Learning together, apart.
FSI Learning Explorations are available to all families/individuals offering the chance to connect, learn, and share virtually in the safety and comfort of your own home. Please take advantage of the opportunity to participate in these informative and exciting events!
Please visit this page often, as we will be updating our roster of workshops regularly.
For more information, please click on the links below.
This learning opportunity will cover a variety of topics related to Autism Spectrum Disorder including diagnosis and accessing supports in BC. Roles of team members and service providers as they relate to a child’s team of professionals and paraprofessionals will also be reviewed.
Dulcie Mercado
Dulcie Mercado works as the Outreach Coordinator for Autism Information Services British Columbia (AIS BC). She brings with her many years of experience as a Behaviour Interventionist, Early Childhood Educator, Behaviour Consultant, presenter and trainer. She has worked in collaboration with a variety of programs and organizations province-wide to provide training and consultation around supporting children and youth with various support needs. When she is not involved in supporting families and collaborating with colleagues and community partners, she’s probably trying to learn about the newest supercars and random historical facts to keep up with her young son or sourcing the ingredients for her latest recipe find on Pinterest.
How to Register:
To register for our free Sibshops Facilitator Training valued at $299 USD, please fill out this form. Once you have filled out the form, if your registration has been approved, you will receive information on how to join this workshop and a file to add this event to your calendar.
Our Intention:
Our intention for this training is to be able to train facilitators that are able to host SibShop workshops out in community for families at a minimal or affordable rate whenever possible. In some cases, your organization may offer them for free or incorporate the knowledge when supporting siblings.
Dr. Manish Sadarangani
Dr. Manish Sadarangani is Director of the Vaccine Evaluation Center at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and an Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, UBC Department of Pediatrics. He has worked in pediatrics throughout the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. His research links clinical trials with basic microbiology, immunology and epidemiology to address clinically relevant problems related to immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Learning Objectives:
The 5 W’s and an H for Individual Education Plans (IEP’s): What is an IEP and a CB-IEP? When is an IEP provided? Why is an IEP necessary? Who is involved in IEP Planning and Implementation? Where can I find information and supports? How do I support my child with an IEP?
Paula Stroshein-Martinez
Paula and her husband are parents to four amazing kids ages 9-23. Paula enjoys spending time with her family where they live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast. As a child to an immigrant mother, she treasured the teachers who took the time to acknowledge and celebrate diversity and who supported her and her family during her school years. Paula started her career in Psychology, working with children on the Autism Spectrum and their families. She soon found herself back at school getting her second degree in Education and then a Master’s degree in Special Education. Paula is passionate about inclusive education and her mission and vision is that schools are safe, equitable and inspiring places for all. In her role as an Inclusion Support Coordinator on the District Inclusion Support Team, Paula feels very fortunate to be part of such an amazing, collaborative and innovative group of like-minded individuals dedicated to quality public education. Paula is Vice President of the Sunshine Coast Teacher’s Association and President of SD46 Local Specialist Association-Teachers of Inclusive Education. She was just recently appointed to the role of Peer Support Services Consultant with the BCTF and is very much looking forward to connecting, sharing and learning at the provincial level.
Fiona James
Dan MacDonald
Dan McDonald is a Lifetime member of PLAN as well as a Certified Professional Accountant [CPA] with a Ph.D. He is a former accounting professor at Simon Fraser University. Dan immediately recognized the exceptionally generous terms of the RDSP when the plan was announced in 2008 and immediately set one up for his daughter. He works with Plan Institute as a facilitator for many of their free information RDSP sessions and events around the province
Learning Outcomes:
• Participants will learn the fundamental functions of myBooklet BC
• Demonstrates how the tangible take away tips will ease the use of myBooklet BC regarding the entering and formatting of information
• Acquire knowledge on how myBooklet can be used for many different purposes for the benefit of the individual.
Rachel Skidmore
Rachel Skidmore is a mother of two teen-aged daughters who teach her everyday things that she did not know (now more than ever). The topic of self care and taking respite moments has always been important to her, because she is a single mother and knew that it was in taking these moments that she would be able to give her daughters the best version of herself. Rachel’s youngest daughter requires a lot of personal care and hands-on involvement due to physical and cognitive diversities in addition to a diagnosis of staticus epilepticus, so the idea of “respite” has always meant something outside of the box for her. She never felt she could take extended breaks without making more work for herself, and due to her daughter’s complexities, it has been hard to let go for fear that her daughter’s seizures would be missed by even close family members, so she has found over the past 13 years other ways in which she has found her form of “respite” and what allows her to recharge and keep up the energy to…keep up.
Reneé Morven
Learning Outcomes:
• Learn the philosophy and intention behind Microboards and what makes them unique
• Learn about the available payment options through Individualized Funding
• Understand Vela's role in assisting families and individuals with the creation of Microboards and/or set up of Individualized Funding supports
• Learn from stories of other peoples' experiences with Microboards and Individualized Funding.
