Autism Edmonton

09/03/2026

🏠 Help us better understand housing needs in our community

Autism Edmonton wants to hear from autistic people, families, and caregivers about housing needs, priorities, and experiences.

Please take 3 minutes to complete our short housing survey. Your feedback will help us better understand what people need and strengthen future planning, advocacy, partnerships, and funding efforts.

Take the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NNGKNLQ

Please consider sharing the survey with others who may want their voice included.

09/02/2026

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

Meet the Facilitator: Gabrielle Heselton

What does it take to navigate post-secondary education as a neurodivergent or disabled student, and how can students and families better understand the accommodations, funding, and supports available to them?

For our upcoming session, Post-Secondary Accommodations & Funding for Neurodivergent Students, we’re pleased to welcome Gabrielle Heselton, Registered Psychologist, as our facilitator.

Gabrielle works primarily with autistic individuals and their families, providing counselling, consultation, and assessment through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.

She also brings an important personal perspective to this conversation.

As a visually impaired student, teacher, and now psychologist, Gabrielle has lived experience navigating education and employment as a person with a disability. Her work is grounded in a commitment to equitable access and helping disabled and neurodivergent people better understand their options, advocate for their needs, and navigate systems that can often feel complicated.

🎓 In this session, Gabrielle will explore:

• Preparing for the transition from high school to post-secondary studies
• Understanding when accommodations and supports may be helpful
• Accommodations and supports available to neurodivergent students
• Accessing additional funding to support post-secondary education
• Advocating for your needs and navigating self-disclosure

This session is for current post-secondary students, high school students preparing for what comes next, and parents and caregivers supporting them.

Come learn from a facilitator who brings together professional expertise, lived experience, and a commitment to making education more accessible.

🔗 Learn more and register:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/post-secondary-accommodations-funding-for-neurodivergent-students-tickets-1997058948073

09/02/2026

September is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Month. A time to increase understanding, reduce stigma, and recognize the strengths, experiences, and support needs of people with FASD and their families.

FASD and autism are different neurodevelopmental conditions, but people with either may experience some similar challenges, including sensory differences, communication needs, executive functioning difficulties, emotional regulation, and navigating environments that were not designed with neurodivergent people in mind.

At Autism Edmonton, we believe awareness should lead to something more: understanding, accessibility, acceptance, and appropriate support.

That means looking beyond behaviour, recognizing individual strengths and needs, and creating schools, workplaces, services, homes, and communities where neurodivergent people are supported to participate and belong.

This year’s FASD Awareness Month theme is “Everyone Plays a Part: It Takes a Community.” It reminds us that meaningful inclusion is not the responsibility of one person, family, or organization. It takes all of us.

September 9 is also International FASD Awareness Day, and Edmonton’s High Level Bridge will be illuminated red in recognition of the day.

09/01/2026

NEW LEARNING SESSION!

💰 Building Your Financial Foundation

Do you know which disability-related financial benefits you or your family may be eligible for?

What about the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) — how it works, who qualifies, and why the age you open one can make a significant difference?

With the generous support of Manulife, Autism Edmonton is pleased to offer Building Your Financial Foundation, presented in partnership with Centre for Autism Services Alberta and OakTree Wealth Strategies.

This practical learning session will help individuals, families, and caregivers better understand financial supports, government benefits, and opportunities to plan for the future.

Ray Zadrey, CFP®, a Certified Financial Planner, will facilitate the session and specializes in financial planning, government benefits, RDSPs, estate planning, and long-term wealth strategies.

💙 During the session, you'll learn about:

• Disability Tax Credit (DTC)
• Canada Disability Benefit
• CPP Disability
• AISH
• Child Disability Benefit
• RDSP eligibility, grants, bonds, contributions, and withdrawals
• Why starting your financial planning early can make a difference

Ray will also share a real-life case study demonstrating how two families experienced very different financial outcomes simply because they opened their RDSPs at different ages.

📋 Participants will also receive:

✓ RDSP Guide
✓ Government Benefits Checklist
✓ Financial Planning Checklist

Financial planning can feel complicated. This session is about making information clear, practical, and easier to put into action.

A special thank you to Manulife for sponsoring this learning opportunity and helping make accessible financial education available to our community.

🔗 Learn more and register:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/building-your-financial-foundation-tickets-1998508849768?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

08/29/2026

08/29/2026

September is almost here, and there’s lots happening with Autism Edmonton's Occasio Program!

🌟 Juniors & Seniors are back on an alternating schedule!

Be sure to check out some of our new events, including Play Rangers for Juniors and Chats & Crafts for Seniors.

🎶 Kaleido Family Arts Festival
Saturday, September 19

🎨 Back to the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts
Monday, September 28.

The Nina has recovered from the flood and is ready to welcome our creatives back! Come let your art shine. ✨

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Monthly Family Events!
We’re excited to start hosting one family event each month, giving Occasio families a chance to connect, meet one another and get to know the team.

🍭 September Family Event: Sweets Shop
📅 Sunday, September 27
🕐 1:00–3:00 p.m.
📍 #116, 15227 Castle Downs Road

Come join us for some fun, meet other Occasio families and get to know the Occasio team! 💙

👉 Check out all of our upcoming events through the Autism Edmonton Events Calendar https://www.autismedmonton.org/events-calendar/

08/27/2026

🎉 Autism Edmonton Occasio Camp Families, We Have a Winner! 🎉

Every family who registered for a week of Occasio Camp this summer was automatically entered into our sensory swing draw, and we’re excited to announce that one lucky family has won! 💙

They’ve been contacted and will soon be enjoying their new sensory swing at home. We hope it brings lots of fun, movement and smiles!

Thank you to all of the families who joined us for Occasio Camp this summer. And a big thank you to Terra Centre for donating the sensory swing to Autism Edmonton. 💙

08/26/2026

NEW LEARNING SESSION!

📣 Understanding Disability Advocacy in Alberta

What happens when an Albertan with a disability encounters a barrier within a public service or disability-related system? And how can individual experiences help create broader change?

Autism Edmonton is pleased to welcome the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (OAPD) for an upcoming learning session exploring its role in advancing the rights, inclusion, and well-being of persons with disabilities across Alberta.

The session will also look specifically at issues affecting autistic Albertans and their families, including trends the OAPD is seeing and systemic barriers being reported by the community.

💙 During this session, attendees will learn about:

• The role and mandate of the OAPD
• How the Office supports Albertans with disabilities who have concerns
• How lived experiences can help identify systemic barriers
• How individual concerns can contribute to broader advocacy
• Trends and systemic issues affecting autistic people and their families
• How the OAPD provides information and advice to government about disability issues facing Albertans

The session will feature Greg McMeekin, Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, who brings his own lived experience of disability to the role and has spent his career advocating alongside people with disabilities, their families, and supporters.

The work of the OAPD is guided by the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and a commitment to accessibility, equity, and meaningful inclusion.

This is an opportunity to better understand what the OAPD does, how it can help, and how the experiences of individual Albertans can contribute to systems-level change.

🔗 Learn more and register:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/office-of-the-advocate-for-persons-with-disabilities-oapd-tickets-1998502281121?aff=ebdsoporgprofile