Autism Society Alberta's
Post-Secondary Community of Practice
ACTIVITIES
This Alberta-specific Community of Practice (CoP) was established in collaboration with the Autism Society Alberta to support post-secondary educational systems in their journey to be more accessible to autistic students. These supports are aligned with the recommendations from the "Autism in Canada" report by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
The primary objective of this Community of Practice is to create a supportive and collaborative environment where people from the educational system (e.g., students, teachers/instructors, administrators, policy makers) can come together to:
- Explore the educational recommendations from the "Autism in Canada" report by CAHS
- Share knowledge and experiences, including successes and challenges, related to supporting Autistic students
- Share current evidence-informed practices to foster inclusive and effective educational practices
- Co-design and evaluate innovative approaches and interventions to support Autistic students
- Document the CoP process and make recommendations
Our Team
The Post-Secondary Community of Practice is made up of a diverse team of neurodivergent and neurotypical members including faculty, staff, students and community members with a shared interest in empowering Autistic post-secondary students. Listed below is the Steering Committee.
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Dr. Carly McMorris (Ph.D)
Associate Professor, R. Psych, Education: University of Calgary
ACTIVITIES
The Community of Practice organizes a variety of activities in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives. Some of these activities include bi-monthly meetings where stakeholders discuss specific recommendation-related topics, workshops and training sessions facilitated by experts in the field of autism education, the opportunity for educators to collaborate on projects aimed at implementing recommendations in their respective classrooms/ school communities, and platforming guest speakers with lived experience to share their expertise and insights on autism in PSE environments.
Post-Secondary Community of Practice Infographics Working Group
Autism research has been rapidly expanding, with lots of tremendous work being done on neuro-affirming practices and supporting Autistic post-secondary education (PSE) students. But, the volume of work done can be intimidating to digest as a decision maker or community member.
The primary goal of this group is to create accessible, visually engaging infographics to disseminate literature-based key recommendations on supporting Autistic PSE students. The infographics will be shared with PSE staff and administrators as a tool for advocacy, awareness and change to policy and practice.
WHO:
Led by Drs. Heather Brown and Carly McMorris, this group will be comprised of Autistic postsecondary students/faculty and non-autistic allies.
HOW:
Phase 1: Environmental Scan
Identify common barriers faced by Autistic students in PSE settings and recommended best practices. Synthesize findings into topics for
infographic creation.
Phase 2: Infographic Creation
A student from the group will lead the design of each infographic. Infographics will be disseminated through various channels to reach the target audience.
WHEN:
The working group will meet monthly. Members will be expected to attend monthly meetings and commit some hours outside of meetings to work on the environmental scan and/or infographics.
