Every year, the City of Surrey hosts one of the largest Canada Day celebrations in BC. Presented by Coast Capital Savings, this past month’s Surrey Canada Day featured rides, fireworks and performances by Bif Naked and Our Lady Peace.
Thousands were in attendance, including Julia Langley and her family. For her 9-year-old son with autism, the crowds and noise of the festival environment can be overwhelming.
“My son was not coping at all. I thought there had to be a sensory zone somewhere,” Julia shared with us after the event.
“Sure enough, I see the CAN tent. And inside is a table of noise-cancelling headphones amongst all sorts of fidgets and sensory gear.”
“My son was desperate to go because he knows that CAN is somewhere he can go and feel better. We are so grateful they were there so that we could all enjoy the Our Lady Peace concert!”
After announcing CAN Sensory Friendly Spaces last year, City of Surrey has taken the lead in hosting this resource. It is thanks to them that families like Julia’s can enjoy major community events like Surrey Canada Day.
Julia’s son with autism was struggling to cope with the noise of the festival environment until they found CAN’s tent with noise-cancelling headphones on loan.
“We are thrilled to provide a sensory friendly space at this year’s Canada Day. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to encourage inclusiveness and increase accessibility for all of our residents,” said City of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum in a pre-event press release. “We thank the Canucks Autism Network for their partnership in creating this welcome addition to Surrey’s Canada Day.”
There are many reasons to celebrate on Canada Day. At CAN, we have special reason to celebrate our country’s diversity and inclusion.
With groups like City of Surrey, we can continue to make community spaces more accessible for all individuals and families living with autism.
Beautiful successes. When they happen, they’re like watching fireworks – especially when it comes to watching my own daughter succeed.
When Linden was about three years old, she was introduced to swimming lessons through a local community program.
Like a lot of kids who start swimming lessons, Linden was terrified of the pool. At her first lesson, she kept exclusively to the pool deck. But unlike most kids, Linden refused to step into the pool for the entire multi-week set of lessons.
At that point, I put swimming lessons on hold for Linden.
Children with autism are more than 160 times more likely to drown.
In 2014, Linden received her autism diagnosis. At the time, she was five years old. While exploring the different services available in our community, I saw that Canucks Autism Network (CAN) offered swim lessons. Immediately, I regained hope.
This is when CAN jumped in with us.
I enrolled Linden in their swim program later that year. She was still terrified of the water. But CAN met her at her level.
The swim instructor didn’t rush her. She hung out with her in the little pool, where the water wouldn’t go above her waist, since that is where Linden felt most in control. And they just played.
Seeing that was magical. Beyond making Linden comfortable in the water, she helped her enjoy the pool. It was a dream come true to see that someone understood Linden when she was most vulnerable.
Since then, we have not looked back. After about a year, Linden was able to successfully put her entire face in the water!
I will never forget that day. Given where she started, it felt like something completely out of this world. Linden was so proud of herself. We all were. The staff and volunteers all stopped to cheer and celebrate her.
Linden was beaming – I will never forget her smile.
No matter how big or small the accomplishment, CAN has always been incredible at making sure Linden knew just how proud they were of her.
Over the next few years, CAN’s staff and volunteers continued to work with Linden – always at her pace. Following her lead, they pushed her just enough. They built this amazing circle of trust that eased her fears with each new skill. One week at a time.
Linden flourished. And with time, patience and lots of love, she was able to swim independently with CAN right by her side. Amazing.
This summer, I decided that Linden was ready to move forward from the CAN swim program. After completing CAN’s Level 2 Red Cross program, I enrolled her into a regular swim class.
With years of experience in CAN programs at her back, Linden successfully transitioned to a community rec program and earned her very first swim badge at Level 3.
Because of CAN, Linden is thriving. She is resilient. She CAN!
They have provided her with this incredible stepping stone. From being terrified of the water at age 3, she is now mastering typical swim lessons.
To all the staff and volunteers that have worked with Linden for years – you have given my girl confidence and determination.
To all the donors, who make these programs possible — thank you.
What an incredible, lifelong gift.
-Jessica Norman
Your contribution of $39.16would provide a child with autism with one swim lesson within our 8-week program.
Will you consider making a gift that will last far beyond the holiday season? Make your contribution before January 1st, 2020 and it will be doubled by a generous donor!
Nov 28, 2018
The City of Surrey hosted their annual Tree Lighting Festival & Holiday Market this past Saturday. Featuring live music, rides, vendors and the lighting of a 60-foot tree, the festival is a highly anticipated holiday event that brings joy to hundreds of families in the community.
Held for the eighth year, this iteration of the festival was extra special for families living with autism. For the first time, individuals with autism and other sensory sensitivities had access to a Sensory Friendly Space.
City of Surrey’s Accessibility Specialist, Karin Pasqua, witnessed first-hand the benefits of the resource. Encountering numerous families living with autism, she was overwhelmed with the positive feedback that she received about the Sensory Friendly Space.
“We heard from numerous families would could stay and enjoy the event far longer than they would have otherwise,” Karin explained. “I met one family who was able to visibly relax as they sat on the couches and watched their son giggle away playing with the sensory toys we had available.”
“One mother was so grateful she was in tears.”
