[FEAT BC Admin]

Please use this section to advertise for things that are needed or are available for sale (or free). For example, ads for specific A.B.A. therapy materials, therapists, & baby-sitters are welcome. Your message will be distributed to members of the Discussion Group.

Topic

[Leah Mumford]

FABA Presents: Our Third Annual Fundraiser!

FABA (facing autism by awareness) is a group of teachers, SEA's, lead therapists and program supervisors who are dedicated to educating children with autism. Every year, we hold a fundraiser with the goal of supporting local educational and grant programs. This year, we will be donating to Harmony House preschool & the ABLE clinic. Harmony House preschool is the first of its kind in BC: it develops child-specific ABA programs for each of its students, and is run by a local behavioral consultant. The ABLE clinic will be re-distributing the money raised through a grant program that will provide resources for families who need a one-time financial 'boost' e.g., to purchase equipment, enroll in a summer camp or help fund their home-based program.

We are holding a Casino Night! This event will be at the Hilton Vancouver at Metrotown, and will feature live entertainment (music and a comedy troupe), fantastic food, silent auction, hourly draws for trips and getaways, and of course, Casino games! Poker, blackjack and roulette—your ticket gives you funny money to be used for the games. It will be held June 7, 2008, and promises to be an amazing night.

Please consider purchasing a ticket ($50.00) and coming out to help support these deserving causes. If you can't make the event, but would like to still help, the purchase of a ticket will enter you into the draws, so please consider supporting us long distance! For more information or to purchase tickets, please e-mail us at: thefabagroup@gmail.com

Thank you very much!

