Theme Resources:Interior BC Autism Resources
Lisa Watson
For For Autistic Adults; Caregivers; Educators; Autism Community
AutismBC is a provincial organization with four regions: Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Interior, and Northern. Each region has its own Regional Coordinator to help local residents navigate the autism services in their area. Lisa Watson is our Regional Coordinator for the Interior. The following list is a guide to Interior autism resources.
Please note that not all individual SLPs, OTs, Physiotherapists and Behaviour Consultants are on this list. You can find a more comprehensive listing on the RASP List (Registry of Autism Service Providers)
NFP/Charity Organizations
BC Adaptive Snowsports — Province Wide
Canucks Autism Network — Lower Mainland, Kelowna, Kamloops
Caryn Richardson — Behaviour Consultant — Kelowna
Central Okanagan Foster Parents Association — Kelowna
Children & Youth with Support Needs (CYSN) — Province Wide
Chris Rose Centre – Kamloops
Cool Arts — Kelowna
CRIS Adaptive Adventures — Kelowna, Vernon
Family Suppport Institute — Province Wide
Interior Health Children’s Assessment Network
Kootenay Family Place — Castlegar
Kootenay Kids — Nelson
North Okanagan Youth & Family Services Society — Vernon
Okanagan Boys & Girls Club — Kelowna, Vernon
Okanagan Child & Youth Development Centre — Penticton
Oliver Community Arts Council – Createability – Oliver
Pacific Autism Family Network — Kelowna
People in Motion — Kamloops
People in Motion — Kelowna
Special Olympics BC — Kelowna
Special Olympics — Castlegar
The Bridge Youth & Family Services Society — Kelowna
Young Life Capernaum — Kelowna
Contracted/For-profit Services
Access Autism (RDI) — Okanagan
Access Human Resources — Kelowna
Anderson Behaviour Consulting — Kamloops
Anyshia Ballantyne — Behaviour Consultant – Kelowna
Arc Programs Ltd — Kelowna & Penticton & Kootenays
Amy Staheli – Certified Child Life Specialist (Play Therapy)
Ashley Reina OT Services — Vernon
Barb’s Place for Autism Services — Penticton
Branch Out Learning Therapy — Fernie & Cranbrook
Breaking Trail OT — Kelowna & Vernon
Brooke Klamut – Behaviour Consultant – Penticton/Kelowna
Carson Therapy — Vernon
Colourful Kids OT — Vernon
Communicare Speech Therapy — Kelowna
Connect Autism — Kelowna
Creative Therapy Consultants — Penticton
D & L Consulting — Kelowna
Fueling with Food Nutrition Services – Kelowna
Full Potential Kids – Behaviour Consultant and Parent Support – Kelowna
Healthy Essentials Clinic — Lake Country
Horizon Kids — Kamloops
Insight Support Services – Kamloops
JP Therapy — OT – Kelowna
J Schwartz Art Therapy — Nakusp
Kettle Valley Kids OT — Kelowna
Kids Creative Therapy — Penticton
Kids Physio Group — Kelowna
Lindsay Milnes – Behaviour Consultant – Lake Country, surrounding areas
Meridian Rehab — Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Kamloops
Movin’ Mountains Therapy Services — Trail
Nauticus Aquatics — Kamloops
New Heights Autism Support Society — Kamloops
New Horizons Professional Support Services — Kamloops
Next Step Counselling Group — Kelowna
North Okanagan Neurological Association (NONA) — Vernon
Oak Learning Centre — Kelowna & Vernon
Okanagan Ability Centre — Kelowna
Okanagan Centre for Autism Intervention (OCAI) — Okanagan & Kootenays
Okanagan SLP — Sarah Dhooge – Kelowna
Okanagan Therapy 4 Kids — OT & SLP – Kelowna
Okanagan Word Play — Claire Wylie – SLP – Kelowna
WordPlay SLP Services – Penticton
Pam Nease Sleep — Interior
Pediatric Pathways – Kelowna/Lake Country (speech therapy only at this time)
Penticton Excel (Penticton Centre for Exceptional Learning)
Penticton Pediatric Therapy — Penticton
Pivot Point — Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops
Play Connexions — Penticton
Prism Consulting – Teresa Peters – Kelowna
Reach the Peak — Kelowna
Rocky Mountain Behaviour Analysts — Cranbrook
Sharkey Support Services — Kamloops
Sky High Professional Group — Vernon
Social Butterflies Activities & Learning Ltd. — Kamloops
Steph Brown Physiotherapy – Kelowna
Stepping Stones Okanagan — Kelowna & Penticton
Tanya Foster — OT – Kelowna and Vernon
Together Behaviour Consulting, Marie Sleboda – Okanagan Valley + French Speaking Services
Therapy Works — Kamloops
Thompson Valley Kids — Kamloops
Tutor Doctor – Kelowna, Vernon
Unique Excellence Services — Revelstoke – Adults and Families only
Wendy Groiss RDI Consultant — Kelowna
Youth Behavioural Adaptation Services — West Kootenays and virtually province wide
Mental Health
ARP Psychology – Anjee Roth-Peters — Kelowna
Bee Happy Family Wellness Services — Kamloops
Calder Counselling — Osoyoos
Children & Youth Mental Health — Province Wide
Dawn Clarke Counselling — Kelowna
Dr. Jodi Morris — Kelowna
Dr. Kate Aubrey — Kelowna
Healthy Essentials Clinic — Lake Country
Interactive Counselling — Kelowna
Jodi Krahn — Armstrong
Kelowna Counselling Services — Kelowna
Kelowna Psychologists Group — Kelowna
Kelowna Trauma Therapy – Kelowna
Leora Splett — Kelowna
Mountain Ridge Psychology — Trail
Movin’ Mountains Therapy Services — Trail
Okanagan Clinical Counselling Services Inc. – West Kelowna & Kelowna
Next Step Counselling Group — Kelowna
Rachael Passemko Therapy — Kamloops
Safe and Sound Counselling — Kelowna
Sky High Professional Group — Vernon
Stepping Stones Okanagan — Kelowna
Thompson Valley Kids — Kamloops
Three Sisters Clinical Counselling — Kelowna & Vancouver
Town and Country Counselling — Salmon Arm
Want more information about mental health resources, check out our Mental Health Resources blog.
