Autism Program

June 25, 2021

Eligible families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will begin receiving invitations to the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) Caregiver-Mediated Early Years Programs on June 28, 2021.

Today, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) unveiled the agencies offering caregiver-mediated programs in Ontario. In Durham Region, the successful agencies include Grandview Kids, Lake Ridge Community Support Services and The Regional Municipality of Durham. Along with Resources for Exceptional Children and Youth, these agencies make up the Ontario Autism Program, Durham (OAP-D) Partnership.

The OAP-D Partnership will deliver three caregiver-mediated Programs: Social ABCs, Project ImPACT, and The PLAY Project.

Mother holding son in her lap as he plays with the toys in front of them.

Caregiver-mediated early years programs are play-based and child-led. These programs help young children (12 to 48 months of age) learn new skills and meet individualized goals in their natural environments. Programs are delivered by trained professionals who support parents to learn and apply play-based strategies that foster their child’s skill development. Programs are offered for up to six months, with virtual options available during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Programs are offered as part of a needs-based, sustainable and family-centred OAP led by the MCCSS. The MCCSS will directly invite families to participate via written letter. Grandview Kids will oversee the referral and intake process, and families will select their preferred program. Families may only participate in one program at a time at no cost.

“We are thrilled to partner with Lake Ridge Community Support Services and The Regional Municipality of Durham to support families of young children with Autism. The addition of caregiver-mediated programs means parents will have improved access and support to help their child reach their full potential.”
Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann, CEO, Grandview Kids

For more information on the Ontario Autism Program, Caregiver-Mediated Early Years Programs, visit the Province of Ontario website and our dedicated Caregiver-Mediated Programs page.

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The Ultimate Training Technique!

Written by Grandview Kids Autism Therapy Assistant Samantha

Do you ever wonder what the process is on how we train staff and parents in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)? Well, the most likely answer is by using a technique called Behavioural Skills Training or BST.

Behavioural Skills Training is broken down into four parts: instruction, modelling, practice/rehearsal and feedback.

Instruction

Instruction refers to telling the parent or trainee what to do and explaining why we do it. Too often, people stop at this step or do not explain the why behind our actions. Adequate training involves more than just the explanation! Parents and trainees need to understand the reasoning behind why we do certain things instead of just telling them, “you need to do it this way.”

Modelling

Modelling refers to the clinician modelling or showing the parent/trainee what to do. This step should be completed in the natural environment with the client or your child when possible. For example, if a clinician is training you on effectively transitioning your child into the school, the clinician would model the skill during a regular transition. This allows you to see the skill in action! However, if modelling in the natural environment is not possible, you can perform role-play scenarios!

Practice/Rehearsal

Practice makes perfect! This is the most important step, as this is where the trainee or parent gets to practice the skill they just learned. Similar to the modelling step, this step should also be completed in the natural environment when possible. It allows trainees to experience it like they would in a real situation.

Feedback

Feedback is when the clinician gives the trainee or parent some immediate feedback on what they did correctly and what they need to improve. Feedback should be immediate, so the trainee can fix it right away and keep practicing! This also allows the parent or trainee to ask questions if they need clarifications.

Other Uses of BST:

Behavioural Skills Training can also be effective for teaching skills to children! Some examples of skills that can be taught using BST are:

Accepting outcomes of games (winning/losing appropriately)
How to interrupt a conversation
Safety skills (e.g., what to do if you are lost)

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Understanding your child’s behaviour

Written by Grandview Kids Autism Therapy Assistants Dana and Yogeetha

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to seek the support of a professional trained in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) if their child is engaging in challenging behaviour that is causing harm to themselves or others and/or maybe impacting their ability to access various environments experiences.

Behaviour is anything a living thing does… eating…. breathing…. walking…. reading…. crying… these are all human behaviours. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to manage challenging behaviour with their child (example: kicking, hitting, yelling). As a parent, you may be thinking, should I ignore the behaviour and hope it stops? Should I use time-outs? Why isn’t my discipline working?

Here are some tips to guide and assist with better understanding your child’s challenging behaviour.

The ABC’s of Behaviour

All behaviours have a function or reason for occurring. Collecting ABC data and reviewing the findings will help modify our approach to change the behaviour.

Scenario: Billy is at the grocery store with his parents. He asks for a candy bar. His parents say “no” as he will be having dinner soon. Billy throws a tantrum by crying and flopping on the floor. To stop the tantrum, the parents give him a candy bar.

A is the antecedent. This refers to what happens BEFORE the behaviour occurs.

Example: Billy asks for candy bar.

B is the behaviour. This refers to any action that can be SEEN or HEARD following the antecedent. What is the child doing?

Example: Billy throws a tantrum by crying and flopping to the floor.

C is the consequence. This refers to what happens AFTER the behaviour occurs.

Example: Billy is given the candy bar. Billy stops crying.

Remember all behaviours have a function! What is maintaining the behaviour or keeping it going? In order to answer this question, we will look at the 4 functions of behaviour:

1. Access to tangibles

Wanting to gain access to a specific item or activity.

Example: Child may cry and scream as a way of requesting or wanting access to the iPad. If crying/screaming allows the child to access the iPad, this behaviour may continue to occur.

