September 8 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
You are invited to attend a panel discussion hosted by the Autism Society of Alberta’s Post-secondary Community of Practice.
This panel explores the unique role colleges and polytechnics play in supporting Autistic students to learn, belong, and succeed.
Through lived and professional experiences, panelists will discuss the post-secondary journey, from accessing programs and supports to completing a diploma, certificate, apprenticeship, or trade pathway.
It will ask, what can colleges and polytechnics offer that helps Autistic students thrive, and how can these institutions build meaningful pathways to future education, employment, and community participation?
About Autism Alberta’s Post–secondary Community of Practice
The primary objective of Autism Alberta’s Post-secondary Community of Practice is to create a supportive and collaborative environment where people from the post-secondary educational system (e.g., students, instructors, researchers, administrators, and policymakers) can come together to:
- Share knowledge and experiences, including successes and challenges, related to supporting Autistic individuals, including students, faculty members and staff
- 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 process and make recommendations.
Related Events
October 22 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month!
The Your Time, Your Way connection event for October is Popcorn and Chat! We’ll provide freshly popped popcorn and attendees are invited to bring their favourite toppings to create your own unique snack!
Throughout the evening, participants will have the opportunity to:
- Share and trade popcorn toppings with others.
- Connect and chat with fellow participants about popcorn, gaming, hobbies, or any topic that interests you (there will be conversation starters in popcorn containers)
- Exchange favourite popcorn recipes and discover new flavour ideas.
- Collect fun, seasonal popcorn recipes to take home, with the opportunity to help create or increase your recipe catalogue.
Whether you enjoy classic butter or like to experiment with sweet, savoury, or spicy flavours, this is a great opportunity to socialize, try something new, and celebrate one of everyone’s favourite snacks!
Members of our community are invited to drop-in and use our space every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. Consider this your “third space”–a place separate from home, work, or school where there is no obligation to spend money on food or beverages.
To make our space more welcoming and inclusive, we provide flexible seating in different rooms, focus tools, and adjustable lighting. It’s your time to use your way:
- Socializing – bring friends and enjoy a board game (bring your own or play one of ours)
- Access the internet, complete personal tasks, explore hobbies online on our computers, or bring your own device and connect via our network
- Sit quietly and read – take a book from our Little Free Library
- Bring a personal project or craft to work on, do homework, or study
- Engage in unstructured activities like doing a puzzle, sketching, or journalling
- Learn about Sinneave’s programs, services, and resources
- And more…
To ensure a welcoming and safe environment for all users, please read over the Rules of the Space before you arrive:
- Check-In is Required: Everyone signs in upon arrival
- No Alcohol or Drugs: This is a substance-free space for everyone’s safety and comfort
- Respectful Content and Behavior: No engagement with explicit content and all interactions should be respectful
- Noise Levels: Keep volume moderate to accommodate diverse activities
- No formal supervision provided: Attend and engage independently
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.
Related Events
September 8 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
The application window for the next Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Skills Group is now open!
The group will run for 8 weeks.
Monday, October 19 through December 7
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
Online via Sinneave Connects
Skills Groups are workshops that focus on teaching strategies for success in various aspects of daily life. Participants have the opportunity to practice these strategies with the support of facilitators and fellow group members. These groups are designed for Autistic youth and adults who are able to attend sessions without needing a support person or aide present.
To learn more about Skills Groups and ACT, in particular, please read the description that follows or visit the Skills Group page on our website.
You must apply and be accepted into a Skills Group to participate. When you click the button that says “Apply” you will be redirected to Sinneave Connects, our online learning hub.
If you have an account, log-in and complete the ACT Expression of Interest, which is a short, multi-step eLearning course that should take less than 10 minutes to finish. A Sinneave staff member will contact you to follow-up.
If you do not have an account, you will need to create one. Just follow the instructions on the sign-in page.
What is Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT)?
Have you ever felt like you were acting on “autopilot,” lost in your thoughts and not noticing the world around you?
Have you ever felt like your difficult thoughts and feelings (such as sadness and anxiety) were in control of you, and getting in your way?
Have you found that the things that matter to you in your life don’t get done as much as you’d like?
Do you struggle with motivation?
The skills we teach in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) can help.
