Navigating the usual social interactions at school and work can be an obstacle for someone with an ASD. They struggle everyday to communicate and interact with people they can’t relate to while trying to adopt social standards they don’t understand.

Our social skills-building program is a core support area for individuals with autism. But it is not funded by the government. A multi-year commitment by organizations like BMO Financial Group, The Paloma Foundation, RBC Foundation, CIBC, Lloyd Carr Harris Foundation and Harry E. Foster Foundation has enabled the Centre to provide these new and important programs.

But the need far exceeds the generosity of our current donors. To expand access to these services, we need your support.

Multifaceted and designed to build on the attendees’ existing strengths, the programs run weekly and feature groups of five or six participants meeting with trained facilitators and volunteers to learn specific social skills. Younger children learn group skills through music and role-playing, while the older ones use structured play to improve on things like their ability to greet peers, compliment others and share.

As children get older and their social needs change, the skill building programs become more advanced. Groups focus on more complex aspects like coping with teasing and expressing emotions. There’s also a sports group that uses games and team sports to develop the skills needed to participate successfully in these activities in the community.

Our programs are always growing, but the demand for these programs is growing even faster. In 2003, we could run our social skill building program with a part-time supervisor and a team of 40 part-time social skills facilitators and volunteers. Now we have a full-time supervisor and two full-time staffers supervising facilitators and volunteers.

Continued funding from our supporters is key to ensuring even more families can access the social skills programs they desperately need.