FABA

[Gwen Chan]

~~~~ABA Therapist Needed in East Burnaby~~~~

We are looking for another therapist to join our awesome ABA team. Our daughter is 16 years old and has been in therapy for almost 3 years. You will work in our home and provide 1:1 therapy to our child. You will be part of a team of therapists working under the direction of a Behavior Consultant. Our Consultant is Nicholas Watkins. All training will be provided. We are working on mostly academics, but also some social and life skills. The successful candidate will possess the following:

-Have previous experience working with children.
-Is an energetic and fun individual.
-Is able to apply good judgement and problem solving skills.
-Is able to muti task.
-Is able to work independently, is committed and reliable.
-Is able to make at least a 12-month commitment

We need to fill a couple of 3 hour shifts. Team meetings are once a month and must be attended. Female applicants only please.

This is a part-time position which would be of interest and excellent work experience for students pursuing careers in Psychology or Education, or to those pursuing a career working with special needs people. This position could also be excellent work experience for those already doing aba with young children – come see how ABA can help an older child. You must be at
least 19 years old and be willing to submit to a criminal record check.

If you are interested in this position or have further questions please don't hesitate to e-mail me at:
gwan04@yahoo.com

[Tracy Schjelderup]

NEEDED ABA THERAPISTS IN SURREY

Our family is currently looking for Tutors for our daughters ABA (Applied behavior Analysis) home based program. She is 5 years old and is now very high functioning. She is very loving has LOTS of energy and loves to learn. So we need to find people that have lots of energy also. You also need to be caring, have great play skills, patience and reliable.
As a therapist you will be expected to take 2-3 shifts per week. 2 to 3 hour each shift. Once a month we will have a 2 hour team meeting which you will also be required to go to. We would also like people to give us a 1 year commitment. We require for all applicants a criminal check.
Previous experience working with children with Autism would be nice but not necessary. All training will be provided with pay. Pay will depend on experience.
We have a very close team of Therapist to welcome and train new individuals. We are also very lucky to be working with Bohdanna Popowycz-Kvam as our daughters Consultant. Her energy and knowledge in the field is amazing to be a part of.
We are located in Sullivan Station Surrey area which is an easy drive from Langley and Cloverdale and most of South Surrey.
If you have and questions or if you are interested in this position please send your resumes and cover letter to tracyandtom@shaw.ca

[Tracy Schjelderup]

LOOKING FOR ABA TUTORS IN SURREY

Our family is currently looking for Tutors for our daughters ABA (Applied behavior Analysis) home based program. She is 5 years old and is now high functioning and very Verbal. She is loving gentle has LOTS of energy and loves to learn. So we need to find people that have lots of energy also. You need to be caring, have great play skills, and patience.
As a therapist you will be expected to take 2-3 shifts per week. 2 to 3 hour each shift. Once a month we will have a 2 hour team meeting which you will also be required to go to. We would also like people to give us a 1 year commitment. We require for all applicants a criminal check.
Previous experience working with children with Autism would be nice but not necessary. All training will be provided at $10/hr. Pay will depend on experience and normally starts @$12/hr with a review every three months.
We are located in the Surrey Panonorama area which is an easy drive from Langley and Cloverdale and most of South Surrey.
If you are interested in this Job please send your resumes and cover letter to tracyandtom@shaw.ca

[Bobbie Celle]

Therapists needed in Mount Pleasant area, Vancouver!!

We are looking for ENTHUSIASTIC and ENERGETIC people to join one or two of our two sons' well-established ABA teams!! Their programs include some one-on-one therapy on emotional skills, academic support, and social skills. You would also spend many shifts on fun community outings, and supporting peer play.

We are looking for people with lots of energy who can be very playful. Previous ABA experience and or knowledge of psychology would be an asset, but we are happy to provide training. Our teams are skillfully guided by our super behaviour concultant, Kim Kirsch from Early Autism Project.

You need your own transportation. We are very close to B-Line and other bus routes. Must have daytime and some weekend availability and you need to be able to commit to this job for a minimum of 1 year.

We can offer employment on one or both teams, so weekly hours could be between six and twelve. Bi-weekly 1 1/2 hr team meetings are mandatory. Both boys' meetings are back to back, so for both teams this meeting would be 3 hrs.

Current criminal record check required. Wages commensurate with experience.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Bobbie

Please send resumes to pbcelle@telus.net

[Mike & Jean]

You can now view the "Medicare for Autism Now!" Ontario campaign tour summary, complete with photos on our blog:

http://www.medicareforautismnow.blogpot.com

[Tina]

TOYS FOR SALE
Age 4 up
My son has rarely used them. In great condition. Please click on this link to see the pics.
and email me if you are interested in them. Price is firm.
Thanks,
https://post.craigslist.org/manage/668079734/qa8jh

[Mike & Jean]

“Medicare for Autism Now!” Ontario Tour – April 13th to 20th

We returned from our Ontario “Medicare for Autism Now!” campaign tour just over a week ago. I apologize for not providing this update sooner, but as all parents of children with autism know, family priorities must come first.

We made the trip to Ontario primarily for three reasons:

1. To continue building a national coalition, which includes Ontario parents/activists who are prepared to participate in our “Medicare for Autism Now!” political campaign in the next federal election to have autism treatment covered under Medicare.

2. To introduce our “Medicare for Autism Now!” non-partisan political campaign and establish relationships with Ontario parents, supporters, other voters, and local media in Parry Sound-Muskoka and other key target Ontario ridings.

