KidsAbility hosting annual Autism forum
Posted Jun 14, 2013 06:14:33 AM.
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KidsAbility will be holding their 4th Annual Autism Update Forum at Bingemans in Kitchener today.
The event brings professionals and parents together in a day filled with learning.
The forum runs from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will be hosted by local pediatrician, Dr. Bruno DiGravio.
Barb Hill is the Lead at KidsAbility Centre of Excellence and tells 570 News about the shared day of learning.
“When we started this initiative really the goal was to try and support families that said to us ‘we could be doing more to share information’, so we made a very deliberate decision to bring families, therapists, profession service providers, educators and teachers, together in a community forum.”
This year’s program will also include a panel of young people who will be sharing their insight into their journey with Autism, a dialogue with parents Alicia Henley and Joel Rubinoff, as well as insights from Asperger’s and Learning Disabilities Specialist Carol McMullen.
“We really wanted to step back in this forum and listen to the voices of Autism as well. We have a panel of 5 young adults that will be sharing with us what their journey has been like, so that is giving us insight from the voice of those that have been living with this neurological disorder,” Hill adds.
Dr. Wendy Roberts of the Autism Research team at Holland Bloorview, along with Dr. Jonathan Weiss from York University, will be sharing new research regarding the continuation of services and the mental health and predictors of bullying in adolescents with Autism.
Autism Services Waterloo Region estimates that there are over 500 families who have a family member with a diagnosis of Autism living with in Waterloo Region.
