Family Support & Inclusion

Family Support & Inclusion

Andi-Lynn James – Family Support & Inclusion Specialist
Phone: (613) 661-5426
Email: andi-lynn.j@trentonmfrc.ca

The Family Support and Inclusion Specialist is here to support the needs of all military and veteran families by offering confidential support, information, referrals and unique programming to family members with exceptionalities and complex needs. Learning to navigate the social services in a new community is stressful; our Family Support and Inclusion Specialist can help.

The following services are offered:

  • Assistance in applying for funding opportunities
  • Information sessions
  • One-on-one sessions
  • Referrals to community agencies
  • Support and resources
  • School meeting support

RESOURCES

A collection of tips and tricks, how-to’s and helpful information sessions put together by the Family Support and Inclusion team for families to access at their convenience.

Toolkit for Children & Youth

This Family Support and Inclusion Toolkit is an information package to assist in navigating the resources available for all military families supporting an individual with special needs associated with CFB Trenton. This toolkit will explain the process of who is qualified to provide a diagnosis, next steps, financial options, understanding the terms and acronyms and navigating the Ontario School System. View Toolkit for Children & Youth.

Toolkit for Adults

This toolkit speaks to individuals with special needs who are seeking guidance and support as well as parents and caregivers who are supporting an individual with special needs transitioning into adulthood. View Toolkit for Adults.

PROGRAMS

EXCEPTIONAL PARENTS:

A support group for caregivers of individuals with exceptional and complex needs. Connect with other families in your community and discuss topics that affect and interest you. Gain support and insight from local families. Runs once a month from September – June.

BUILDING BLOCKS CLUB:

Building Blocks is an 8-week program taking place once a week, with each session lasting an hour and a half. Building Blocks is a program that uses Lego as a tool in a structured and inclusive way to increase motivation to participate and positive interaction with peers. Throughout the program the children will be using and developing social skills, building strategies such as sharing, taking turns, making eye contact, problem solving, self-regulation, practicing patience, and using fine motor skills. Each week the children will be working in small groups where they will be given a role to assist in the completion of building a Lego set.

IMPROVAGANZA!

This course is designed specifically for children with Special Needs for the Military Family Resource Centres in Ontario, 2018. Improv can be scary for some of us – it is hard to get up and be “on stage” in front of others, with this in mind, the classes are set up with a progression of games and activities based on length of time it might take for class members to warm up to each other and develop the confidence to participate in different ways. The course is also built upon repetition of activities and games – this is to encourage and allow participants to fully learn the skills that come with each activity and session (note – new activities and games are highlighted in each session). If your class moves through the lesson plans quicker – awesome, there are extra activities and games at the bottom of each session’s lesson plan. If you don’t make it through them all, that’s ok, maybe you needed or wanted to spend more time on one particular activity this week – whatever works best for your group!

PUZZLE PROJECT:

This program is based off of the SibShop Model by Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy. It is designed to be a support group for siblings of a child with special needs. This program provides a fun and supportive environment for siblings to share the joys and struggles of being a sibling to an individual with special needs. This is accomplished through discussion, activities and a variety of games designed to be unique, upbeat and appealing to a wide ability range, crafts activities and special guest to teach participants new skills.

CHILDREN’S FRIENDSHIP TRAINING:

Children’s Friendship Training is a 10-week, evidence-based, group-format, parent-assisted social skills intervention for children ages 8 – 12. It has been proven effective with verbal children who have high- functioning Autism, Asperger Syndrome, PDD NOS, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and prenatal alcohol exposure. This program was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where it has been used and studied for over 20 years with more than 1,000 families. This training is geared towards motivated children who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends. During each group session, children are taught crucial social skills and are given the opportunity to practice these skills in session during role-play and play activities (e.g. sports, boardgames, etc.). Parents are taught how to assist their children in making and keeping friends by providing feedback through coaching during weekly socialization homework assignments designed to build on skills practiced in the sessions.

PEERS®:

The UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relationship Skills (PEERS®) is a manualized,   social skills training intervention for adolescents and young adults. This program has a strong evidence- base for use with teens and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) but may also be appropriate for teens and young adults with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and other socio-emotional problems. It includes 14 consecutive weeks of training with both a teen/young adult and a parent component which occur simultaneously. PEERS is designed for motivated teens in the 7th-12th grade who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends. During each group session teens are taught important social skills and are given the opportunity to practice these skills in session through role plays and during real play activities (e.g. playing sports, board games, etc.). Each week there is a “homework” component in which the teen is encouraged to practice their new skills. Parents are taught how to assist their teens in making and keeping friends in their group session and are expected to provide feedback to their teen through coaching during weekly socialization homework assignments.

 *** More program options to come… ***