douglas College
AUTISM IN THE MEDIA
- Autism and Ability
- Bursting at the Seams: Global TV on autism treatment, funding and wait times
- Dental Care and Adults with Disabilities
- Dating and Autism
ACT LIVE EVENTS SPRING 2014 – SAVE THE DATES
LEMONDADE AND AUTISM AWARENESS IN KELOWNA
USING AN APP TO ASSESS SLEEP PROBLEMS

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Celebrating the Official Launch of Specialisterne in Canada – November 5, 2013

Thorkil Sonne, founder and chair of Specialisterne, an internationally recognized leader in harnessing the talents of people with autism with skills in the high tech field, will be presenting in Vancouver for the first time on November 5^th, from 7:00 – 9:00, Room C150, UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver. RSVP by October 31, 2013; for more information contact: [email protected].

Sibshop Training –Bursaries Available to Those Living in Underserved Communities

Thanks to the generosity of the Edith Lando Foundation, we have limited funding to subsidize the registration costs of those travelling from outside Metro Vancouver to take two days of Sibshop Facilitator Training with the founder of the Sibshop Program, Don Meyer, on November 15 & 16^th in Vancouver. This is a great opportunity for professionals and parents who would like to organize a siblings support group in their community. ACT is unable to provide travel expenses. For more information, see the event details page. For more information about bursaries call the ACT office toll-free 1-866-939-5188. The deadline for applying for a bursary is Nov. 7^th.

Autism Awareness Event in Punjabi & English – ‘Building a Brighter Future for our Children’

On the evening of December 5^th, ACT will be holding an autism awareness event at the Surrey School District with a panel of speakers including Parbinder Bains, Surrey School District; Dr. Vikram Dua, BC Children’s Hospital; Dr. Karen Bopp, Ministry of Children and Family Development and Rina Dulku, Surrey CDC. The CAN Van will be there! If you are interested in receiving more information, email Ruby Bhandal [email protected]

SFU to Host Three Family Quality of Life Panels

Have Your Say! Keep your eyes open for 3 upcoming events about Family Quality of Life and ASD planned for Burnaby, Vancouver, and Surrey. These events will be co-hosted by Simon Fraser University’s Autism and Developmental Disorders Lab (ADDL) and the Laurel Foundation and will feature a panel and audience discussion. Attendees will also be able to participate in the ADDL research project examining these issues. Visit ADDL for more information or to participate.

NEW RESOURCES

Advocacy Support for Young Adults Eligible for CLBC

The Office of the Representative for Children and Youth has recently announced that it will provide advocacy services for young adults who are eligible for services from Community Living BC, until their 24^th birthday. For information on eligibility, see the Fact Sheet or the RCYBC homepage.

Creating a Medical Profile – A Free Tool for Parents and Caregivers

A new tool, developed in B.C., aimed at helping parents and caregivers to prepare for visits to a hospital emergency department is now available on the ACT website. The medical profile form was developed in response to the concerns of many caregivers faced with communicating complex information to medical staff, while coping with a distressed individual with a developmental disability, autism and/or a mental health concern.

‘A Friend’s Guide to Autism’ – A New Autism Speaks Family Support Tool Kit

Autism Speaks has released a new toolkit for family friends who want to better understand how to support the whole family, especially when they are dealing with a new diagnosis. The toolkit answers questions about autism, how a parent might feel, and how family friends can help.

Autism Related Books and DVDs by Mail!

While ACT loves to sell autism related books at our events, we also encourage callers to borrow resources from two key libraries that are open to the public daily and will mail books and other resources across B.C. free of charge. Many of these resources are referenced on the ACT Information Database which can be searched to find excellent resources that ACT staff have identified. The resources in our database are carefully chosen, and more reliable than a Google Search. Many of the books found in the ACT database are available through the following libraries:

Canucks Autism Network has a great lending library (including DVDs)
B.C. Children’s Hospital with 5,000 books, DVDs and kids books.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Employment Supports Speciality Certificate – Douglas College

Interested in working with people with autism to find and keep meaningful work? Douglas College has a new online credential, the first in Western Canada to address this important area of need: Employment Supports Specialty Advanced Certificate. CLBC/Douglas College Foundation bursary awards are available for this program.

AUTISM IN THE MEDIA

Autism and Ability

Jake Barnett was diagnosed with autism and given little hope of ever speaking. Jacob is now 15. Read his mother’s account of his journey, The Spark: A mother’s story of nurturing genius. He has also been featured on CBC Radio, The Current, a story of a boy and his mom . Hear Jacob speak, Forget What You Know: Jacob Barnett at TEDxTeen.