In addition to the Sensory Friendly Space, individuals with autism can borrow noise-cancelling headphones to manage the high volumes of the event. Karin personally recounted four instances of children using the headphones. Two kids in particular had used them so they could wait in line to see Santa.
Including the CAN Birthday Festival, where the initiative was launched, Sensory Friendly Spaces have now been offered at two major public events at Surrey Civic Plaza. The City of Surrey’s hope is to continually expand the events and venues that the resources are offered.
— Canucks Autism Network (@canucksautism) July 7, 2018
“We had staff from other City of Surrey facilities, including the Surrey Arts Centre, come by to see how the room was set up and how it works,” recalled Karin.
About Sensory Friendly Spaces Sensory Friendly Spaces are one way that Canucks Autism Network (CAN) aims to improve accessibility for individuals with autism living in Surrey. Other components of this partnership include staff and volunteer training, resource development, and co-hosting autism friendly events.
For more information about the City of Surrey’s Sensory Friendly Spaces, please contact Karin Pasqua at karin.pasqua@surrey.ca.
At Canucks Autism Network, our vision is for every individual with autism to be understood, accepted and supported in all community spaces. To achieve this vision across the province, far beyond the walls of our programs and events, CAN seeks to collaborate with like-minded organizations who also support this goal.
For years, the City of Surrey has been a key partner for us to impact the lives of individuals and families with autism. In addition to hosting countless CAN programs, the city has been host to some very special highlights in our 10-year history.
In April 2016, the CAN Provincial Adapted Hockey Tournament was hosted at Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex, and was recognized by the City of Surrey with the Best Provincial Event. This unique tournament brought athletes with autism and other developmental disabilities from across the province together to compete and showcase their skills.
CAN was also proud to partner with City of Surrey in 2017 to host an Open House at Surrey Fire Hall #17, inviting families living with autism to come and interact with firefighters to decrease fear and increase awareness. This was a pivotal first for many families in making emergency services more friendly and accessible, and for increasing autism awareness among first responders.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, the City of Surrey has joined us in hosting the CAN Birthday Festival, a free and public celebration on today at Surrey Civic Plaza.
At this event, the City of Surrey has unveiled a number of community accessibility initiatives, created and supported by CAN. These resources have been introduced at the CAN Birthday Festival with the goal of extending them to improve autism awareness and accessibility in a wide range of City of Surrey buildings, programs and events in the future.
It is important to note that many of these features will benefit not only individuals with autism, but a wide range of community members who may need support to access community spaces. These initiatives are outlined below:
1. City of Surrey Staff Training All City of Surrey staff attending the CAN Birthday Festival have receive our autism training. This training has included information about autism and introduce strategies to support successful interaction in community spaces. This information will allow these City of Surrey staff to better provide services to individuals and families with autism not only at the CAN Birthday Festival, but in a range of community settings and activities for years to come.
2. Video Storybook for City of Surrey Events In 2017, CAN partnered with the City of Surrey to create a publicly-available step-by-step video model for accessing a fitness centre. This year, CAN is proud to partner with City of Surrey to produce a video that will support access to community events.
This video will provide a step-by-step visual of what to expect and provide strategies for individuals with autism to successfully navigate public community events. This resource will be filmed at the CAN Birthday Festival and is expected to launch later this year.
3. Event Accessibility Toolkit Similar to the Accessibility Toolkits developed in collaboration with YVR, Kelowna International Airport and Rogers Arena, the City of Surrey will also offer tools for individuals and families with autism to better access their public events. These tools will include event maps with icons for key areas and activities (ie. sensory-friendly space, washrooms, food, entertainment, shopping, etc), event signage that matches the icons on the map, and an event schedule/checklist.
The CAN Birthday Festival schedule checklist and map that will be handed out to event guests. Tools such as these are one of the many accessibility elements that City of Surrey will aim to implement for future public events. (Click for larger view)
4. Sensory Friendly Spaces These designated spaces at public events will provide a haven for individuals with autism and other sensory sensitivities to relax. These quiet spaces will feature seating and activities for individuals of any age or diagnosis who may be feeling overwhelmed to have a designated space to decompress.
Sensory Friendly Spaces can be identified city-wide by the logo that was unveiled at the CAN Birthday Festival.
CAN Manager of Strategic Sponsorships Ryan Yao and City of Surrey Councillor Dave Woods unveil the Sensory Friendly Space logo at CAN Birthday Festival on July 7, 2018.
5. Autism Accessibility Guidelines In order to consistently deliver these initiatives, CAN and the City of Surrey have developed a set of guidelines to ensure that all events, programs and buildings are providing an accessible experience to individuals and families with autism.
With over 16,000 children and youth with autism in BC, we are so thankful for organizations like the City of Surrey, who have recognized a clear need for increased accessibility and support.
As we continued working towards our vision, we look forward to collaborating with more like-minded organizations to improve autism accessibility in all community spaces.
If you would like more information about partnering with Canucks Autism Network to improve autism accessibility in your business, organization or community space, please contact our Manager of Strategic Partnerships ryan.yao@canucksautism.ca.
If you would like more information about City of Surrey’s accessibility initiatives, please contact Tara Roberts at troberts@surrey.ca or 604-598-5763.
