October 22-24, 2008See us at the Autism Symposium 2008

wm+a and AlphaBee will both this year have a presence at the Geneva Centre for Autism International Symposium 2008, to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre during October.

The bi-annual conference brings together professionals, educators, parents and researchers from around the world, and focuses on the leading research and clinical practices in the field of Autism.

wm+a and AlphaBee will both have stands in the exhibitor hall.

We look forward to seeing you there!

May 28th, 20082008 Summer Camp Support Fund For Children With Autism

Do you need one-to-one support so your child can go to summer camp?

The 2008 Summer Camp Support Fund is available from Autism Ontario, to Ontario families of children or youth with ASD who retain the services of a one-to-one support worker for their cild to attend a community summer camp or summer program.

Maximum reimbursements of $600 per child or youth (18 years or younger) will be made to help subsidize services purchased between July 1 and August 31 2008. Approximately 300 families are expected to receive reimbursements.

Cheques will be issued by Autism Ontario's Provinical Office upon receipt of the following three documents:

1. Evidence of a clear ASD diagnosis from a professional who is qualified to make the diagnosis.
2. All original receipt(s) for fees paid to the child's worker by the parent fo the child with ASD.
3. A complete, signed 2008 Summer Camp Support Application (Application available on our website).

For more information, visit www.autismontario.com/summercamp or contact Ginny via e-mail at ginny@autismontario.com or phone 416-246-9592 x225.

March 26th, 2008wm+a Opens AlphaBee

Local business wm+a (pronounced W M and A) has announced they are now accepting registrations for AlphaBee, a new Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) learning centre for children and youth with autism and other learning exceptionalities, which is due to open in April this year. AlphaBee"s IBI services are offered as centre or home-based programs, across the GTA, Peel, Halton, Hamilton Wentworth, and York regions. The AlphaBee service menu also includes clinical and psychological assessments and parent training.

The idea for AlphaBee was initially borne out of witnessing first hand the progress that an IBI program can enable - for all children including those with the most challenging behaviours and learning difficulties. Dunya Marijan-Winterson, CEO of both wm+a and AlphaBee, comments: "IBI has a well known success rate and is a proven method for assisting younger children with autism and learning exceptionalities in acquiring social, communicative and life skills." She continues, "Successful IBI programs usually require more than 20 hours of therapy per week for each child, and early intervention is paramount. With such an increase of children on the waiting list, families are looking for services that match their specific needs. Our goal was to make IBI more accessible, and by offering families the flexibility of services six days per week to fit around their schedules, plus the choice of centre and home-based therapy programs, we are able to do just that."

Set up just as a school environment would be, AlphaBee"s aim is to help children with school readiness and an easier transition to the mainstream school system. With its individual interactive learning stations, state of the art computer lab, gross motor room and even a dining room for snacks and lunch, AlphaBee"s facility provides every child with an opportunity to play, learn and develop their skills in a safe and educational environment.

AlphaBee"s IBI programs are clinically supervised and supported by highly trained, experienced staff who care about the learning and development of each child. "We are very happy to be in a position where we are supported by a clinical team who are well known and respected in the field of behaviour analysis," says Dunya. "This not only ensures that the children in our care have access to invested clinicians that can hone individual programs to provide the best outcome for each child, but also gives us the unique advantage of being able to harness expertise to ensure that we are in step with the very latest developments in IBI and Applied Behaviour Analysis."

Based on individual assessments, Senior and Instructor Therapists create and carefully monitor customized programs for each child, whether it be centre-based or home-based. Dunya is focused in her goals for AlphaBee from the outset: "Our commitment at wm+a has always been focused on improving the quality of life for individuals in our care, and helping them to learn and grow. Underpinning this philosophy is accountability and working with the wider community to develop our own skills, and we are fully committed to this same philosophy at AlphaBee."

