Permanent OT Opportunity with Pacekids Programs - Calgary, Full-Time (Relocation Allowance)

Pacekids Programs, a charitable organization in Calgary supporting children with diverse needs and their families, is currently looking to hire a full-time (37.5 hours/week), permanent OT to support our Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) programs. This position would be eligible for reimbursement for moving expenses incurred in order to relocate to Calgary, AB for the role, if applicable, up to a maximum amount depending on location. The OT will be delivering sessions within families’ homes, and via Zoom, in the Calgary area. The OT is responsible for the planning and implementation of OT programming that meets the unique needs of the children and/or families with whom they work, while collaborating with others on the child’s/family’s team. Requirements:  Bachelor’s Degree/Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in Occupational Therapy  Registered member, in good standing, with the Alberta College of Occupational Therapists (ACOT) or in the process of registering  Experience working with preschool and school-aged children with diverse needs, including experience working with children with Autism  Current Alberta driver’s license Access to a personal vehicle (the successful candidate will be compensated for mileage)  Availability on weekdays and weeknight evenings until 6:00pm Pacekids offers a fun, supportive, and energetic work team as well as an attractive compensation package including generous vacation, sick, and personal time entitlements, a mostly employer-paid benefits package, as well as membership allowances, RRSP matching, and professional development funds. In addition, this role would also include reimbursement for moving expenses incurred in order to relocate for this role, if applicable, up to a maximum amount depending on location. The best reward however is the opportunity to make a truly meaningful impact in the lives of children and families! For more information or to apply please visit: https://pacekids.ca/careers/

Sensory Collective

My name is Rebekah Allen, and I am an Private Practice Pediatric OT in the Calgary area. Iver the past six months, I have been involved in a Sensory Collective with OTs from all over the world, lead by Kelly Beins, an OT from Maryland, USA. She has 30 years of experience as an OT and is a mentor to OTs looking to elevate their integrative practice. I have the opportunity to share a portion of content (Pillars of Practice) which will be 90 minutes of content. Based on interest, I will pick from a wide range of topics including polyvagal theory, assessment, intervention, private practice as both a review of the info for me and to promote this awesome service. Please email me if you are interested, what area might interest you, and tell me when a zoom sharing would work best for you (during a weekday or evening). Based on your responses, I will schedule the call in about two weeks. Please email me for the most effective communication. PS. I found out about Kelly by taking a feee webinar through Unyte ILS and you can check out her website at www.kellybeins.com. Rebekah Allen 😊 rebekah.occther@gmail.com

Sensory Activity Book

It's here! Sensory Activity Book Calming My Jitters Activity Book: Companion Guide to the Award-Winning Picture Book: Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes Calm My Jitters Down This fun sensory activity book is jam-packed with activities that involve your 8 senses (yes, 8!). Readers can play Sensory Simon says, decode word scrambles, navigate an obstacle course, reflect on creative prompts, play games, coloring pages, make icky sticky slime, and much more! We've snuck in some learning too! link

complete survey re: ASD before Mar 10 for infographic to government before election

 Dear Community of Practice Members, Following our February 23rd Community of Practice meeting, the Steering Committee met to discuss the most efficient way to collect “data”, powerful stories/examples and potential solutions. We recognize that we are all busy and want to be respectful of everyone’s time. Rather than asking members to share stats (caseload sizes, wait lists), we thought it would be more efficient to develop a brief survey. We also thought we could increase the number of voices heard as the survey could be forwarded to other clinicians/administrators at your organization, as well as to organizations that serve young children with autism that are not currently part of the Community of Practice. As discussed at the meeting, our goal is to create tools such as an Infographic or slide deck that we can use collectively to educate the government and the community about the current state of affairs in autism early intervention. To be clear, we are looking to compile or aggregate stories and survey data. People/agency names will not be linked to specific quotes or numbers. The only place names or agencies will be listed is in the Community of Practice membership list and we will only list those members who are comfortable with us doing so. As a Community of Practice, we want to drive change by offering solutions. We want to position ourselves as the group that the government comes to for advice and direction. We are not a lobby group. We are nonpartisan – our goal is to share our collective understanding of issues that impact children and families and offer experience-informed solutions. We recognize that most agencies are funded by the province and we have to be strategic when it comes to raising issues and sharing solutions. We are hoping that you will take the time to complete the 23-question survey linked below and share it with others at your agency and/or other organizations who provide service to young children with autism and their families. With an election fast approaching, we ask that you complete the survey before March 10th. The Steering committee will then use the information to create an infographic and slide deck. These tools will be shared at the next Community of Practice meeting. We will also discuss how the tools will be used to promote positive change. Date and zoom link for the next meeting to follow shortly. Survey Link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DYMKQHW Thanks for taking the time to complete the survey - looking forward to discussing next steps! Community of Practice Steering Committee Terri Duncan, Nausheen Khan & Kim Ward KIMBERLEY­ WARD, Ph.D. (She/Her) Executive Director // Registered Psychologist Society for Autism Support and Services 404 94 Ave SE Calgary, AB T2J 0E8 403.258.5518 autism.ca

Fine motor camps Edmonton

DETAILS: WHEN: APRIL 29, MAY 6, 13, 20 (4 SESSIONS) TIME: 10:00AM-11:15AM COST: $300 WHERE: NEW LOCATION - Highlands United Church 11305 64 Street Edmonton (OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SERVICES MAY BE COVERED DEPENDING ON THE HEALTH PLAN & ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE) 780.965.4310 growingchanges@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------