Caitlin Goodwill
Caitlin was born and raised in the Kootenays and moved to the Lower Mainland, where she now resides, in 2005. She has worked with people with disabilities throughout her life, beginning by assisting with the care of her foster siblings, and continuing as a support worker for individuals with various and complex needs. She has been a facilitator with Vela for the Lower Mainland and Kootenay region since 2008, and has recently moved into the position of co-Executive Director.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify symptoms of depression in children and youth
2. Learn strategies to help children and youth recover from depression
3. Understand available resources for treatment of youth depression in BC
Dr. Ashley Miller
Ashley Miller, MD is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia where she serves as co-director of family therapy training. She loves working with children, teens and families daily, helping them to reconnect to their own strengths and to each other.
78% of children with autism have at least one mental health condition. Join us for a session in learning about common psychiatric comorbidities and their methods of treatment. We will discuss common psychotherapies and pharmacologic treatments for ADHD, anxiety disorders, OCD-related disorders, mood disorders, as well as catatonia.
Learning Outcomes
- To appreciate the prevalence of mental health conditions in children with autism and intellectual disability, and the impact they have on them and their families.
- To gain some understanding of treatment options available.
- To address some methods of complementary and alternative medicine.
Allison Fong
Alison Fong is a third year medical student at the University of British Columbia with a BSc in Microbiology and Immunology. For the past year, she had the pleasure of working with Dr. Anamaria Richardson to prepare this presentation, and with Dr. Robin Friedlander to prepare a chart review of the patients attending the SIB Clinic at BCCH. In her spare time, she enjoys watching thought-provoking movies and writing music.
Toilet training and feeding difficulties are a common issue in pediatric populations. In this session, we will dive into the importance, barriers and strategies of overcoming these difficulties. We will discuss an approach to guide parents’ plan and choice of techniques, depending on the individual child’s learning style and the context.
Learning Outcomes
- Recognize the prevalence of toileting and feeding difficulties in children with NDD
- Identify the importance and barriers of toilet training and feeding therapy
- Become familiar with the various behavioural strategies to improve toileting and feeding
Vanessa Wong
Vanessa Wong is a third year medical student at the University of British Columbia. She has been working with Dr. Anamaria Richardson, Katie Allen and her fellow classmates to give this series of Web-Based Parent Support Group presentations. She has previously completed her B.Sc. in Neuroscience at McGill University.
In this session, we will learn about the different behavioural assessments used to treat self-injurious behaviour (SIB). We will briefly talk about how to characterize patterns of SIB through structured behavioural observation. Then we will discuss how to identify the motivators that drive SIB through a Functional Behavioural Assessment. Finally, we will learn how to control SIB through a Practical Functional
Assessment.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify the different methods of structured behavioural observation
- Recognize the components of a Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA)
- Recognize the components of a Practical Functional Assessment (PFA)
- Differentiate between a functional analysis and an Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA)
Rachel Horng
Rachel Horng is a fourth-year undergraduate student working towards her BSc. in Psychology and Physiology at the University of British Columbia. She has had the pleasure of working alongside Dr. Richardson, Katie Allen, and the rest of the research team for the past year to construct this web-based presentation series.
Join Rachel Skidmore and Renee Morven to learn about myBooklet BC. myBooklet BC is a FREE online tool that individuals and families can use to create a beautiful and personalized information booklet (all about me booklet) to store and share their strengths, gifts, goals and more!
Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrates how the tangible take away tips will ease the use of myBooklet BC regarding the entering and formatting of information
• Acquire knowledge on how myBooklet can be used for many different purposes for the benefit of the individual.
Renee' Morven
FSI Regional Network Coordinator, North WestRenee’ Morven comes from the community of New Aiyansh. She has three beautiful children, two sons, and a daughter. Her daughter Hailey, is 16 years old and has Rett Syndrome, seizure disorder, dystonia, and osteopenia. Her experiences brought her to the Family Support Institute, where she has been a volunteer resource parent since 2010. She is very passionate about working with families, as she knows that feeling understood, heard, and acknowledged is important, especially when one feels isolated. Renee' has been working with FSIBC as Regional Network Coordinator since November 2018. When not working, you can find her out harvesting/wildcrafting wild medicine plants that heal, or out with her family.
Rachel Skidmore
FSI Regional Network Coordinator, Vancouver Island SouthRachel Skidmore is a mother of two teen-aged daughters who teach her everyday things that she did not know (now more than ever). The topic of self care and taking respite moments has always been important to her, because she is a single mother and knew that it was in taking these moments that she would be able to give her daughters the best version of herself. Rachel’s youngest daughter requires a lot of personal care and hands-on involvement due to physical and cognitive diversities in addition to a diagnosis of staticus epilepticus, so the idea of “respite” has always meant something outside of the box for her. She never felt she could take extended breaks without making more work for herself, and due to her daughter’s complexities, it has been hard to let go for fear that her daughter’s seizures would be missed by even close family members, so she has found over the past 13 years other ways in which she has found her form of “respite” and what allows her to recharge and keep up the energy to…keep up.
Do you have a topic and or speaker you are interested in learning more about and think the FSI community would benefit from as well? Please send us an email noting your subject and or speaker (with contact information if possible) to sstephens@fsibc.com
Learn from home
Build your knowledge and skills, all from the comfort of your own home.
60 to 120-minute sessions
There is no need to block off long periods of time for our sessions. Get all the information you need in 60 to 120 minutes.
Free learning
All Learning Explorations are free of charge and open to everyone!These sessions are open to everyone. Please feel free to share with your friends and family