AlphaBee's doors are now open, and those interested are encouraged to come for a tour of the facilities. AlphaBee is accepting requests for enrolment in both home-based and centre-based programs, so please call 416 367 5968 asking for the intake office, or visit AlphaBee.com" class="visual">www.AlphaBee.com for more information.

February 11th, 2008Idealistic Approach brings 10 Years Success

Local business wm+a (pronounced W, M and A)is this month celebrating 10 successful years providing specialized services to support some of the children and adults facing most severe behavioural and developmental challenges throughout GTA.

Not only has their CEO Dunya Marijan-Winterson achieved incredible growth, with the business expanding from 2 employees in 1999 to more than 200 professionals working across the GTA and beyond, but she has managed to maintain a collaborative work environment where its staff feel like a family and play an important part in decision making. Dunya comments: "We strive to make the wm+a experience positively different, for all who come into contact with us – especially our clients and our associates. It's well known locally that we are able to help children and adults with the most challenging behaviours and circumstances. We are able to do this through the commitment and dedication of our associates and staff, who uphold our philosophy of accountability and availability every day."

Today, wm+a provide some of the most comprehensive services available for individuals with autism and developmental exceptionalities, responding to crisis situations 24 hours a day. So how is this loyalty and dedication achieved from the workforce? Dunya has a pragmatic approach: "The key success factor for wm+a has been our resolute focus on our customers and their need for responsiveness. Immediate support for the individuals that need our help has to be our top priority. Secondly, the involvement of our clinical team and our evidence-based approach enables us to ensure individuals are getting the best possible chance to make progress. Lastly - but perhaps most importantly - involving our employees and associates in every step of our growth, trusting their judgements and translating their input into making informed decisions as we expand, is the most effective way we can serve our clients. As a result we have been able to provide an outstanding service that exceeds our clients" expectations, achieving a reputation for reliability and professionalism, whilst our associates gain satisfaction from their direct involvement in our success."

This idealistic approach is one that seems to have brought success. wm+a have recently passed the million hours mark with services to the non-profit sector and the community, and later this month are opening their first centre to provide Intensive Behavioural Intervention therapy for children with Autism and other developmental exceptionalities. If they can continue such commitment and retain their small company mentality, who knows where the future will take them.

February 11th, 2008wm+a Announces IBI Centre to Open

Local business wm+a (pronounced W, M and A)has announced today that they will be later this month opening a specialized Centre based in Etobicoke, to provide Intensive Behavioural Intervention therapy for children across the GTA. wm+a has for the last decade provided well trained professionals to support children and adults in and around Toronto facing some of the more extreme behavioural and developmental challenges.

This latest venture stems from their increasing involvement in the clinical aspects of Applied Behaviour Analysis and IBI during the past few years. With highly regarded clinical psychologists such as Dr. James Porter, Dr. Robert Stromer and Dr. Eric Davis working closely with their specialized team of Instructor Therapists and Senior Therapists, wm+a recognized the need for a dedicated IBI centre, which will provide therapy for up to 20 children with a diagnosis of Autism or other developmental exceptionalities.

Dunya Marijan-Winterson, CEO at wm+a, comments: "Our philosophy at wm+a has always been to help the children and adults we support to progress, assisting them to not only successfully overcome behavioural obstacles, but placing great importance on helping individuals to learn and grow. Intensive Behavioural Intervention has been proven to make a huge difference to some children particularly with Autism, and we are excited to be in a position to offer this therapy in a dedicated centre."

Intensive Behavioural Intervention is a structured approach to breaking down the barriers that isolate children with autism from the world around them. Specially trained IBI therapists work intensively with children either one-on-one or in small groups, using systematic methods derived from principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis to promote development and change inappropriate or unsafe behaviour. Research has shown that IBI should be commenced early because very young children can gain the most from this approach.

IBI is individual and program goals are based on a thorough assessment of each child's unique strengths and needs. The practical approach to therapy allows a focus on developing the skills each child needs for greater independence.