At the same time a school, an adult training center, a research laboratory and a resource center for the community and businesses that want to promote inclusion: the organization À Pas de Giant inaugurates the very first center for autistic people in Canada, an establishment which aims to meet all the specific needs of autistic people and their loved ones.
“I like it here, it’s really a big improvement compared to our old school,” says Max, a 13-year-old with autism. We didn’t have many spaces for young artists, like me, to pursue our dreams, so we built this place, with top architects and specialists to find out what details could work with autistic children. »
In the center’s “creative space,” the teenager plays the electric guitar and piano, with a big smile on his face. Pride can be seen on his face as he shows media representatives around his school, on the occasion of the center’s inauguration on Thursday, in the Technopôle Angus district of Montreal.
The project has been in the works for six years, explains André Pereira, father of an autistic child who has been involved in the À pas de jardin organization for around ten years. “We imagined what the ideal center would be if we had all the money in the world. And we were lucky because we still managed to get most, if not everything we wanted. »
Services throughout life
In the beautifully landscaped schoolyard, Andrée Dallaire hugs her 16-year-old daughter Catherine. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? » she asks her daughter who nods gently in response.
The new center really responds to a need, says the woman who is also co-president of the fundraising campaign for this $54 million project, of which 19 million comes from the Quebec government.
The old school, which opened its doors in the 1980s, was not adapted to the specific needs of young people with autism, explains Mme Dallaire. The new building not only makes it possible to accommodate more children – we go from 90 to 130 students aged 4 to 21 – but above all, they can develop in an environment that is designed and adapted to their specific needs, with simple walls, natural lighting, respite rooms and a multitude of therapists.
But what is really new is the provision of services under one roof for autistic adults. This makes it possible to offer services throughout their lives, regardless of their level of autonomy. “We know that for those 21 and over, there are a lot of needs, so it was important for us to include a component for adults,” explains Andrée Dallaire. We had students who were finishing [l’école] at 21 years old who, essentially, could not find a suitable program and who returned to “cradle at home” and who regressed. »
Towards employment
On the adult floor, the environment is more like a work environment than a school. “This is something that is very important, because often our students who turn 21 tell us that they are tired of school life,” explains the center’s director, Tania D’Alesio.
The training component for autistic adults can accommodate up to 60 students. For those who are less independent, we will work to “better prepare and equip them for life”. For others, we develop their skills so that they can enter the job market. Partnerships have been developed with several employers, including Fairmont, St-Hubert and Maxi. There is a kitchen where young people can practice before going on internships. There is even a mini grocery store for employees and parents who frequent the center. It is the young people, with their teachers, who manage the business and prepare the orders.
“As a parent [d’un enfant autiste], we always wonder what will happen when we are no longer here, it’s something that we always have in mind, concludes André Pereira. So we try to be active and change society and help it become more inclusive. »