Parent & Caregiver Education

Parents and caregivers view the safety of their children as a significant concern. Many children and youth with autism are reported to wander or elope, making them more prone to leaving the safety of a caregiver or support person and wandering from their home, school or community setting. This causes significant risk for those who may not be aware of possible dangers or harm and puts tremendous stress on families.

In this session, you will learn tips and tools you can use to help anticipate the risks, avoid the dangers, and teach the skills your child needs to stay safe at home and in the community.

Date: December 17, 2025 from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Parents and caregivers of children and youth with autism may experience challenges navigating all the available supports and services for their child. Come and chat with a Registered Behaviour Analyst (RBA) to learn more about treatment areas and scope of practice within the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).

This session allows for an interactive experience where parents and caregivers can ask questions related to ABA and how it can help support your child. Topics covered may include treatment focus, differences between ABA and other therapies such as speech therapy and occupational therapy, and how to look for a quality ABA service provider.

Date: December 22, 2025 from 12 to 1 p.m.

Reinforcement is a natural process involved in learning virtually all new skills. As parents, reinforcement can be one of the most powerful tools we use to support specific goals with our children. In this education session, you will learn how to use reinforcement to teach your child new skills, increase their motivation, expand their interests, and strengthen your relationship with your child. And the good news is, children don’t have to be reliant on planned reinforcers (special rewards) for all this to be possible. This session will also discuss how to teach our children to eventually work for naturally occurring reinforcement.

Date: December 29, 2025 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

Wondering how to support your child’s transition to kindergarten? This workshop is tailored to prepare families for this significant milestone with helpful information and tips.

In this workshop you will learn about steps to prepare your child for school, effective communication with the school, visual supports, and more!

Date: January 2, 2026 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

To access Core Clinical services through the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) a Determination of Needs (DoN) will be completed with primary caregivers to determine funding amounts.

This session will provide an overview of the DoN. You will learn about the overall process, and have a better understanding of how to prepare, what to expect, and next steps. At the end of the session there is time allotted to answer additional questions you may have.

Date: January 7, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

Parents and caregivers of children and youth with autism may experience challenges with their child’s school placement, helping school staff understand their child’s needs, and understanding the services and supports your school board may offer. Seeing your child struggle with accessing curriculum or thriving in either virtual or in-school placements can be difficult.

Come and chat with one of Kinark’s School Consultants! Each session allows for an interactive experience for parents and caregivers to bring your questions about the school system and receive support from a School Consultant. You will also learn about other experiences from parents and caregivers, how to effectively advocate for your child, school policies and practices, individualized education plans (IEPs) and effective collaboration, as well as other valuable tips and tools for navigating and interacting with the school system.

Date: January 13, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

This session will explore common medical conditions that can affect toileting in children, including constipation, encopresis, and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Presented from a nursing perspective, the session will focus on recognizing symptoms and provide guidance on their management, including treatment options, when to seek medical advice, and supportive care at home.

Date: January 19, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

Le changement est inévitable… mais cela ne doit pas nécessairement être difficile ! Au cours de cette séance, nous vous aiderons à identifier les transitions majeures et mineures dans la vie de votre enfant et nous allons vous fournir les outils et les stratégies nécessaires pour que votre enfant réussisse. 

Vous apprendrez comment préparer votre enfant pour les nombreuses transitions qu’il vivra au cours de sa journée, de sa semaine et aux transitions plus importantes qui l’attendent dans les années à venir. Au cours de cet atelier, nous partagerons également des stratégies sur comment accéder aux aides à la transition à l’école. 

Date: le 21 janvier 2026 de 18h à 19h30

Bullying is pervasive in Canadian schools and communities. Unfortunately, research indicates that children with autism are at a much greater risk of being bullied than their typically developing peers. This workshop engages parents of children with autism who may be concerned about their children being bullied or perpetuating bullying in the presence of their peers. Content in this workshop is carefully curated to define the common types of bullying, identify a variety of roles that children may play in the context of bullying, and discuss its prevalence.

