April 1, 2025
April is Autism Acceptance Month – an opportunity to learn more about the lived experiences of autistic individuals. At St.Amant, we honour and value the unique perspectives, strengths, and talents of each person with autism that we support.
Across many of our services, including Autism Case Management, Autism Programs, and the St.Amant School, we support thousands of people with autism and their families. At the heart of each individual service, of course, is the relationship between a unique person with unique gifts and the staff who support them. Each of those relationships is grounded in respect and acceptance – the building blocks for inclusion and the first steps towards helping a person to achieve their goals.
On the topic of inclusion and personal goals, the Meaningful Connections project came to a close in March after two successful years. Simply put, the Meaningful Connections project had the goal of supporting people to identify what mattered to them in life, and then helping them to connect to those things. For some people, that meant volunteering with animals, joining a sports team, or taking a class. It was different for each person. In every case, connecting a person to what matters to them means creating conditions for friendship and community and built on shared interests.
The Meaningful Connections project reinforced for all of us, front line staff and management alike, that doing our work well means truly knowing and honouring the people we support – walking alongside them on their journey, whatever that looks like. The project may be over but the lessons we learned from Meaningful Connections will carry on across St.Amant.
– Ben Adaman, President and CEO