Tips:

Teach an appropriate way to request by labelling or pointing to the item
Model appropriate requesting

2. Attention

Wanting to gain someone’s attention or seeking social interaction.

Example: Child may cry whenever the parent is on the phone. If the parent stops and attends to the child after exhibiting this crying behaviour, then crying may continue to occur in the future.

Tips:

Teach a more appropriate way to gain attention by tapping on one’s shoulder or saying one’s name
Provide positive attention throughout the day

3. Escape/Avoidance

Wanting to escape/avoid an undesirable task or demand.

Example: The child may run away or avoid doing homework by putting their head down on the table. If the task is removed after the child engages in these behaviours, these behaviours may continue to occur when the demand is placed.

Tips:

A child may be trying to escape/avoid a certain task because it may be too difficult. Providing easier tasks can help mitigate escape/avoidance behaviours.
A child may also lack motivation for completing a certain task, so finding ways to make it fun and exciting can be helpful.
Always follow through with demands!

4. Sensory/ Self-stimulatory behaviours

Performing actions and behaviours that feel good to oneself which does not have any motivating external factors.

Example: Child rocking back and forth, engaging in hand flapping, hitting one’s head.

Tips:

Replace inappropriate behaviour with appropriate/functional behaviour. Ex. Reinforcing clapping hands vs. hand flapping.
Reinforce absence of behaviour or when the child engages in a behaviour that is incompatible with the problem behaviour (behaviours that can’t occur simultaneously). Ex. Reinforcing hands on lap vs. hand flapping.

Identifying the ABC’s of behaviour and the four functions of behaviour can provide us with a better understanding and insight into why a child behaves the way they do. This can also allow us to prevent future occurrences of problematic behaviours and increase socially appropriate behaviours.

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ATTENTION GRANDVIEW FAMILIES!

NEW OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE A FULL PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

We are proud to launch a new opportunity for our Grandview Kids families.

The switch to purchased services for our Autism services introduced by the provincial government, has allowed us to look at what else we might be able to offer in this purchased services model. A full psycho-educational assessment is helpful for school age children with a developmental disorder such as cerebral palsy, autism or global developmental delay. It can be helpful to help understand your child’s cognitive or thinking skills and ability to solve problems and use language. It can help you understand what things need to be included in an IEP assessment or
help you consider classroom option that might be suggested by the school board. For older children it can be helpful to plan for high school or post-secondary options.

Some adolescents with more severe cognitive challenges may need this assessment to access adult services – such as DSO (Developmental Services Ontario) funding. All of the referrals will need to meet certain basic criteria; your child must be at least 7 years of age and must be a Grandview Kids client. The referrals will all be reviewed by our medical and psychology team to ensure that we can be helpful to you and your child, and the objective of the assessment continues to fit with our vision, mission and values as we do with all the work we do at Grandview Kids.

Sign up through our “My Community Hub” – scroll down a bit – this opportunity is currently on Page 2! The cost is $2000.00, which has to paid up front, but if a receipt is required to be broken down by visits that can be provided. When the current spaces fill up we will add more for 2021, so please check back frequently! We will be able to offer approximately 1 per month.

When talking to your kids about COVID-19, it’s okay not to know where to start or be worried about saying the wrong thing. It’s very possible they may have heard about it at this point, and their amazing imaginations may have started to fill in gaps which might be making the information scarier for them. By opening up the conversation however you can, it will help them better understand what’s happening and why. Do your best to describe things in a child friendly and honest way.

Take some time each day to have 1:1 communication with your child. We know that “special time” conversations with your kids are helpful when we: follow their lead, speak at their level face-to-face, use language that is appropriate for their understanding, and provide full attention with our “listening ears” on. Using conversation is an excellent way to be able to connect to our children’s thoughts and feelings, as well as to express our own.

You will want to find a setting and time that is optimal for both of you. Remove any distractions (e.g., background noise, television, toys) and set up the environment so that you can both have undivided attention. It may be easier to have a conversation during a walk, bath time, or snack/meal time. If you have more than one child, you might consider having the conversations 1:1 to check in on each child.

Children constantly see and hear new things in their environment. The “adult” conversations we are having and “news” may not be appropriate for young children. Pay attention to what your children are exposed to and how it affects them.

Some things you may want to talk about:

Ask them what they know or have heard about COVID-19, this can help better understand what they know and clarify any incorrect assumptions or conclusions they have made
Be honest about how you are feeling and describe what those feelings mean
Use words they will understand (e.g. “virus” versus “sick”).
Use a calm and reassuring voice
Talk about their questions and answer honestly if you don’t know the answer, reassuring them that you will let them know when you hear or find the answer
Involve them in any planning (e.g. “Let’s think of what we will make for lunch”, “What movie should we watch together?”). For younger children, it may be easier to give them a choice of two options than an open-ended question.
Validate their feelings and discuss that it’s okay to have fears.
Reassure them of what they can do to take control of themselves and how to reduce the spread of germs
Read the Grandview Kids Social Story about COVID-19 together

You may find your child doesn’t want to talk in depth about COVID-19 or after their questions have been answered they say, “okay” and go back to playing. This is a normal response and how children regulate their emotions. What you have done is now created a safe space for them to come back and talk more if they need to.