Bursting at the Seams: Global TV on autism treatment, funding and wait times

In this remarkable series, Global TV has highlighted the need for an national autism strategy for Canada by contrasting autism treatment opportunities, funding levels and waiting times across Canada which forces some desperate families to move to ensure the services their children need. The series includes the following stories:

Wait times for treatment across Canada;
forced relocation of families looking for treatment funding;
the importance of early intervention.

Dental Care and Adults with Disabilities

Where can adults with disabilities get the dental care they need? Read more in this disturbing article in the Globe and Mail ‘The Obstacles to Dental Care for Adults with Disabilities‘.

Dating and Autism

Think dating is tough? What about when you have autism – how many other things do you have to add to the checklist? This Globe and Mail article conveys the complications of being single and autistic.

ACT LIVE EVENTS SPRING 2014 – SAVE THE DATE

January 31, 2014 – Vancouver – Navigating Puberty and Adolescence – Joy Becker, RN, BSN
February 13 & 14, 2014 – Richmond – Zooming In – Social Communicators in the Classroom, Playground and at Home – Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP and Pam Crooke, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
February 21, 2014 – Sidney – Navigating Puberty and Adolescence– Joy Becker, RN, BSN
February 28, 2014 – Vancouver – Toilet Training: It’s Never Too Late! Pat Mirenda, Ph.D., UBC
March 1, 2014 – Vancouver – Ready, Set, Coach – Stephanie Jull, Ph.D., Canucks Autism Network
April 4 & 5, 2014 – Vancouver –10^th Annual Focus on Research

LEMONDADE AND AUTISM AWARENESS IN KELOWNA

MJ and his service dog Kiley hosted a SunRype “lemonade stand” at our September 27^th event in Kelowna. MJ’s brother Jack was the accountant for the day and he tallied over $400 in donations for several autism-related non-profits, including ACT – Autism Community Training. Read more on the difference Kiley, the support dog, makes to MJ and his family.

USING AN APP TO ASSESS SLEEP PROBLEMS

The Children’s Sleep Network is excited to announce the pilot launch of the Participatory Research Project Sleep/Wake App (SWAPP). This tool will help parents and physicians properly assess sleep problems at the community-level, resulting in quicker access to appropriate treatment. It will also help contribute to monitoring outcomes, creating better evidence for controversial and novel sleep therapies.

Specialisterne Reception with Thorkil Sonne Nov 5, 2013

Join the Community Living Innovation Venture for a special presentation by Thorkil Sonn, founder and chair of Specialisterne. Specialisterne is an internationally recognized leader in harnessing the talents of people on the autism spectrum by providing them with the opportunity to sustain meaningful employment.

Date: Tuesday, November 5th, 2013, from 7pm to 9pm,

Location: Room C150, UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver

For questions or to RSVP by October 31, 2013, email: [email protected]

(reposted)

Calling All Siblings, Ages 8-13, for demonstration Sibshop – November 16 – Vancouver

ACT – Autism Community Training and the Down Syndrome Research Foundation are partnering on a special training November 15 & 16^th focused on the needs of siblings of children with special needs. To improve community supports for siblings, we are providing Sibshop Faciliator Training, facilitated by Don Meyer of the Siblings Support Project in Seattle. Don is an internationally recognized writer of multiple books on the sibshop approach which he developed.

Wanted! 25 sibs between 8 -13 years old to participate in a 4 hours of fun activities

When: Saturday November 16, 2013, 10am to 2pm

Where: Simon Fraser University’s Downtown Vancouver Campus, (two minutes walk from Waterfront Station)

Treats for the siblings and their parents:

The kids will have a fun filled four hours (including a kid-friendly lunch!)
Kids will receive a $15 iTunes gift card as a thank you for participating.
The parents who transport them will be given a $50 gift voucher towards an ACT event or online video.
ACT will provide full supervision. Parents are not required to stay as it has been found that siblings appreciate an opportunity to engage with their peers without a parental presence!

If you are a parent whose child without a special need is an interested sibling, please contact Vivian Walker, ACT’s event planner, before November 1^st for more information. Vivian can be reached at 604-205-5467 or [email protected]

For more information on the event see: www.actcommunity.ca/education/act-events/sibs-nov-13/

M.P. Mike Lake speaks out on autism – Global TV

Global TV continued its series on waiting lists for autism diagnosis and treatment with an in-depth interview with federal MP Mike Lake and his son Jaden, who has autism and will soon be 18.

For a party political view of the crisis see the 3rd part in the series, also broadcast October 9.

National crisis in autism diagnosis and treatment facing Canadian families – Global TV

Global TV is highlighting the crisis in autism diagnosis and treatment facing Canadian families coast to coast, and the lack of dependable national data on waiting lists, with a weeklong series. For the first instalment see the video on the Global TV website.

ACT News and Resources