Open Minds Core Services Centre

10/10/2025

Reminiscing about last year!

10/10/2025

We are celebrating the 1-year anniversary of our first conference, where we hosted Robyn Gobbel for “A Brain-Based Approach for Parenting Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviours.” Thank you to all who attended and engaged with this approach. Our team is busy planning for the next conference in October 2026, hosting Linda Murphy, (credentials), author of “Co-regulation Handbook” and “Declarative Language Handbook”. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information about the 2026 conference!

09/27/2025

Congratulations to Kate! Check out her new psychotherapy space https://www.thegrovessm.com

09/17/2025

We are excited to welcome Brooke B. to Open Minds for the 2025/26 school year! Brooke is a 4th year Kinesiology student at Lake Superior State University who is exploring a career in Occupational Therapy. Brooke will be shadowing and assisting Taylor Corelli, OT in her work with children and families, and helping with office and event planning tasks at the Centre. Welcome, Brooke!

09/10/2025

🚨 CAREGIVER EDUCATION SERIES ARE BACK - 4 SESSIONS AVAILABLE THIS FALL🚨

✅ All sessions are open to THRIVE Clients AND the public
✅ Daycare/School Staff/Teachers are welcome!
✅ Virtual or In-person options offered

SESSION 1 - Wednesday September 17 WHAT IS ASD?:
😤 Receiving an ASD diagnosis may leave some caregivers feeling overwhelmed.
😵‍💫 Caregivers often report confusion on what this diagnosis means for their child.
🥹 Together, we'll talk about autism, how it's diagnosed, and how it's characterized.
😃 Understand how to strengthen the caregiver-child relationship and regain your role.

📞 Call Reception at (705) 759.1131 ext. 0 to register.

09/05/2025

We are excited to welcome Vera A. to The Speech Path for the 2025/26 school year! Vera is a 4th year Bachelor of Science student at Algoma University who is exploring a career in Speech-Language Pathology. Vera will be shadowing and assisting Robin in her work with children and families, and helping with office and event planning tasks at the Centre. Welcome, Vera!

06/18/2025

Occupational therapy plays a crucial role in enhancing interoception among children, which is their ability to recognize and interpret internal bodily signals. This awareness is essential for felt-safety, as well as fostering engagement and success in the school environment.

By addressing interoceptive challenges, Mora Martin Occupational Therapy can help your child develop better self-regulation skills, leading to improved focus and participation in classroom activities. As a result, your child is more likely to feel successful and connected to their learning experiences, ultimately contributing to their overall academic and social development.

Through tailored activities and sensory integration techniques, Mora Martin (OT) can support your child in recognizing and understanding these internal cues, which can enhance emotional regulation, self-awareness, and overall well-being. By fostering improved interoceptive awareness, Mora can empower your child to navigate their body and emotions more effectively, leading to improved social interactions, focus, and independence.

These supports can be accessed through school-based programming, home-visits, or at our Centre downtown! To learn more about this, or to book a consultation with Mora Martin, OT, please contact Elizabeth Neish, Office Administrator & Service Coordinator at 705-253-1157 or at elizabeth@ssmopenminds.org

05/29/2025

As we come to the end of Speech and Hearing month, we celebrate the teachings and advocacy of our Neurodivergent communities. All have the right to environments and supports that honour and protect authentic communication in all of its forms.

🤔💭 What’s your definition of “successful communication”? Depends on the paradigm you prioritize.
Two radically different views:
🔻 The Pathology Paradigm’s “9 critical communication skills” according to PECS®.
🔺 The Neurodiversity Paradigm’s commitment to agency, authenticity, and rights.

Under the pathology paradigm, communication is reduced to compliance with the person in authority. The PECS® teaching protocol is rooted in B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior and broad-spectrum applied behavior analysis (ABA). PECS® communication prioritizes requests for reinforcers—edibles, toys, or activities—alongside compliance with directions, tolerating delays, and transitioning without protest.

➡️ What’s left out? Autonomy. Authentic self-expression. Consent.

⚠️ PECS® Phase I explicitly includes violations of bodily autonomy. Two adults are used during this phase. “Communication” is defined as obedience to authority—not authentic interaction with another person.
▶ ▶ ▶ (The autistic individual “sees a desired item, is physically guided by a prompter to pick up a picture of that item from the table and place it into the “communication partner’s” hand in exchange for the desired item. Physical guidance by the prompter is faded as soon as possible.)

In PECS®, “critical listener skills” = obedience.
• “Stop.”
• “Come here.”
• “Give it to me.”
• “Put it back.”
• “Let’s go.”

Compliance is ***not*** communication. The neurodiversity paradigm rejects this framing.
Agency-centered communication affirms that:
• The person gets to decide how, when, and with whom they communicate.
• All forms of communication—speech, alternatives to speech, actions, gestures, stimming—all valid.
• Real connection is not conditional on compliance.
• Robust AAC in the forms that work best for the person should be available at all times without preconditions.
• Presumption of competence isn’t optional.

Without agency, there cannot be authentic communication. Communication therapies aligned with the neurodiversity paradigm respect human dignity and rights, accept all forms of communication, and prioritize authentic expression and connection—not compliance.

05/28/2025

We are honoured to be listed as part of the Professional Network for Horizon Education Consulting. For more information about Horizon and the work that they do, please visit their website. https://horizoned.ca/ We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate in support of children, families and fellow professionals in our community.

05/10/2025

A slow, but worth-the-wait project is underway! We have been partnering over the last year with one of the creators of ADAPT Manitoba, Deborah Dykstra and a small but dedicated team of reviewers to refresh the content and layout on this one-of-a-kind website. (https://adaptmanitoba.ca/)

Families and professionals from across Canada have been accessing information and resources here for over a decade, particularly those who are exploring intervention approaches and developmental, relationship-based supports for their neurodivergent child. Stay tuned for updates as we make our way through the rest of the content.

If there is a topic you would like to see included on this website or you have an idea for improvement, please reach out to elizabeth@ssmopenminds.org.

05/09/2025

Our Connections Parent Group recently celebrated two years together!

This free monthly get-together is offered for parents / caregivers who are either practising or wanting to learn more about a developmental, relationship-based approach to raising and guiding their child.

From September to May, families meet in Program Room B at the North Branch Public Library (232-C Northern Ave) on the last Saturday of the month from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Although we break from meetings over the summer, families have continued to connect socially in the community.

If you think this group might be a fit for you, reach out to elizabeth@ssmopenminds.org for more information or to be added to monthly invite list.

05/07/2025

Kate, our Psychotherapist, is busy supporting children, youth and families within her practice. She also loves to collaborate with local schools to develop and provide resources for mental health supports.

“Regulation in schools is possible. The key is to not focus and task your students with the expectation of self-regulation, but actually to offer co-regulation. We know now that co-regulation turns into internalized resources for self-regulation.” Via Kate Kallonen Counselling and Psychotherapy