Education & Tutoring
Banyon Tree Tutoring — Kamloops
Branch Out Learning Therapy — Fernie & Cranbrook
Class of West K — West Kelowna
Connect to Learn — West Kelowna
Mind Over Learning — Kelowna
Oak Learning Centre — Kelowna, Vernon
Penticton Excel (Penticton Centre for Exceptional Learning)
Pivot Point — Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops
Potentials Learning Centre — Vernon
Progressive Education Solutions — Kelowna
Thompson Valley Kids — Kamloops
Vista Academy — Kelowna
Education Blogs from our Website:
Theme Resource: Distributed Learning, Online Learning and Homeschool
Autism Q&A: A Guide to Individual Education Plans in BC (IEPS)
Theme Resources: Back to School
Staff Sharing: Autism, Education Accessibility & Advocacy
Adult Resources
Access Human Resources — Kelowna
Community Living BC (CLBC) — Province Wide
Community Connections — Kelowna
Green Tree Programs — Kelowna
It’s All About You — Kelowna
Neil Squire Society — Kelowna, Penticton & Vernon
New Horizons Professional Support Services — Kamloops
North Okanagan Community Life Society — Vernon
Okanagan Inclusion — Penticton
Okanagan Self Advocate Group – Linda Youmans — [email protected]
Oliver Community Arts Council – Createability – Oliver
Pacific Coast Community Resources — Kelowna
Pathways Abilities Society — Kelowna
Personal Lifestyle Support — Kelowna
Rockwell Resources — Kelowna
Rocky Mountain Behaviour Analysts — Cranbrook
TCS (Thompson Community Services) — All of the Interior
Trail Association for Community Living — Trail
Check out our Theme Resources: Autistic Adulting blog and Transitioning into Adulthood blog.
Therapeutic Riding Associations
Arion Therapeutic Farm — Enderby
Brave Horse — Armstrong
Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association — Kamloops
Kyra Londos — Kelowna
Okanagan Horse Sense — Keremeos
Riding 4 Life Equine Enterprises — Penticton
Town & Country Counselling (Equine Therapy) — Salmon Arm
Soul Connections – Dr. Jodi Morris & Lindsay Legroulx Equine Assisted Therapist – Kelowna
Facebook Groups & Pages
Autistic Adults of the Okanagan
Incredibles (teens and young adults with lower support needs)
Invisible’s — Okanagan
Okanagan Diversability Equipment Swap
Okanagan Family Autism Connection
Partners for Inclusive Education (SD23 Central Okanagan)
Spectrum Inclusion Network — Kelowna
The Kootenays Aspergers Autism Page
Transitioning to Adulthood – Central Okanagan
Westside ASD Support Group — West Kelowna
Other blogs that may be of interest:
Autism Q & A: Disability Tax Credit
Autism Q & A: Autism Related Benefits and Taxes
Autism Q & A: Girls are Autistic Too
Developmental Milestones
- 0 – 6 Months
- 6 – 12 Months
- 12 – 18 Months
- 18 – 24 Months
- 24 – 36 Months
- 36 – 48 Months
- 48 – 60 Months
Is there a resource you think we should have on this list? Please contact Lisa here.
Further Reading
Finding Support Services for Autism in BC
Finding Support Services Assistive Technology British Columbia (ATBC) “Assistive Technology BC (ATBC) provides assistive technology resources to make learning environments usable for people with disabilities […]
AutismBC Meets and Community Groups
AutismBC Meets Meetups are perfect for those of you that want a casual atmosphere to interact with other parents, families, or self-advocates. Come with an […]
Autism Summer Camps and More
Summer can be the highlight of a child’s year, but it can also be full of adjustments. We have compiled a list of Autism-Friendly Summer Camps, Day Programs, Online Events, and more to help you and your family plan! This list will be growing as we discover additional programs, so feel free to check back regularly. Do you know of a Summer Camp or program that we should have included on this list? Let us know.
