Caregivers of Adults September 2012 – June 2013 schedule

Caregivers of Adults Support Group will be held on the following dates:

 

September 24

October 29

November 26

January 28

February 25

March 25

April 29

May 27

June 24

 

The meetings are 6:30-8:30pm.  Each meeting takes place at SMD (825 Sherbrook).  There is ample parking in the lot across from the building, please remember to sign in & out at the front desk.  For more information please email us as info@asperger-manitoba.ca

River East Parent Support Network Meeting

Please join the River East Parent Support Network (REPSN) for their June Meeting about:

The Formal Dispute Resolution Process

 

This meeting will address both formal and informal dispute resolution in the education system, presented by Doug Anderson, Review Coordinator Manitoba Education.

 

Date: June 25, 2012

Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm

Place: Access River East (975 Henderson Hwy, room 107)

 

To RSVP contact Dawn Gates at repsn@shaw.ca

 

For more information, click here.

Schedule of Adult Peer Social Groups

Despite the rain we had a few people come out on Saturday.  Thank you everyone for showing up and for your input.  From the meeting and survey results, we have put together a schedule for the next year.

 

August 26/12    Potluck picnic (we are going to be playing sports/games)
September 30/12 Assiniboine Zoo with coffee afterwards
October 28/12   Halloween Party/potluck
November 25/12  The Forks (skating/river walk/coffee)
December TBA    seasonal event determined by group
January 27/13   Bowling (Bowling and coffee afterwards)
February 24/13  Movie/IMAX
March 31/13     Pan Am Pool     (Swimming and visiting McDonalds afterwards)
April 28/12     Board games/crafts      (with a dessert potluck)
May 26/13       Kildonan Park   (potluck picnic/sports/games)
June 30/13      Spagetti Factory

 

All events will be on the last Sunday of the month.  We are planning to schedule to majority of events for the afternoons.  We want to make sure that people walking or using transit are able to attend and feel safe returning home afterwards.  All events are subject to change due to weather.  Please watch the facebook page and the What’s new Section of the AMI website for information about meeting times and costs.  We will try to keep the costs to a minimum.

 

*please note that due to the nature of some of the events, we have decided to restrict this group to adults at this time.

Change of date for Communityof Friends support group – JUNE

This is just to let you know that the Community of Friends support group that was schedule to meet on June 26, will be meeting on June 28th from 1-3pm.  The meeting takes place at St. Aiden’s Church (274 Campbell Street).

 

Jill Campbell will be speaking.

“Jill is a lifelong learner with a deep understanding of instructional design, evaluation, and support issues that are key to effective and efficient learning. She is a teachers teacher who has helped corporate, non-profit, university, college, government, and home based learning groups understand, enjoy and use technologies for learning and communication.”

 “A new phrase has been coined: “There’s an App for that” indicating there are apps (applications or programs) for these devices for just about everything – many are free, or with a free version to try.  At last count there were over 500,000 in the app store. With a few tips and tricks, they can be very useful for Aspie families and a lot of fun as well! Come learn how you as a parent of a child with Aspergers can tap into this amazing and often free resource. It doesn’t matter whether you own an iPad or if you are simply curious about these devices.  Everyone is welcome.  All you need is a willingness to listen, learn, question, share your knowledge, experience and and have fun!”

                                        

We look forward to seeing you at this presentation!

Adult Peer Social Outing Still On!

Even though it is raining we are still going to be meeting today at the picnic shelter at Assiniboine Park. Please meet us there!

AMI Peer Social Group Meeting – June

The first meeting of the new Peer Social Group (for adult with Asperger Syndrome) will be this Saturday June 16, 2012 from 1:00-3:00pm. We will be meeting at Assiniboine Park at the west side of the Pavillion, if you are arriving a bit later, we will be heading to the picnic shelter and hanging out at the tables. If you are bussing, it won’t be to far to walk over the bridge from Portage Ave. as well.

 

For this initial meeting we will just be doing some talking about the future of the group and map out a schedule for September-June with some plans for future events.