ACT is an evidence-based approach that increases your capacity to be in the present moment, your ability to be able to accept and work with difficult thoughts and feelings, and helps you get in touch with what matters to you. ACT teaches you to reduce the struggle with unwanted experiences. When our thoughts and emotions are all over the place, ACT teaches us to anchor so that we can weather the storm.
This all comes together to help you lead a more rich and fulfilling life, where you are in touch with the present, and work on the things that matter to you.
This is accomplished through six core skills:
- Contact With the Present Moment: being present, and aware of your current internal and external world; flexible attention
- Acceptance/Willingness: making room for unwanted/unpleasant feelings, thoughts etc., without trying to change them
- Unhooking (defusion): stepping back from and observing thoughts and feelings, without being caught up in them; noticing thoughts and feelings and deciding if you should pay attention to them, or just let them be
- The Observing Self: contact with part of you that is always there; is an observer of thoughts, feelings, memories
- Values: clarifying what matters to you, the person you want to be, the things you want to do
- Committed Action: Life is in the doing; committing to yourself to ACT in the direction of value-driven goals
ACT is an attention-training program where you will learn to strength your attention ‘muscles’ and how to flexibly direct your attention where you want it to go.
Research has proven ACT can be effective with a diverse range of people (including autistic people, teachers, caregivers and support workers) and conditions (including ADHD, trauma, substance abuse and psychosis).
Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) is eight sessions, once per week on the same day and time. Each session is approximately 90 minutes long.
You will have the opportunity to learn and share in a safe and supportive environment.
Related Events
September 17 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Join us for our September theme night: Minecraft Bingo!
Participants are invited to bring their own device and join a team for a fun and interactive Minecraft challenge.
Each team will receive a series of Minecraft Bingo cards featuring different in-game tasks and achievements to complete. Teams will work together to complete as many bingo squares as possible.
Participants can enjoy some friendly competition while collaborating, problem-solving, and exploring the Minecraft world together. Wi-Fi and power outlets will be available throughout the event to help keep everyone connected and playing.
Please note: Participants must bring their own device and have an active Minecraft account or subscription in order to participate.
Thursday, September 17
5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
In-person at The Ability Hub (300, 3820 24 Ave NW)
Our doors are open to members of our community every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. Your Time, Your Way hours provide a safe, sensory-friendly space where participants can spend time without the obligation of spending money on food or beverages. It is a time and space where participants may express themselves without judgement and choose to connect with others (if desired).
To ensure a welcoming and safe environment for all users, please read over the Rules of the Space before you arrive:
- Check-In is Required: Everyone signs in upon arrival
- No Alcohol or Drugs: This is a substance-free space for everyone’s safety and comfort
- Respectful Content and Behavior: No engagement with explicit content and all interactions should be respectful
- Noise Levels: Keep volume moderate to accommodate diverse activities
- No formal supervision provided: Attend and engage independently
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Related Events
September 1 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Members of our community are invited to drop-in and use our space on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to unwind or recharge—with no pressure to engage in structured activities. We have several rooms available–a quiet lounge, computer desks, hang out sofas–you choose. It’s your time to use your way.
Each week, we offer a “third space”—a place separate from home, work, or school where there is no obligation to spend money on food or beverages—to members of our community.
We provide flexible seating, focus tools, and adjustable lighting options in an effort to make our space welcoming and inclusive to those who wish to spend time in it.
Drop-in hours are 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
The Ability Hub (300, 3820 24 Ave NW)
Here are some suggestions of things you may like to do, but this is not an exhaustive list:
- Socializing: Chat with others, make new connections, or catch up with friends
- Using Computers: Access the internet, complete personal tasks, or explore hobbies online. Use our computers and wifi or bring your own device and connect via our network
- Relaxing: Sit quietly, read, listen to music with headphones, or just enjoy the calm space
- Independent Work: Bring personal projects, homework or studying you may need to do, or use the time to focus on tasks
- Unstructured Activities: puzzles, sketching, journaling, or engaging in other personal hobbies
- Exploring Resources: Learn about other programs, events, or services Sinneave offers
- Simply Being: Spend time in the space without any specific activity, just enjoying the presence of others without any expectations to engage
To ensure a welcoming and safe environment for all users, please read over the Rules of the Space before you arrive:
- Check-In is Required: Everyone signs in upon arrival
- No Alcohol or Drugs: This is a substance-free space for everyone’s safety and comfort
- Respectful Content and Behavior: No engagement with explicit content and all interactions should be respectful
- Noise Levels: Keep volume moderate to accommodate diverse activities
- No formal supervision provided: Attend and engage independently
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.
