Autism Awareness Centre

08/20/2026

07/28/2026

My interview with Kurt Price about event safety for autistic people.

07/11/2026

It’s time to move beyond the “functions” of a behavior.

The traditional four functions: attention, escape, tangible, and sensory, offer a surface-level view of a child’s behavior. They identify what a behavior accomplishes in the moment but often miss the deeper context. Each child’s experience, state of regulation and personal history shape behavior, and these antiquated, broad categories can overlook individual needs. In fact, by reducing behavior to categories like “attention-seeking,” we risk ignoring the emotional, sensory, or cognitive realities that drive behavior. This over-simplification can lead to generic behavior management or behavior modification rather than providing meaningful support to the child.

Modern neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and research on interoception have taught us that behavior is a signal, a clue that a child is either dysregulated, unable to solve a problem, or lacking a skill. That’s why a shift to the PENS lens is necessary and honors all that we’ve learned about the brain since the original four “functions” were considered generally acceptable.

This re-frame guides us to understand the problem a child can’t solve, an emotion they can’t handle, a need that’s not being met, or the skill not yet developed. With this new lens, the PENS lens, we don’t just label or simplify behaviors, we use them as entry points to offer individualized support. While the original four functions ‘blame’ the child for the observable behavior, each component of the PENS lens offers an opportunity to HELP the child: HELP them solve a problem, HELP them manage an emotion, HELP them meet a need or HELP them learn a skill.

So grab your pen and write this down next time someone analyzes or assesses behavior. With the re-frame of the PENS lens, we’re not just identifying a function of a behavior, we’re offering the right support so that every problem, emotion, need or skill finds the care it deserves.

Please share this so that we can better support kids who are having difficulty meeting expectations and communicating this difficulty through their behavior, as kids often do.

06/18/2026

Due to high demand, we have added another online training date for September 29th. Please register early if you wish to attend. These courses are selling out in less than 48 hours once the email blast goes out about them.

September 29, 2026 - 9 am - 3:30 pm Mountain Time Featuring Jill Wur The one day, 6 hour Low Arousal Training focuses primarily on practical, non-confrontational approaches to supporting individuals who experience significant stress and present behaviours that may be difficult to manage. Training en...

06/10/2026

There are only 2 spots left for the October 1st course. Register soon if you would like to attend.

October 1, 2026 - 9 am - 3:30 pm Mountain Time Featuring Jill Wur The one day, 6 hour Low Arousal Training focuses primarily on practical, non-confrontational approaches to supporting individuals who experience significant stress and present behaviours that may be difficult to manage. Training encou...

06/02/2026

Join us this National AccessAbility Week ( ), as we celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities and promote inclusion and accessibility in communities and workplaces across Canada. This is work our team does everyday, and it’s great to see people, organizations, and communities joining in across the country.

The theme for NAAW2026 is “Building a Strong, Accessible Canada.” As the government embarks on numerous projects, from ports to railways to housing and more, Chief Accessibility Officer Stephanie Cadieux is reminding leaders and decision-makers of the importance of consulting people with disabilities and embedding accessibility into plans and designs from the very beginning.

This is a moment of opportunity to get accessibility right. If we don’t, people with disabilities – more than a quarter of the Canadian population – will continue to face systemic barriers to inclusion. Here’s to building a barrier-free Canada! We look forward to celebrating with you this week! What do you have planned?

Alt text: Webcard that reads “National AccessAbiliy Week 2026 – Building a Strong, Accessible Canada – May 31-June 6 . The card features graphics depicting various disabilities and accessibility tools as decorative elements. Our office’s applied signature and the Canada wordmark appear at the bottom.

05/31/2026

Screen time is a part of everyday life. For autistic individuals, devices can provide great opportunities for connection, learning, exploring interests or deep dives into passions, and communication without pressure. Screens can help with regulation by offering a sense of safety and predictability i...

05/02/2026

04/29/2026

We’re having a book sale! Check out our discount section of reduced prices on a wide number of book topics. Once they’re gone, they’re gone so shop early for the best selection.

This concise, highly practical guidebook gives educators across grade levels a powerful new way to think about students'”obsessions” as positive teaching tools that calm, motivate, and improve learning.