 

If you can’t find us, please phone Marion at 781-9522.

 

A rain date of June 23, 2012 from 1:00-3:00pm in the same location has been arranged. Please watch the facebook page and the What’s New section of the website to see if the meeting is going to be moved to the rain date.

 

We look forward to meeting everyone and planning a fun schedule!

Conversation Skills Groups for Children and Teens

SpeechWorks Inc. is excited to announce our summer Conversation Skills group programs. These 6-week programs develop social communication skills such as introducing, greeting, starting, maintaining and ending a conversation, as well as cognitive flexibility and emotional expression.


Target skills are selected based on the participants’ needs. Programs are led by a Speech-Language Pathologist with 16 years’ experience working with children. Skills are presented visually, modeled, and then practiced in fun activities. Learning is enhanced by the small group size (4 to 6 clients) and by the participation of neurotypical volunteers.


Please phone Stephanie at 231-2165 for rates, dates and times.

Research Report from Child and Adolescent Skills Group

Asperger Manitoba Inc. supported two spark* groups that were held in conjunction Dr. Janine Montgomery at the University of Manitoba Department of Psychology and Dr. Heather MacKenzie, Wired Fox Publications.  From this research the Doctors presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), May 17-19, 2012.  The research is promising and we looking forward to the continued efforts of these two Doctors and their students.

 

To see the poster from their research presentation please click here.

 

If you are interested in having your child attend a social skills group please click here.

Social Competence Strategies for Families

The Ohio Center for Autism (OCALI) has some excellent video series on developing social competencies for children and family members.

 

Please visit the website here.

Inspiring Autistic Youth to be Chamber Keynote

From the Morden Times – May 8, 2012

 

By Lorne Stelmach

 

The Morden Chamber of Commerce will again hand out its annual business awards this fall, but it is also rebranding the event into a charitable endeavour.

 

The annual awards gala will honour local businesses in the areas of innovation, marketing, customer service and community influence.

 

Nominations are now open until the end of August with the awards to be presented in the fall.

 

Announcing details of the event recently, president James Steedsman said the chamber executive has had a desire to create some strong partnerships with community organizations and felt the awards program could be expanded on with that goal in mind.

 

As a result, it has now been renamed the Morden Chamber Awards Gala and Benefit.

 

“The word benefit is very important … and that’s our connection to the community,” said Steedsman.

 

For this first year, the chamber is partnering with south central ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) with a portion of the proceeds going to to help them build a better life for children with autism.

 

The keynote speaker will be Christopher Duffley – a 10 year old boy “who will steal your heart with his story of courage and inspiration while facing unimaginable obstacles,” said Steedsman. Duffley is a blind and autistic singer, multi-instrumentalist and speaker.  Born prematurely, he weighed only 1 lb 12 oz at birth and was rendered blind due to retinopathy of prematurity.

 

Stephen and Christine Duffley, Christopher’s adopted parents, shared their love for music with their son at an early age. Much to their surprise, Christopher began singing before he could hold a conversation.

 

His first instrument was piano. He also loves to experiment with a variety of instruments including trumpet, guitar and drums.

 

Some experts have determined that Christopher has perfect pitch and has great musical potential.

 

Steedsman said they still want the gala to be a celebration of business and their successes in the community “but we feel, as a keynote, we can send a stronger message perhaps.

 

“We feel this has a lot more meaning plus at the same time we can raise some money for a foundation like autism.”

 

“I fell in love with his story. I fell in love with what he’s overcome,” said chamber marketing director Pamela Hiebert.

 

“He’s made a lot of progress through his work, and I just feel very inspired by what he can do and what he has achieved.”

 

Hiebert said we all have many dreams for our children – from university to careers – but youth with autism face many more challenges and often don’t have the same opportunities that others take for granted.

 

“They still have the same desire inside of them to fulfill a value on this earth while they are here.”

 

And RBC was welcomed as the corporate sponsor for the keynote speaker.

 

For more information, contact the chamber.

 

Please see the article here