Making friends is a lot like gardening! This online comic for children was written by author Joel Shaul, Autistic Self-Advocate and Illustrator Elsbeth Dodman, and Dr. Fakhri Shafai. There are downloadable worksheets that can help you brainstorm how to “grow” your own friendships!

In support of the National Autism Conference, this infographic and video and infographic explain “What is Inclusion?” and “Why is it important?”. The accessible language series was created to help individuals with intellectual disability participate more meaningfully in the development of the National Autism Strategy.

This Toolkit offers ideas and tips that may be useful for youth in high school. It addresses topics such as: making the most of high school, independence and organization, friendships, as well as other issues for teens such as smoking, vaping, drugs, alcohol and making good decisions. The Toolkit was written by Laura Beaune. Ms. Beaune is a social worker who has worked extensively with youth.

The decision to share any diagnosis is not always easy. It can be difficult to balance keeping your information private with the desire to be your authentic self. If you decide that you do want to share your diagnosis with your loved ones, below are some tips to help you start the conversation.

This is a Toolkit designed for parents of teens with neurodiversity to offer them some tips as they navigate the teen years and prepare for the next developmental stage of young adulthood.

The Toolkit covers topics such as: parenting approaches and strategies; communication; puberty; sexual health and safety (gender diversity & sexual orientation); self esteem, identity, disclosure and advocacy; moods, depression & anxiety; friendships, fitness, recreation & community and; high school and preparing for adulthood.

This article summarizes a study that explored an intervention aimed at increasing social functioning in children and youth with autism. This intervention was found to improve social functioning, but additional research is needed.

Peer Advice Videos are questions asked and answered by self-advocates across Canada. This project was created and developed by Canadian self-advocates from the autism community.In this video, Andrew imparts his valuable insights on the art of self-acceptance. Andrew’s message revolves around the concept of acknowledging one’s unique qualities and not shying away from them.

Be a catalyst for change in your workplace, school, or community and beyond by learning about six key principles that create and foster environments where everyone can thrive. While our primary focus is on enhancing the experiences of Autistic individuals in their day-to-day life, these six principles are broadly applicable and beneficial to anyone who wants to create safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces.

When life gets challenging, recreation and leisure activities are often the first to be cut from daily life. This workshop will present a fresh perspective about the importance of recreation and leisure and provide you with some ideas about how to keep it going when things get tough. This resource was developed in partnership with the Centre for Autism Services Alberta.

In this workshop, we will discuss strategies to support and teach a variety of social skills, how to set up a play date, and how to best support a play date. This workshop is designed for parents of children who have basic joint attention (i.e. purposefully sharing focus with others) and requesting skills. [Developed by the Centre for Autism Services Alberta, presented by Sally Nandee (SLP, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst) and Insung Peak (Behavioural Case Manager)]

Many autistic people feel socially isolated and are unable to access appropriate professional supports. Peer support allows people with shared experiences to give and receive nonprofessional, nonclinical social and emotional assistance. In this webinar, we will hear from a team of two clinician scientists and three autistic self-advocates who created a new autistic-led peer support program, Welcome EveryBody (WEB). They will review research on autistic peer support programs and share their experiences developing, facilitating, and evaluating WEB.

This video essay written and developed by a self-advocate on the autism spectrum discusses some of the ways that he developed his social circle in his Alberta community. This resource was developed in partnership with Autism Calgary.

This video and resource sheet were created by a self advocate from the autism community. It discusses personal experiences of self advocates, as well as options and considerations for building a circle of social supports in Manitoba. This resource was developed in partnership with Autism Calgary.

This video essay, created by a self-advocate on the autism spectrum, was created to help autistic adults in Saskatchewan to connect with others and expand their social circle through social programs and opportunities.