July 2023 Newsletter
A Note from our Leadership Team
Happy Summer! It’s hard to believe that we are already in the middle of these wonderful summer months! Spring went by very quickly. Despite the couple of days of rain this past week, we hope you are enjoying the sunshine and warm summer weather we have been having. The longer days offer a chance to be outside more and focus on generalizing skills and learning or teaching new ones within a variety of motivating activities and routines that may not be as accessible during the other cooler months of the year. We also know there are often changes in routines for caregivers and staff over the summer months. We are happy to work with you to coordinate additional sessions in your schedule. Please let your Behaviour Consultant know if you have availability to add additional sessions. We are happy to help in any way we can. Enjoy the rest of the summer and we hope you have so much fun!
Important Dates
- August 7th is BC Day a statutory holiday. All sessions scheduled for this day will need to be rescheduled.
- September 4th is Labour Day a statutory holiday. All sessions scheduled for this day will need to be rescheduled.
- Summer break ends and school in BC begins September 5th
Summer Fun In The Community
Summer is a time to explore new things and our communities are busy with fun activities for the whole family! Check out the list below of community events happening this month!
- Bring your kids to Port Coquitlam to see a fire truck and police car display at the Spray Park! Spray Day is happening August 19th at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre between 1 and 3pm. You can find more information here.
- Spend an evening enjoying the warm summer air at a community picnic! There are a variety of fun activities for the whole family at these events, which are taking place in various locations across Surrey and Cloverdale. To find a the dates and a location near you can check out the details here.
- Coquitlam is hosting the vibrant Kaleidoscope Arts Festival in two locations on August 18th and 19th. Live music and interactive art installations makes this festival great for all ages.
- There’s lots to watch and explore during Kits Fest in Vancouver at Kitsilano Beach. The family fun zone is a space for children to explore sport, do arts and crafts, and watch live music! The festival is happening August 11th through 13th.
Caregiver’s Corner
At FCPG, we are passionate and committed to providing ongoing training opportunities for caregivers of our clients. This month, we are excited to share about an upcoming live webinar sponsored by POPARD and BC-ABA.
During this live 2 hour webinar, Dr. Gregory Hanley, a world-renowned behaviour analyst will be providing an overview of a compassionate and collaborative Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) approach for improving relationships and behaviour. This webinar is suitable for caregivers and professionals and will focus on the values of this compassionate and collaborative ABA approach while describing how to form relationships while addressing problem behaviours. You can register through ACT BC for this webinar that takes place September 29th 2023.
Staff Training & Professional Development Opportunities
At FCPG, we are dedicated and committed to providing ongoing training opportunities for our staff so they can best serve our clients. Ongoing training and support is a crucial part of our practice as professional Behaviour Analysts. The consultants you are working with provide caregivers and BIs with direct individualized behavioural skills training (BST) and as an organization we strive to provide our BIs with complimentary additional training related to their professional development in the field. We are hopeful BIs will want to continue down this professional career path and work in the field of ABA in support of individuals with autism and related disabilities. It is a path of continual learning and growth and we are so pleased to have team members committed to this work. There are plenty of advancement opportunities at FCPG and we we are always looking to help build knowledge and capacity.
Some of the training opportunities we are focused on across July and August include:
- Standards, Strategies and Resources for Effective Caregiver Training & Support: Caregivers are key individuals within an ABA program to ensure effects are maintained and generalized both during and after therapy has ended. We provide ongoing training for behaviour consultants on evidence based strategies for caregiver training to ensure all caregivers receive effective training on behavioural principles as well as individualized priority goals for their child.
- ABA History and A Continued Focus on Trauma-Informed Care: As a team we do ongoing training on topics significant to the individuals we serve and we have continued to focus on training all staff in trauma informed care. Trauma informed care is an intentional decision to provide services and care in a highly individualized, unique, respectful manner taking each individuals interests and preferences into consideration from the start. Your behavioural consultant will be taking this information and continuing to apply it to individualized supports and strategies designed for each child in our program.
Consultant Spotlight
Mady Kriete is a Behavioural Consultant with FCPG and has been with us since 2016. We connected with Mady to learn more about her and why she loves being part of FCPG! To find out more about Mady and her credentials, you can visit her full bio here.
What’s your favourite part about being being a Behaviour Interventionist with FCPG?
- During my time with FCPG, I have met families and supported children from many different cultures. I truly enjoy learning from families about their cultural values, traditions, and beliefs and working with families to teach and support their children to participate in routines and traditions that are important for them and assist their children to be involved in their communities.
What’s a fun fact that about you that people may not know?
- My son is carbon copy of me! We have the same curly hair, he has my blue eyes, and we are both left handed. We love to spend time outside and we enjoy the same foods. He does have his dad’s sense of humour though!
What’s the last book you read?
- The last book I read was The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. I’m a sucker for historical fiction and her character development makes all her books great reads!
What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
- My husband and I are travelling to the UK for our ten year wedding anniversary next year and I’m looking forward to exploring the Shetland Islands in Scotland.
What are three words that best describe you?
- Expressive, affectionate, and hardworking.
BI Spotlight
Harshil has been a Behavioural Interventionist with FCPG since January 2023. We connected with Harshil to learn about why he is proud to be working with FCPG as a BI!
What’s your favourite part about being being a Behaviour Interventionist with FCPG?
- Interacting with the kids and watching them grow and progress over time. I love how over time, I build an understanding with them and create new learning experiences within the session. I also love the amount of support and overlaps I receive. It allows me to reflect on my progress as a BI and it allows me to improve my skills as well.
What’s something that about you that people may not know?
- I am from Mauritius. It is an island off Madagascar. I highly recommend Mauritius as a vacation destination (if you can deal with 21hr worth of flying).
What’s the last book you read?
- The last book I read was Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography. As a competitive athlete, I find myself reading autobiographies and listening to those who have been successful at the highest level of sports. I am always looking to improve myself as a soccer player and a leader. I found that my developments on the soccer field have positively impacted other parts of my life.
What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
- I want to visit Europe. I would like to do a European soccer tour where I watch one game from each European country and have an authentic fan experience.
What are three words that best describe you?
- Energetic, diligent, and hardworking
Consultant Resources
Along with the numerous events and resources provided directly from FCPG, we also want to share with our team about opportunities in the community for professional development. This month, we would like to share about a training opportunity provided by POPARD.
During this two day workshop, Sarah Ward M.S., CCC-SLP, will be reviewing strategies to develop executive functioning for individuals of all ages. The workshop focuses on providing professionals with practical and effective approaches to develop executive function skills across the lifespan. You can register through ACT BC for this webinar that takes place August 17th and 18th.
BI Resources
To ensure high quality early intervention programs for all our clients we continue to provide ongoing training opportunities and resources to our Behaviour Interventionists.
This month, we want to highlight the importance of trauma informed ABA and share a resource where you can learn more about it. Trauma informed ABA involves looking at each individual and acknowledging that their past experiences are likely having an effecting their current behaviour. It is important as service providers that we are implementing practices that safe and effective for those we serve and ensuring that we have client assent when implementing program goals. We strongly urge all BIs to review this blog post from I Love ABA on trauma informed ABA and connect with your consultant with any questions on this in relation to your clients.
Fun Activities To Try This Summer
If you are looking for fun activities for your child or your client during summer break, look no further! The Autism Helper website has shared a list of 30 fun summer activities to try with your kids! Many of these activities are free or low cost.
