Celebrating sweeping advances in the treatment and aid of children with autism and their families over the last decade, Childrens Autism Services of Edmonton gathered together alumni to commemorate how far theyve come and discuss how far theyve still got to go.
We have never been an organization that has been interested in recycling yesterday. Weve always been an organization that has been interested in moving forward.
Were moving forward and stepping into the future, said Terri Duncan, speech pathologist and founder of Stepping Stones Autism Institute before it became Autism Services of Edmonton in 2007.
The journey towards the Maier Centre for Autism, which opened in 2012, started in 2004, in the living room of someone who some may call a visionary.
Recognizing the frustration felt by families over the lack of resources and support for their children and determined to open the potential locked underneath the symptoms of their disorder, Duncan then a speech pathologist started Stepping Stones Autism Institute in her home with one family, Jo Reimer and her son, Ryan.
In a letter read at celebrations on Friday, May 16, Reimer said she would never forget the day Duncan came into their lives, and watched as their frustrated and inflexible little boy working through therapy that seemed more designed to break his spirit than improve his symptoms blossomed into the successful young man he is today with Duncans patient teaching and understanding.
Lets make sure were teaching them functional skills that make a real difference, said Duncan, of innovative thinking for a time before autism was a household name.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs verbal and nonverbal communication skills and social interaction characterized by repetitive behaviour and exists on a spectrum from severely impaired to almost neurotypical.
Back in 2001, when Duncan first met the Reimer family, there were only two local service providers for children with autism, and they only practiced Applied Behaviour Analysis, which involved resisting the childs autistic rigidity and learning through strict practices, whether the child wanted to or not.
But Duncan knew that the only way to see real improvement in these children was to work with the child, understanding their needs and helping them work through their issues rather than forcing them to act unnaturally, and began using the SCERTS model, at the time a new and unpublished concept.
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Childrens Autism Services of Edmonton founder sees room for improvement in resources for autistic children