Related Events
August 20 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Our Women’s Group is designed specifically for Autistic and other neurodivergent adults (18+) who identify as women or who connect with experiences of womanhood.*
In this session, we will learn about and explore different experiences with masking. Some topics may include:
- What masking is
- How to recognize masking, including discussing examples
- Some reasons people may mask
- The different impacts of masking.
Participants are welcome to share lived experiences and discuss strategies that have been helpful for them as they relate to our discussion topics.
Please note, this is not a therapy group, but rather, a supportive, non-clinical space to discuss and share ideas, lived experiences, and connect meaningfully with others. The content and resources shared in this group are informed by both lived Autistic experience and research as they intersect with gendered experiences in society.
*This group is intended for Autistic and neurodivergent folks who identify as women or who connect with experiences of womanhood, inclusive of non-binary and other 2SLGBTQ+ identities and expressions. This boundary ensures that participants can share openly without explanation, justification or judgement.
Thursday, August 20
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
In-person at The Ability Hub (300, 3820 24 Ave NW)
To register:
Click the button that says, Sinneave Connects to access registration through our online hub. If you already have a Sinneave Connects account, just log in as usual. If you have not registered yet, it’s free and easy. Just follow the instructions on the log-in page.
About the Presenter:
Alexandra (Ali) Skeet is a Learning and Connection Associate at The Sinneave Family Foundation. She delivers the Information and Navigation service where they have the pleasure to meet with Autistic and neurodivergent individuals one-on-one to provide consistent, person-centred information and navigation to Sinneave programs and services, and/or community-based resources. Ali has both professional and lived experience navigating identity, and the intersectional impact of societal expectations/beliefs on neurodivergent individuals. They bring over a decade of experience in the field of mental health, and a passion for person-centered care and intersectional inclusivity.
*During this session, Sinneave staff, guest presenters, and attendees may share information about community resources. Some information provided may not be accurate, up-to-date, or reliable for everyone. Attendees are also encouraged to be critical consumers of information available on the internet. Providing information about a community resource is not endorsement, and Sinneave does not assume any risk for the outcome of using the information shared during this session.
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.
Related Events
August 20 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Our August theme event is all about puzzles! Participants are welcome to drop in, enjoy the space, and engage with a variety of puzzles in the way that works best for them.
The event will feature multiple puzzle stations, offering different types of puzzles and levels of challenge:
- Visual puzzles: spot the difference, pattern recognition
- Word puzzles: word searches, crosswords, word wheels, rebus puzzles
- Number puzzles: Sudoku
- Construction puzzles: jigsaw puzzles
Participants are welcome to complete puzzles individually or alongside others, choosing whether to work independently or collaborate at their own pace. There are no time limits, and taking breaks or switching stations is always encouraged.
Thursday, August 20
5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
In-person at The Ability Hub (300, 3820 24 Ave NW)
Our doors are open to members of our community every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. Your Time, Your Way hours provide a safe, sensory-friendly space where participants can spend time without the obligation of spending money on food or beverages. It is a time and space where participants may express themselves without judgement and choose to connect with others (if desired).
To ensure a welcoming and safe environment for all users, please read over the Rules of the Space before you arrive:
- Check-In is Required: Everyone signs in upon arrival
- No Alcohol or Drugs: This is a substance-free space for everyone’s safety and comfort
- Respectful Content and Behavior: No engagement with explicit content and all interactions should be respectful
- Noise Levels: Keep volume moderate to accommodate diverse activities
- No formal supervision provided: Attend and engage independently
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.
Related Events
August 4 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Members of our community are invited to drop-in and use our space on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to unwind or recharge—with no pressure to engage in structured activities. We have several rooms available–a quiet lounge, computer desks, hang out sofas–you choose. It’s your time to use your way.
