Oak Bridge Quarterly

Guest Blog by an OBA Grad I write this to you today in hopes of you reading this. Nobody ever said it was hard, nobody ever said it was easy. School comes in the middle of your life quite literally. You sit at a desk for 6 and a half hours and write tests and do assignments. Your life is school, will be school and there is no way around it. Just do your school work and the rest will come. You don't know me and I don't know you and maybe that’s for the better. If you did know

How many of us have had that familiar moment—a little face peeking out, asking for one more glass of water or another bedtime story? As a Ready 2 Learn instructor, one of the most common questions I hear from families is: “How can I help my child sleep better?” Sleep challenges are incredibly common for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, research shows that up to 80% of individuals with ASD report difficulties with sleep ( source ). A lack of sleep can aff

This month Melissa, a parent here at OBA, shares with us her experience as a parent at OBA and the parent training she has participated in at our school Becoming part of the Oak Bridge Academy family has been nothing short of life-changing for my son and has positively changed his trajectory of success for his future. Prior to OBA, we did our best to navigate the public school system and cobble together therapy, social skills, and extra activities when we could. When OBA open

December Holiday Blog Our BCBA's Stephanie and Tina give some great tips on how to enjoy the holidays with your neurodiverce child The holidays are here, and for our students and their families that comes with a lot of emotions. The holiday break means time spent together as a family, which brings happiness and excitement. But it also means changes to expectations and routine, which for some can be anxiety-provoking. Not only do things become very busy, with a lot of people,

Tina & Stephanie: ​OBA's BCBA's A lot of people have heard of Pavlov at some point throughout their life, and how he taught a dog to salivate at just the sound of a bell. This bell was paired with food until eventually, the dog salivated without the presence of the food and just the sound of the bell. With this experiment, he made popular the difference between respondent and operant conditioning, previously discussed by Watson. Although many people may remember learning abou

North is one of our invaluable RBT's (Registered Behaviour Technician) that works in our OBHS Living Skills program. ​This is her story. For as long as I can remember, I always knew my brain was different. Things didn't come as easy to me as I assumed they did for my peers. I thought I was lazy or not as bright as them. I always felt I needed to work harder and was terrified to ask for help. Flash forward a few decades and SURPRISE! It was because I have ADHD and my brain is

It’s that time of year! The back-to-school season is in full swing, being only days away from the start of the 2023-2024 school year. This time often brings about various emotions, thoughts, and feelings from both students and parents/caregivers. These thoughts and feelings might include excitement, nervousness, anxiety, sadness, and many more emotions. Moving to a new classroom, with new friends and teachers can be challenging for any student, but for those with an exception

July's Guest Blogger: Cole (Grade 8 Graduate) Hey guys, listen up! Are you tired of sitting on the couch wondering how to fill in your empty hours into your free time away from school? Well, you’ve come to the right guy! Here are some ultra-cool ways to have fun during summer vacation! The first tip: Don’t let a summer slip by without a visit to the beach. You can try and catch waves, go surfing, build sand castles, go tubing, you name it. After all, it’s the only good time t

We made it! The end of another successful school year. The halls at Oak Bridge Academy are buzzing with stories of summer plans, vacations, and some well-deserved relaxation. However, as a Life Skills Instructor/Behaviour Therapist and a mother of 4 children, 2 of whom are now adults with ASD, I strongly encourage parents to continue practicing Life Skills throughout the summer at home and in the community. Life skills do not get a summer break! Life Skills such as doing laun

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, we begin to see the inevitable burnout. So often, it is thought that this only applies to our teachers, behaviour therapists, and support staff, when in fact our children feel it as well. This is especially true for children who learn in different ways. For example, children who have difficulty attending, have to work hard to maintain their focus in addition to the work itself. Burnout in children is so prominent both at schoo

Parental Accommodation ​I recently read an article that resonated with me in so many different ways as a Behaviour Analyst and mom of two. It started by stating that, “parental accommodation is when parents change their behaviour to prevent their child from experiencing temporary distress or discomfort.” This is something all parents, including myself, are often guilty of. No parent wants to see their child upset or hurting, but while we accommodate our child out of love, it

​For as long as I can recall, I dreamt of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. I always loved science while in school, and I wanted to find a career where I could help others, so nursing felt like the perfect option for me. However, I faced a life-changing day when I started my first year of college. My son, Andrew, who was three years old, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). At this point in my life, Autism was something that I had very little knowledge about or exp

Parents often ask us, “what is the best strategy to help my child practice ACT at home?” My first answer is always to educate yourself on what it is. Attend parent workshops, do some reading, or listen to a podcast. And learn the strategies that help us defuse from a difficult thought, allowing us to move forward in a direction that we value. In order to teach our kids something, we need to understand it and embrace it ourselves.  Although there are many great strategies to t

This months guest contributor is Holly Kane.  Holly is one of our invaluable RBT's here at OBA and is currently working on a program to support siblings of children with autism and other exceptionalities.  When I describe myself to others, I share that I am a registered behavior therapist, a Master of Applied Disability Studies, Specializing in Applied Behaviour Analysis student, a dog mom, a daughter, and a proud sister. While the first few may carry the most weight, being a

The holidays are fast approaching, and for our students and their families that comes with a lot of emotions. The holiday break means time spent together as a family, which brings happiness and excitement. But it also means changes to expectations and routine, which for some can be anxiety provoking. Not only do things become very busy, with a lot of people, noise, lines, and socializing, but things also calm down and become less structured. As we transition into December and

The Orton-Gillingham approach was something that I had heard great things about.  In fact, I was encouraged many times by colleagues to enroll in training as they had witnessed firsthand how amazing it is, and now I understand why. Just as Orton and Gillingham believed in keeping the best interest of each child their priority, I also held that belief close to my heart and I felt that I was making the best choices for my students each and every day. The sad thing is, you get c

What does community mean to you? This is a question we asked our OBA students as the 2021/2022 school year came to a close. The answers ranged from family, friends, and church to hockey, pets, and the cities they lived in. But a common answer among many students was OBA. And that’s exactly what OBA is to so many, a community of people who have come together with shared values to overcome the many obstacles that life throws at us. I started this job four years ago, not realizi