A significant emphasis will be placed on teaching concrete, actionable strategies for parents of children with autism across all stages of childhood (pre-school children, school-age children, and adolescents) to ensure that you are equipped to prevent and address bullying. Moreover, considering that children may routinely socialize with their peers using technology and social media, additional strategies are provided to prevent and address cyberbullying.

Date: January 22, 2026 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This workshop will empower you with a deeper understanding of modern approaches to Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) that respect and celebrate neurodiversity. Gain insights into the diverse experiences of individuals with autism, appreciating the unique strengths and challenges they bring. Explore how today’s ABA practices prioritize the needs and values of both the client and their family, promoting a collaborative and inclusive approach. Discover how contemporary ABA methodologies align with neurodiversity-affirming philosophies to support and enhance the well-being of neurodiverse individuals.

This session is designed to equip parents with the knowledge and tools to support their child’s unique journey through evidence-based, compassionate, and inclusive ABA.

Date: January 27, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

This workshop focuses on what caregivers can do after challenging behaviour to build skills and reduce future difficulties. Participants will learn practical strategies to encourage functional communication, strengthen emotional and behavioural skills, and make challenging behaviour less likely to reoccur.

Date: February 2, 2026 from 12 to 2 p.m.

Does your child struggle when faced with unexpected events or changes to the routine? Do they insist on having things a certain way or have trouble shifting their point of view? Rigid thinking and behaviours are common and may be tied to anxiety. In this session, we’ll talk about some common issues around rigidity, ways to support your child in these moments, and strategies to help promote flexibility in thinking and behaviour.

Date: February 6, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

From the first cry after your child’s birth to learning to say their first word, there are many steps along the way and many more to go before your child masters communicating with words.

This session will provide an overview of communication milestones and critical early language skills. You will leave with individualized goals and several key strategies you can use to further your child’s early language and communication development.

Date: February 11, 2026 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sleep concerns can be common in children with autism and many parents struggle with how to address them. You are not in this alone! We are here to support you with ways to develop a healthy sleep routine.

In this workshop you will learn ways to track your child’s sleeping behaviours, identify and troubleshoot potential problems with your child’s current sleep routine, establish and introduce a new sleep routine for your child, and discuss some strategies based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) that aim to promote better sleeping behaviours for your child.

We’re excited to share that our Nurse will be joining the presentation to discuss the safe and appropriate use of melatonin and answer common parent questions.

Date: February 18, 2026 from 12 to 2 p.m.

Le renforcement est un processus naturel impliqué dans l’apprentissage de pratiquement toutes les nouvelles compétences.  En tant que parents, le renforcement peut être l’un deoutils les plus puissants dont nous disposons pour aider nos enfants à atteindre des objectifs spécifiques. 

Au cours de cette session éducative, vous apprendrez comment utiliser le renforcement pour enseigner de nouvelles compétences à votre enfant, accroître sa motivation, élargir ses centres d’intérêt et renforcer votre relation avec lui.  

Date: 18 février 2026 de 18h à 19h30 

Parents and caregivers of children and youth with autism may experience challenges with their child’s school placement, helping school staff understand their child’s needs, and understanding the services and supports your school board may offer. Seeing your child struggle with accessing curriculum or thriving in either virtual or in-school placements can be difficult.

Come and chat with one of Kinark’s School Consultants! Each session allows for an interactive experience for parents and caregivers to bring your questions about the school system and receive support from a School Consultant. You will also learn about other experiences from parents and caregivers, how to effectively advocate for your child, school policies and practices, individualized education plans (IEPs) and effective collaboration, as well as other valuable tips and tools for navigating and interacting with the school system.

Date: February 23, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

Have you ever found yourself frustrated when your child just isn’t learning a skill? Teaching a child with autism new skills may require additional thought and a clear plan. Behavioural Skills Training (BST) is a teaching procedure proven to support learning new skills.

This session will review the steps of BST that parents can use to teach their child a wide range of new skills. Join us for this interactive session to build your own skills as an effective teacher/parent.