Each week, we offer a “third space”—a place separate from home, work, or school where there is no obligation to spend money on food or beverages—to members of our community.
We provide flexible seating, focus tools, and adjustable lighting options in an effort to make our space welcoming and inclusive to those who wish to spend time in it.
Drop-in hours are 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Here are some suggestions of things you may like to do, but this is not an exhaustive list:
- Socializing: Chat with others, make new connections, or catch up with friends
- Using Computers: Access the internet, complete personal tasks, or explore hobbies online. Use our computers and wifi or bring your own device and connect via our network
- Relaxing: Sit quietly, read, listen to music with headphones, or just enjoy the calm space
- Independent Work: Bring personal projects, homework or studying you may need to do, or use the time to focus on tasks
- Unstructured Activities: puzzles, sketching, journaling, or engaging in other personal hobbies
- Exploring Resources: Learn about other programs, events, or services Sinneave offers
- Simply Being: Spend time in the space without any specific activity, just enjoying the presence of others without any expectations to engage
To ensure a welcoming and safe environment for all users, please read over the Rules of the Space before you arrive:
- Check-In is Required: Everyone signs in upon arrival
- No Alcohol or Drugs: This is a substance-free space for everyone’s safety and comfort
- Respectful Content and Behavior: No engagement with explicit content and all interactions should be respectful
- Noise Levels: Keep volume moderate to accommodate diverse activities
- No formal supervision provided: Attend and engage independently
If you have questions, reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Related Events
July 28 @ 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm
Did you know? Communication styles can vastly differ between neurodivergent and neurotypical people?
In this workshop, participants will gain the skills and knowledge to:
- Describe how communication can differ between neurodivergent and neurotypical people
- Recognize how communication across neurotypes is a form of cross-cultural communication
- Identify their own authentic communication preferences and needs
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of using authentic communication in different settings
- Practice expressing or requesting their communication preferences and needs
Tuesday, July 28
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
Online via Sinneave Connects
This workshop is designed to provide Autistic and neurodivergent individuals with opportunities to learn and practice a variety of social communication skills in a safe and welcoming setting. Participants will be provided with information, tips, and strategies that they can choose to apply common day-to-day social situations.
To register:
Click the button that says, Sinneave Connects to access registration through our online hub. If you already have a Sinneave Connects account, just log in as usual. If you have not registered yet, it’s free and easy. Just follow the instructions on the log-in page.
About the Presenter:
Mara Jaffray is an Autistic self-advocate, currently working as a Program Associate at the Sinneave Family Foundation.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.
Related Events
July 30 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Navigating the healthcare system can often feel overwhelming—from knowing which provider to see, to preparing for appointments, asking the right questions, and managing follow-up care.
To support individuals in these everyday situations, this 60-minute facilitated session will introduce participants to four micro-eLearning modules, which are available on Sinneave Connects, our online learning hub:
- Figure Out Who to See,
- Plan for Your Next Health Appointment,
- Communicate Effectively During Appointments, and
- Take Charge of Follow-Up Care.
In this hands-on session, attendees will learn how these resources can support you in different stages of the healthcare journey, and how to access them for ongoing use.
Wednesday, June 24
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Online via Sinneave Connects
This virtual session is hosted on Sinneave Connects, our online learning hub. If you already have a Sinneave Connects account, just log in as usual. If you have not registered yet, it’s free and easy to set up. Click the button that says, “Sinneave Connects” and follow the prompts on the log-in screen.
About the Presenter:
Alexandra (Ali) Skeet is a Learning and Connection Associate at The Sinneave Family Foundation. She delivers the Information and Navigation service where she has the pleasure to meet with Autistic and neurodivergent individuals one-on-one to provide consistent, person-centred information, and navigate individuals to Sinneave programs and services and community-based resources. Ali has more than a decade of experience in the mental health field and has a passion for person-centred care and intersectional inclusivity.
If you have questions, please reach out to info@sinneavefoundation.org or call 403 210-5000. We’re here to help.
Neurodiversity Acknowledgement
We honour neurodiversity and strive to create environments that value the many ways people think, learn, and communicate. Our programs, services, and activities are designed to be neuroaffirming, accessible, and guided by the input from the people we serve.