The Village YXE offers collaborative autism assessments for children, youth, and young adults.

Autism is a natural brain variation! It impacts how an individual experiences, processes, and interacts with the world around them. There is a well known saying that states, “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person”. This quote speaks to the true “spectrum” of autism spectrum disorder. The diagnosis encompasses a very large range of abilities, strengths, and challenges. While the term disorder (or disability) may suggest that being autistic is a negative, this couldn’t be less true! There is nothing inherently wrong with being autistic. Brains come in many varieties, creating our beautifully biodiverse population. Disability results when there is a mismatch between a person and their environment. Given that our world is largely designed for the neurotypical experience, navigating life with an autistic brain can present unfair challenges. Recognizing this disconnect is just one of many steps we can take to create inclusive, flexible environments so that every person can thrive and succeed to their potential!

The purpose of our autism assessment process is to gather comprehensive information about an individual’s developmental, behavioural, and cognitive functioning to determine whether they meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

This process is designed to identify specific strengths, challenges, and support needs to provide recommendations for interventions, therapies, and educational planning. If appropriate, diagnosis may assist with accommodations, supports, placement, resources, funding, and/or government benefits.