How Can I be an Advocate for my Child with Special Needs?
Advocacy Advocacy means supporting and enabling another person to meet their needs, especially when they may be particularly vulnerable. As a parent of a child with autism or other special needs, you likely already advocate for your child in various …
Visual Supports
What are they? A visual support is a type of visual display that helps the learner engage in target skills or behaviours (Fleury et al., 2015) Examples include: Pictures Written words Activity schedules First-then sequences Labels Organization systems Choice boards …
What can I do about my child’s sleep problems?
Sleep Challenges Research has demonstrated that anywhere between 44-83% of children with autism have problems with sleep (Couturier et al., 2005; Krakowiak, Goodlin-Jones, Hertz-Picciotto, Croen, & Hansen, 2008). Families who have a child with autism may experience problems with their …
What are Motor Skills and Why are They Important?
When we talk about motor skills, we often break it down into two types: gross motor skills, or physical movements that use the whole body, and fine motor skills, which are movements that use the small muscles of the hands. …
What are evidence-based practices?
There are multiple interventions out there being used to treat autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This can make it tough to choose the best one for your child. Interventions that have been vigorously studied and recognized as effective treatments in peer-reviewed …
Addressing Food Challenges with Solutions for Children with Autism
As parents, we all face fears and anxieties around raising healthy and happy children. If you are parenting a child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), your challenges can feel more extreme. Our Family Centred Practices Group clients face many obstacles …
Avoiding Anxiety and Forming Friendships this School Year
With back to school around the corner, many children start to experience anxiety around the return or start of school. There are many reasons for these nervous feelings including perceived expectations, new and unknown teachers and worry over friendships. The …
Your Guide to Managing Stress While Raising A Child With Autism
A parent’s job is never-ending. When our children are babies, we figure it will get easier as they get older. As it turns out each age has it’s own set of unique challenges. Homework, appointments, afterschool activities, and financial stresses …
Community Support
Autism and related disorders can be very difficult – for the individual, the siblings, and the family as a whole – we are here to help. At Family Centred Practices Group, we encourage the families we work with to take …
ABA – What is it and why do we use it?
Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a scientific field of study that focuses on behaviour, specifically the principles of learning socially significant behaviour. ABA-based interventions are extremely helpful for children with autism or other related disabilities. Rather than changing the individual’s …