Speaking Engagements: Making Your Space Accessible To People With Autism Starts With A Conversation
Making Kawartha Lakes a more accessible, supportive, and welcoming place for people with autism — and the people who love them — one conversation at a time.
ARK’s speaking engagements are by donation. Funding should never get in the way of learning and building community. At ARK, we believe everyone should have access to the resources they need to make their Kawartha Lakes community accessible to autistic people - and the people who love them.
Starting conversations about accommodating autism
Autism Resources Kawartha (ARK) is a local autism advocacy and awareness group committed to creating helpful, relatable content for you: the parents, caregivers and loved ones of people with autism. We’re also passionate about making Kawartha Lakes and the surrounding areas more accessible, supportive and welcoming for people with autism and the people who care for them. Part of that work involves by-donation speaking engagements where we lead conversations at local schools, churches, senior communities, clubs, and organizations to help community members find ways to make their space and activities autism-friendly.
Is your community accessible to people with autism? Let’s talk about it.
Schools, churches, retirement homes, clubs and organizations all have one thing in common: they are places where people gather to build community. But, they aren’t always accessible and welcoming for autistic people—and the people who care for them. Tight schedules, rules about noise, a lack of awareness about autism and expectations about how someone “should” behave in public create barriers between autistic people and social groups in Kawartha Lakes and the surrounding area.
ARK believes that local groups and events should be accessible to everyone, including people with autism. And, we believe that the first step toward making that goal a reality is having a conversation. That’s why the founders of ARK are eager to schedule a speaking engagement with you and your community to talk about what autism is and how you can make your space feel safe and open to autistic people who want to join in.
Talking About Change: Community Speaking Engagements To Build Autism-Friendly Spaces
Change can start with a conversation. And that is the goal of our speaking engagements: to talk about change. Over the past several years, the founders of ARK have been advocating for their autistic child and working hard to open up space for him and other autistic people in the community. If you are part of a school, group or organization in Kawartha Lakes ready to invest time and energy into taking down barriers and making your space autism-friendly, we are here to help you start that conversation.
During a speaking engagement, we can talk about:
What autism is, the different needs autistic people may have, and the things that can trigger autistic people to melt down or shut down
What aspects of your school, community, club or organization may not be welcoming for autistic people
The changes you could make to your community and at your events that would remove barriers and make them accessible and open for autistic community members
How to ask autistic people and their parents or caregivers about their experiences and needs
Any questions or worries you have about ensuring the comfort and safety of autistic people in your community
To learn more about scheduling a by-donation speaking engagement with ARK, get in touch. Someone from our team will be happy to answer your questions and arrange a time to start the conversation.
Committed to making local Kawartha Lakes communities accessible to autistic people of all ages.
Are you a member of a school, church, club or organization in Kawartha Lakes or the surrounding area? We want to help you make it a safe, supportive and welcoming space for everyone—including children and adults with autism.
Talk to us about scheduling a by-donation speaking engagement with your community and show the autistic community and the people who care for them that you are committed to including them, too.