Beyond the Walls: Mental Health and Wellness
About the program
Beyond the Walls is a program created to encourage independence, wellness, improved mental health, community involvement, joy and resilience in neurodivergent adolescents (who may have Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or similar neurodevelopmental disorders). The focus of this program is to create capacity within the neurodivergent youth population to become more independent and have a safe place to learn how to utilize social strategies to improve integration with everyday community activities.
The upcoming Beyond the Walls module will focus on Mental Health and Wellness. This module promotes awareness of one’s own mental health and wellness and the identification of appropriate coping strategies to use in different situations. Participants will be provided with an introduction to mental health and wellness, have opportunities to experience and trial different coping mechanisms (e.g., mindfulness, positive affirmations, exercise, yoga, meditation), and create their own ‘emotional toolkit’ to use in different settings.
Eligibility
Participants must:
- Be neurodiverse youth between the ages of 13 and 19 years of age
- Benefit from the explicit direction in the program topics
- Be able to manage in a group environment of three participants to one staff
- Have a reliable method of communicating their wants and needs
- Not engage in harmful behaviour to self or others
- Respect a closed door
Details
Sessions will run for four weeks on Thursday evenings from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm (May 25, June 1, June 15, and June 22) at the Oshawa Main Site. Workshop development and program supervision are overseen by Grandview Kids staff, including Behaviour clinicians and Recreation Therapists.
Please note
These interventions are not therapeutic or clinical in nature, and the sessions are intended to support the expected participant outcomes described above.
Visitors to Grandview Kids are required to meet the current health guidelines and complete a daily health screening. At this time, masks are not required to attend this module. Updates to masking requirements may change throughout the duration of the group, and participants will be notified accordingly.
Cancellation Policy: Groups are non-refundable if the participant is unable to attend some or all sessions.