3. To gain national “earned media” for our campaign.

I am pleased to report that we succeeded in meeting all three of our objectives! Following is a more detailed description of the week’s events.

David Marley, our political strategist and I arrived in Ottawa late in the evening of Apr. 13th.
Monday, Apr. 14th began with an interview with Canada AM which went extremely well. We were then joined by Stefan Marinoiu. As many of you know, Stefan lives in Toronto with his wife Bernadette and their three children, Lia who is 17, Simon who is 15 and severely autistic and Paul who just turned 6. Simon has never had the benefit of any intervention quite simply because the system failed him and his family. Last February, out of desparation, Stefan walked from Toronto to Ottawa (450 kms.) to raise awareness about the autism crisis in Canada. After 11 days of walking, he met with health minister Tony Clement for about 15 minutes, only to be told…. “this is a provincial issue”…no questions or concern for Simon, or Stefan, just more political indifference.
Thanks to the kind donations of many of you, Stefan got to fly to Ottawa this time! Stefan spent the rest of the week campaigning with us….so now…our Travels with Stefan.

Stefan, along with David, Senator Jim Munson, Senator Norman Atkins, MP Andy Scott, MP Shawn Murphy, MP Dawn Black and myself all spoke at our “Medicare for Autism Now!” press conference which was held in the Charles Lynch press room on Parliament Hill at 11:00 on Apr. 14th. The support for our campaign on Parliament Hill is growing as is the media attention. Our initiative is being taken seriously. When we had a press conference last May, one camera attended; there were 7 on Apr. 14th. including W5.

On Monday evening we drove up to the town of Huntsville which is in our federal health minister Tony Clement’s riding of Parry Sound- Muskoka We spent the next three days campaigning and “main-streeting” in Huntsville, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Parry Sound and Orillia. We met with all the editors of the local newspapers and their advertising managers. We did an extensive interview with the Bracebridge Examiner and the Parry Sound
North Star.
We distributed brochures and other hand-outs to hospitals, clinics, libraries, recreation centres, senior centres, community colleges, legions, coffee shops, and even paid a visit to Minister Clement’s constituency offices in Parry Sound and Huntsville. We really worked the room! It was a very interesting experience to say the least and we learned some very valuable lessons: Not one person, and I mean, not one person asked, “What is autism?”….sadly, it seems like everyone we spoke to knows someone who has it. And….everyone we spoke to without exception agreed autism treatment should be covered and supported our initiative to secure it. It is also abundantly clear that support generally for Mr. Clement is extremely weak. The support from the people who live in Parry Sound-Muskoka was no surprise to us. Why? Because Canadians are fair-minded people who expect our government to do the morally right and economically sensible thing by our children.
Throughout our Travels with Stefan, he shared stories of other fair-minded Canadians he met during his trek from Toronto to Ottawa. He told us of people who were “strangers” stopping their cars to ask if he needed help, gave him money, paid for meals, alerted restaurant owners to provide him with anything he wanted. These “strangers” paid for his hotel accomodation, in one case, opened their own home to him to provide food and shelter. A church congregation gave him all of their Sunday collection and bought him new boots and gloves. All of these “strangers” or fair-minded Canadians heard Stefan’s story, which is sadly the same story of countless other Canadian families dealing with autism, and responded with overwhelming support and encouragement to “keep on going – your cause is just!”

On Wednesday, the 16th while in Parry Sound, I did a phone-in talk show interview from the editor’s office in the Parry Sound North Star with the Ottawa radio station CFRA which aired from 1:20 to 1:40 p.m. I managed to do this after “calming the hystrionics and bad words” which filled the air after David locked the rental car keys in the trunk along with most of our materials….thank goodness for locksmiths! About our rental car – it was a black Charger with tinted windows and a spoiler….we looked like we came out of “Smoky and the Bandit.” Just before the “key incident” we happened to park the car beside a vacant store which had a poem about walking posted in the window….Based on Stefan’s walking experience, the wording seemed very poignant so I took a photo for you all to see.

On Thursday, the 17th. we drove to Toronto via Orillia and Barrie where we stopped in at the Orillia Packet and Times and the Barrie Examiner. We were joined that evening by Harold Doherty who is a dad and very effective advocate from Fredericton, New Brunswick. Check out Harold’s blog: “Facing Autism in New Brunswick” at http://www.autisminnb.blogspot.com We met Harold last May when we were in Halifax. He is going to co-ordinate our political initiative in the Maritimes. Harold flew from Fredericton to join us in Toronto to meet with media and speak at our “Medicare for Autism Now!” rally in Oakville. That evening David, Harold and I had dinner with Stefan and his family. Bernadette provided a lovely meal and warm hospitality. Meeting with Stefan and his family and particularly meeting Simon, who is 15 and has never had intervention was a shocking reminder to me personally of why we must have autism treatment universally accessible under Medicare! Our son is one year younger then Stefan’s son. He has benefited from 11 years of intervention solely because we had the means to provide it….that’s all! That this situation still exists in Canada where we have had Medicare for almost 40 years and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms for 25 years is no longer acceptable! The evening provided a sharp reminder that our expectations are reasonable because all our children, regardless of where they live, or how much money their families have are indeed worthy of treatment!

