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Growth & Innovation

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Research & Grants

 

Ontario Trillium Fund Grow Grant-Facing Your Fears (FYF)

The Ontario Trillium Fund Grow Grant has provided us with the opportunity to offer a free cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) group named ‘Facing Your Fears’ (FYF) to children and adolescents from ages 8 to 12 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This group can provide children and youth with coping skills to regulate their anxiety-related emotions.

We provided service to 62 families

During April 2022-April 2023, 41 families started and or finished the group.

We are now in the final year of the grant and have already provided the Group Program to more families than we set out to originally with the Trillium Grow Grant.

 

Caregiver feedback about the FYF Group

Parents reported the most useful or valuable elements of the FYF Group Curriculum to them and their child were:

  • The steps to success

  • Learning different strategies and brainstorming some suggestions on dealing with anxiety and fears for my child

  • Learning new language

  • The terminology and steps to success and learning how to break down the situation when it comes up to be successful in moving forward positively

Positive feedback about the FYF group overall:

  • I liked the small group setting so as not to overwhelm the children and it was easier to participate. I know it was online at this time, but doing some role-playing with the children may help vs the video examples.

  • Great program.

  • I personally benefit from this program and so is my child. I am hoping my son gets to participate in programs like this more.

  • The facilitators were knowledgeable and the program was easy to follow.

 
Quotes from parents on Facing Your Fears.

  • The program itself is really helpful even if it was done online. More time in exposures to fear will definitely help the kids more.

  • I found learning about different coping strategies and breaking down the steps to success really useful in giving me the tools to help my child face his fear.

  • I found the program to be engaging and informative. It was good to have three facilitators to obtain different perspectives. The steps to success have been most useful for us as it clearly sets out what needs to be achieved, having the steps written down provides a visual goal which I believe is very useful.