Date: February 25, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

Toilet training can be a challenge for anyone! This session will cover what you need to know prior to starting toilet training for your child and set you up to be successful. This workshop will discuss key prerequisite skills and important considerations before starting a toilet training program. As well, you will learn how to decide when to move onto the next step of toilet training. You will learn various strategies and tools that can be used to help your child meet toileting goals including communicating their need to use the toilet.

We will provide you with the information you need to create an individualized toilet training plan for your child to be successful.

Date: March 2, 2026 from 9 to 11 a.m.

Supporting children as they become young adults is an exciting time. A significant teaching time can be when a youth begins their menstrual cycle. This session is designed to support parents in building healthy self-care routines for their child and introducing the topic of getting a period in a positive way.

The workshop provides practical tips and strategies to teach the skills associated with getting a period, how to manage symptoms and how to teach youth to advocate for their needs. There is a large age range when a child may get their first period and children with special needs may require extra time to acquire the necessary skills. This session is targeted at parents and guardians of youth ages eight and older.

Date: March 3, 2026 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Du premier cri après la naissance de votre enfant, à l’apprentissage de ses premiers mots, il y a de nombreuses étapes à franchir et bien d’autres encore avant que votre enfant ne maîtrise communiquer avec ses mots.

Cette session vous donnera un aperçu des étapes développementales de la communication et des compétences linguistiques précoces. Vous repartirez avec des objectifs personnalisés et plusieurs stratégies clés que vous pourriez utiliser pour favoriser le développement précoce du langage et de la communication de votre enfant. 

Date: 4 mars 2026 de 18h à 19h30 

The Ontario Ministry of Education recognizes that students develop and learn in different ways and that some children will require special education programs. The Education Act requires school boards to provide special education programs for children who need them. The IPRC process is the pathway to ensuring proper placements and levels of support are secured for children who require them.

In this session, the IPRC process will be broken down into clear steps and your role in this process will be defined. Our clinicians have extensive knowledge in collaborating with school board staff and they will cover important milestones in your child’s school journey through the IPRC lens. There will be several opportunities to ask IPRC related questions throughout session.

Date: March 11, 2026 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Le changement est inévitable… mais cela ne doit pas nécessairement être difficile ! Au cours de cette séance, nous vous aiderons à identifier les transitions majeures et mineures dans la vie de votre enfant et nous allons vous fournir les outils et les stratégies nécessaires pour que votre enfant réussisse. 

Vous apprendrez comment préparer votre enfant pour les nombreuses transitions qu’il vivra au cours de sa journée, de sa semaine et aux transitions plus importantes qui l’attendent dans les années à venir. Au cours de cet atelier, nous partagerons également des stratégies sur comment accéder aux aides à la transition à l’école. 

Date: le 18 mars 2026 de 18h à 19h30

Parents and caregivers of children and youth with autism often navigate a complex system of supports and services. Join a Registered Behaviour Analyst (RBA) and a Registered Nurse (RN) for this interactive session designed to help families better understand how different professionals can support their child’s development and well-being.

The RBA will provide insights into Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), including treatment focus, scope of practice, and how to identify quality ABA services. The RN will offer a healthcare perspective on managing medical needs, developmental concerns, and the intersection between health and behavioural supports. Together, they will address common questions about integrating ABA with other services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and medical care. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain a well-rounded understanding of available supports.

Date: March 24, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

To access Core Clinical services through the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) a Determination of Needs (DoN) will be completed with primary caregivers to determine funding amounts.

This session will provide an overview of the DoN. You will learn about the overall process, and have a better understanding of how to prepare, what to expect, and next steps. At the end of the session there is time allotted to answer additional questions you may have.

Date: March 27, 2026 from 12 to 1 p.m.

We all know how challenging a picky eater can be, but did you know there are Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) strategies that can help? You will become more familiar with the importance of good eating habits, issues common to picky eaters, and factors that may influence them, how to increase healthy eating routines, and ways to track how your child’s eating habits are changing. Additional resources on creating and managing a healthier lifestyle will be provided.

Date: March 30, 2026 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.