Introduction & History

The Centre for Autism Services Alberta (formerly Family Linkages Foundation of Alberta) is a non-profit registered charity offering services for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and has been providing services to children and families affected by ASD in the Greater Edmonton Area since 1997. This is achieved by providing comprehensive, innovative services to children, youth and families affected by ASD, through consultation, collaboration, intervention, education and support. Governed by a Board of Directors, representation in governance is ensured through a combination of involved parents and professionals who provide overall guidance and direction to the organization. A family centered intervention model has been formally endorsed and embraced by the organization, and parents are invited and recognized as collaborative team members in the treatment and intervention priorities of their children.

The goals of the Centre are:

To set the standard for best practice in Autism Spectrum Disorders services
To be known for innovative, evidence-based practices
To deliver sustainable, client-focused services that are transparent to all stakeholders
To have strong inter-agency and community relationships that facilitate achievement of our mission

Inter-Disciplinary Collaborative Treatment

The Centre currently has on its staff, or is contracted with, psychologists, speech language pathologists, educators, occupational therapists, physiotherapist, behavioral specialists and behavioral aides. The guiding model of treatment is always interdisciplinary, where treatment teams meet on a regular basis to consult and determine intervention priorities and strategies. Consistent with a family centered model, parents are always welcome as key and pivotal members of the treatment team, and treatment decisions are always made in consultation with family values and priorities.

All staff must complete the following training prior to working with the children:

Discrete Trial Teaching
Natural Teaching Strategies
Positive Behaviour Support
Activity Based Programming
Group Programming
Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (created by the Crisis Prevention Institute)
Communication Strategies
Occupational Therapy Strategies
First Aid / CPR and
Ethics of Touch

Family Centered Care

The Centre for Autism Services Alberta recognizes the family as a unique and essential contributor to the successful treatment of autism, and the family is expected to be key participants in the treatment of their child or sibling. This includes participation in team meetings, setting priorities, completing on-going training and working with the team on generalizing acquired skills into the community. The Centre also recognizes that family values and cultural and religious values are important, and treatment always takes place within this context. Regular communication between family members and the treatment team are considered essential in ensuring synchrony between all its members.

Autism Resources and Assessment Library

The Centre stays current with professional practices and trends that occur in the treatment of autism. As such, there is an extensive library of autism related resources, the organization subscribes to numerous professional journals, provides financial support for staff to attend professional conferences, as well as in-house training for its staff on new models and techniques, and regularly attends various networking events within the region, such as the Autism Research Rounds at the Glenrose Hospital. The Centre also maintains a fairly extensive professional assessment library to provide objective, standardized information on goals and progress within their treatment programs. Assessment tools and their administration are often discipline specific, but include measures of cognitive, adaptive, achievement, behavioral, emotional, ecological, language, socialization, and sensory functioning. The Centre for Autism Services Alberta also maintains a library of tools that are autism specific, such as the ADOS, ADI-R, GARS-2, CARS, KADI, SRS, PEP-3, T-TAP and PDDBI.