OVERVIEW OF 2014-15
Date: August 12th, 2015
2014-15 has been a very busy year of development and growth for Autism Edmonton. We have developed our
strategic roadmap for 2015 to 2018, re-clarified our vision and mission, introduced exciting new programs and
services, and ultimately, rebranded our organization to reflect its renewed and evolved identity.
Today, Autism Edmonton has over 1800 active members and responds to over 10,000 general inquiries per year, of
which around 1200 are specific requests for support and assistance from individuals, families, and service
professionals in the Edmonton and surrounding communities.
The following is a summary of the program and service development for 2014-15:
1.
Introduced the OCCASIO Program in March 2015. It is a social-recreational respite program designed to
eliminate barriers to meaningful respite and provide individuals age 10 and over (including adults) with
safe and socially stimulating settings to enhance their interaction and communication skills. This program
is inspired by the social-recreational respite program first offered in Calgary by the Autism Aspergers
Friendship Society of Calgary. The program has been growing slowly but steadily since its inception and
currently has over 40 active participants.
2.
Launched The Pantry Program in April 2015. The program is designed to provide access to healthy food
and other essential daily-living items in a dignified, autism-friendly/sensitive environment for adults on
the spectrum with limited income. The program is thus far only opened to existing users of Autism
Edmonton’s programs. From its April inception until the end of July, the program has been accessed close
to 40 times by 16 individuals.
3.
Established the Sensory Experience Program for children with autism in Spring 2015 in partnership with
Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton. The first serie, centred on medical experiences - visits to the
doctor and dentist, will be delivered in September 2015. The program aims to prepare the parents as well
as the children to deal more effectively with such encounters – by equipping parents with strategies on
how to support their children through such encounters as well as by setting up opportunities for children
with autism to experience the encounters in a controlled and supported yet realistic environment.
4.
Offered the first serie of psycho-educational program in Fall 2014. This Fall 2014 serie was focused on
helping adults with autism gained the skills needed to effectively maneuver around difficult interactions
with others. Six (6) adults participated in the first serie.
5.
Introduced the Partners of Individuals with Autism group in Fall 2014 to the existing list of
support/social/discussion groups offered by Autism Edmonton. These groups are: Parents of Newly
Diagnosed Children, Parents of Adults with Autism, The League of Extraordinary Individuals (18-24 yrs),
Adults with Autism (25+ yrs), Club Quirk (25+ yrs), and Adult Drama Group. The larger groups would have
as high as 15 to 20 attendees per session, while a couple of smaller groups might have range of 3 to 6
attendees per session. As a whole, majority of groups would have over 10 attendees per session.
6.
Started the Social Enterprise Development Internship initiative in Summer 2014. In this initiative,
individuals with autism or families of individuals with autism considering the start-up or further growth of
a small business using the talents and abilities of individuals with autism are paired with post-secondary
student interns with business training and/or experience. These students work on operational and market
analyses, marketing and development strategies, business planning, financial projections, and any other
activities that would contribute to the enhancement the start-up or growth abilities of the businesses.
For the 2014 season, 2 small businesses benefited from this initiative. The 2015 season will begin in
August 2015.
7.
Expanded the Family Program starting July 2015. Autism Edmonton started with about 4 family activity
nights per year at one regular location (The Toy Hutch). Starting this 2015 summer, Autism Edmonton has
begun to offer one or more family activity days per month at various locations involving different
activities. Our July community gardening days were a great success, with a total of 42 attendees. Our
upcoming outdoor pool party already has 35 registrants. The family activity days are designed to engage
families with children on the spectrum and to allow them to come together, socialize, share knowledge
and information as well as support one another.
Autism Edmonton aims to offer more than family social activities in its Family Program. Other planned
initiatives currently in development are:
•
Parents Helping Parents Program where experienced parents of children with autism as well as
field experts come together to support and assist less experienced parents in i) navigating
through Edmonton/Alberta’s complex social and health systems and ii) working through issues
related to raising or dealing with a child on the spectrum. A trial session was ran on August 5th,
2015. A total of 35 parents attended the session.
•
Family Counselling where families with children on the autism spectrum can access counselling
and other psychological support.
8.
Initiated the development of Housing Support Services for adults with autism in Edmonton. Such service is
critical yet almost non-existent here in Edmonton. The broader and longer term aim is to i) identify and
continually establish viable housing options and living arrangements for adults with autism and ii) identify
and coordinate wrap-around services that are needed for adults with autism to thrive in their chosen
living arrangement.
9.
Expanded the Autism Support Service capacity. With funding from the Sinneave Family Foundation,
Autism Edmonton was able to add the equivalent of one full-time staff to the Autism Support Services
team. This increase in capacity has allowed Autism Edmonton to:
 Increase coverage of direct in-person, online, and telephone support to the 1200 requests for
assistance we receive each year
 Extend our outreach to the immigrant and other insufficiently supported communities in our city
 Expand existing program such as our Family Program and deliver new programs such as our Food
Pantry Program and the upcoming Parents to Parents program
 Add sessions and options to our peer support groups
 Initiate the development of the housing support services
For 2015-16, Autism Edmonton will focus on strengthening its newly launched programs and initiatives. At the
same time, it will continue to work on the development of other planned initiatives.
For more information on our programs and services, please visit our website at www.autismedmonton.org