Tag: Anne Borden

Episode 49. Transforming schools and autism therapy: A conversation with Dr. Nancy Marshall

~ a4aontario

I had an amazing conversation with Dr. Nancy Marshall, a therapist and researcher, who previously worked as Child and Youth Counselor in Toronto public schools. We discussed her new, qualitative research on autistic people’s experiences with and perception of ABA. We also talked about the impact of the neurodiversity movement on autism services, and the evolution of new supports and educational practices that are neuro-affirming.

Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or on streaming sites like  Spotify,   ApplePodcasts,  Pandora, etc


Bio
Nancy Marshall is a registered social worker and youth worker who holds a PhD in Education from York University, Toronto. She has close to 20 years experience as a Child and Youth Worker (CYW) supporting autistic children, youth, and families with neuro-affirming and relational approaches in a variety of settings, mainly in special education settings and one-on-one counselling settings. Currently, she works as a child therapist at Ripple Effect Children’s Services in Toronto, Ontario and as a Course Director at York University teaching Inclusion, Disabilities, and Education to preservice K to 12 teacher candidates. Her mixed methods doctoral research examined the impact of ABA on the wellbeing of autistic people using survey analyses and stories from lived experiences.

Episode 48. A journey to transform special education: Catching up with Guy Stephens at Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint

~ a4aontario
Image courtesy of the Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint

I was honoured to speak with the amazing Guy Stephens, founder of the Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint about what’s new in human rights advocacy for autistic &  developmentally disabled students.

AASR has a groundbreaking new program, Reframing Behaviour, in partnership with the Crisis Prevention Institute, rolling out across America–neuroscience-based training for educators to eliminate seclusion & stop the traumatization of our special ed students. 

Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or on streaming sites like  Spotify,   ApplePodcasts,  Pandora, etc

Read the podcast transcript below the audio file.


Transcript: NCP_Transcript_Guy Stephens

Bio
Guy Stephens is one of the best-known parent advocates in our community. Through his work at AASR, he has been helping to inform changes in policy and practice to reduce and eliminate the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and other settings. Guy promotes trauma-informed, neuroscience-aligned, collaborative approaches to working with kids–and in just a few years he’s led AASR to become a leader in the field, presenting their work across North America with groundbreaking education for educators, as well as toolkits for parents. Guy also currently serves on the board of directors for The Arc of Maryland and PDA North America.

Links
Reframing Behaviour: Neuroscience-based Training for Educators

More about the Reframing Behaviour program 

Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint: Parent Guide

 

 

Episode 40. Keenan Wellar from LiveWorkPlay: Transforming Canada’s housing & programs for intellectually disabled Canadians

~ a4aontario
Portrait photo of a woman and man standing together, smiling, against a white wall with the shadows of a tropical plant projected on the wall. The woman has short, light brown hair and a black boatneck shirt with a patch of burgundy on it. The man has salt-and-pepper hair, cut short and is wearing a dress shirt with a small blue and white check pattern.
Julie Kingstone & Keenan Wellar, co-leaders of LiveWorkPlay

I had the honour of speaking with Keenan Wellar, founder of LiveWorkPlay about the organization’s work helping the community welcome and include people with intellectual disabilities, autistic persons, and those with a dual diagnosis in housing, work and leisure.  LiveWorkPlay is a model for the paradigm shift that is needed in developmental services!

Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or on streaming sites like Spotify, Stitcher or ApplePodcasts.


Transcript: Transcript_KeenanWellar_NCP_Podcast

Bio
Keenan Wellar has served as Co-Leader and Director of Communications for charitable organization LiveWorkPlay since 1997. LiveWorkPlay helps the community welcome and include people with intellectual disabilities and autistic persons to live, work, and play as valued citizens. The organization has earned numerous accolades, including Ottawa Board of Trade’s Best Non-Profit of 2019. Keenan serves as LiveWorkPlay event host as well as media spokesperson. He currently appears monthly on the Weekly Roundup show on 580 CFRA talk radio .

Episode 38. “It’s hard to un-ring the bell”: Talking about the vaccine-autism myth (& more) with Dr. Paul Offit

~ a4aontario

Portrait photo of a man, light-skinned with grayish hair and wire rimmed, oval glasses, in a blue dress shirt, gazing forward pensivelyI spoke with vaccine researcher and expert Dr. Paul Offit, whose book Autism’s False Prophets explores false narratives about autism, including the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism. We talked about that history, as well as the present challenge of the current anti-vaccine movement and the need to speak the truth, even when it’s complicated.

Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or on streaming sites like Spotify, Stitcher or ApplePodcasts.
Transcript below.

 

Transcript: Transcript_P_Offit_NCPodcast_11_23

Bio
Dr. Offit is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is an award-winning and internationally recognized expert in the fields of virology and immunology, and is a past  member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the CDC and currently a member of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.