On Friday, the 18th we met with the producers of W5. They are producing a program about our political initiative which is scheduled to air on May 10th. After an extensive interview with Sandi Rinaldo we had lunch and further discussion with some CTV NEWS producers. They are extremely interested in our initiative and have expressed interest in covering it during the election campaign….national “earned media” – just what we need! Friday afternoon, we met with Bob Rae who is the Liberal party’s policy co-chair. We had a very frank and useful conversation with Bob who listened closely, asked lots of good questions and demonstrated a pretty good understanding of the issue and the “road-blocks” More on this in due course. Friday evening, we met with Deborah Coyne who lives in Toronto, is a mom, a constitutional lawyer, will be seeking elected office in the next federal election and is a supporter. Check out Deborah’s blog: http://www.canadianswithoutborders.blogspot.com We also met with Gordon Shreeve who is a seasoned campaign organizer. Gordon does not have a child with autism but he is committed to helping us organize some of the Ontario target ridings. He is a wonderful addition to our team!
On Saturday, the 19th we had our “Medicare for Autism Now!” rally in Oakville. About 40 people attended mainly from Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto. Jennifer O’Brien was the local organizer and did a fabulous job! The speakers included: Stefan, Harold, Deborah Coyne, Barry Hudson who is a dad of a 4 year old from Mississauga, David and I. Norrah Whitney who is the director of FEAT Ontario also said a few words. Our message was well received! The turn-out was reminiscent of where we were one year ago in BC, but the people who attended were motivated and ready to go! W5 attended and filmed the whole two hours plus interviewed a number of people. One of the W5 producer’s wife who owns a pre-school and the W5 production manager also attended. Our day concluded with one more meeting…we met with another very talented political organizer, and former leader of the BC Green Party named Stuart Parker. Stuart is doing a PhD at the University of Toronto and is an associate of David Marley’s. He has committed to helping us with some of the Toronto ridings during the election. His skills and smarts will be tremendously helpful to us.

Whew – that’s it! We flew home on Sunday the 20th and have pretty much being playing catch-up!

We would like to thank all of you who so generously donated money to make this trip possible! In order to move forward with the next steps, we need to raise more money •••.a.p. We want to do an advertising campaign in Parry Sound-Muskoka which will run all summer. We are asking the papers for quotes right now. We need your help to make it happen. We also need to raise money to cover our next trip, which will be during the election campaign. Stay tuned for information about upcoming fund-raising events! In the meantime, please feel free to donate:

Cheques are payable to:

Medicare for Autism Now
C/o Suite 425 – 1489 Marine Drive,
West Vancouver, BC
V7T 1B8

Or email us at: mfanow@gmail.com

In the next week, we will be adding this narrative plus video of the Ottawa press conference, the Canada AM interview, the CFRA radio interview and many photos of the entire Ontario tour including the Oakville rally to our blog…check it out at:

http://www.medicareforautismnow.blogspot.com

Remember to tune into CTV’s W5 on Saturday, May 10th. Check your local listings for time and channel.

[Katrina Ewanchuk]

Below is a list of Educational Resources and Toys that I have compiled through my work as an Educational Assistant and Behavioral Interventionist. If you have any questions or would like a photo of a specific item please feel free to email me.

Counting cows magnetic book $3.00
Kumon books(brand new) My first book of tracing $8.00
My first book of simple addition $8.00
My first book of colouring $8.00
My first book of cutting $8.00
Pooh first phone book $3.00
Cat in the Hat Activity book $5.00
My little People School Bus lift the flap book $5.00
Let’s learn our words-magnetic book $5.00
Sticker puzzle book with cd-$5.00
Toy story games $2.00
Dora color forms $6.00
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar game $6.00
Preschool puzzles $1.00 each
Surf’s up puzzles $2.50 each
Clifford the big red dog dominos $4.00
Wood abacus $5.00
Melissa and Doug wood peg set with hammer $5.00
Leaps Phonics Pond $7.00

This is a small list of the items I have to offer. For a complete listing of my items please visit my website at http://www.learningtoysplus.com

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

LEAD POSITION AVAILABLE IN VANCOUVER!

We are looking for a NEW lead therapist for our well-established team.

Our six year old daughter is high functioning, very verbal, gentle, affectionate, and very entertaining. Her therapy is fascinating, and her progress is swift. We do lots of peer play, community outings, and we have many fun summer plans. This is a home-based ABA program, run under the guidance of EAP (the Early Autism Project). Previous experience with ABA programs is a must.

Training will be provided by our current lead or our consultant.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: running sessions on your own, arranging bi-weekly team meetings, overlapping with our consultant, providing reports to the consultant, and overlapping with therapists. You will also need to provide feedback to therapists and us, train new therapists, oversee the recording of data, probe new targets, and, coach the team. Our team meetings are currently held every second Thursday evening from 4:30-6:00.

You, of course, need to be FUN, responsible, dedicated, and creative.
You’ll have strong play skills, a positive attitude, and have lots of energy and patience. You are a good multi-tasker, are organized, encouraging, enthusiastic, and responsible. You also need to be able to take constructive feedback and implement it immediately.

A current criminal record check will be required, and your salary will be negotiable based on your experience and your performance.

We live in central Vancouver near Main and Broadway.
Please e-mail your resume to scissorhappy@shaw.ca with "Lead Therapist Position" as the subject.

Looking Forward To Hearing From You-and…honestly, this would be rewarding and super-fun.

Thanks,
{Cathy}

[Author]

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