About Side by Side Therapy Dynamic Services in Toronto

Side by Side Autism Therapy is a transdisciplinary team of paediatric therapists who work with parents and their special needs kids to teach skills that will improve the child and family’s quality of life. We have therapists from these 5 disciplines: Applied Behaviour Analysis, Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Therapeutic Recreation and Respite. We also offer Psycho-Educational Assessments. All of our services happen in your home, as we believe that families are integral parts of the treatment team and need to be aware of and involved in therapy.  Our therapists work as a team to ensure that the child and family’s needs are met on all fronts. Our Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBAs), Senior Therapists (STs) and Instructor Therapists (ITs) develop goals that address all domains of learning: academics, life skills, social skills, play skills, challenging behaviours and more. The overall goal of Applied Behaviour Analysis is to improve socially significant behaviours. Our Speech-Language Pathologists work to improve expressive and receptive language, social communication, literacy and articulation. Our Occupational Therapists aim to teach skills that help children participate in their lives more independently. Our Recreation Therapists develop goals that address the child’s cognitive and social skills using play as a vehicle for learning. Our respite workers provide top quality care for the child so that the parents are able to take a much needed and deserved break. Our team will do any psycho-educational testing that is required for your child, as requested by school or otherwise. Call us at 647-955-5995 to schedule a 30 minute, no charge consultation to learn how we can work together to build your child’s future.

ABA Therapy: The overall goal of the ABA department at Side by Side Therapy in Toronto is to make meaningful changes in a person’s life by increasing desired behaviours and decreasing interfering behaviours.  Applied behaviour analysis can be used to remove barriers that are limiting a client by allowing them to lead more independent lives. ABA therapy is one of the most effective interventions for treating Autism Spectrum Disorder. Using a variety of strategies, the ABA team utilizes reinforcement to increase the likelihood that the client will engage in desired behaviours.

There are a number of models of service delivery (Comprehensive, Focused, Behaviour Consultation or Parent Coaching) depending on the intensity of the services as well as the goals of service.  

Speech Therapy: Speech-Language Pathologists are therapists that lead the way in addressing communication problems at Side by Side Therapy in Toronto.  Some children have speech disorders (articulation problems, fluency problems or voice disorders) while others have language disorders (receptive or expressive disorders or cognitive-communication disorders). Your SLP will create interventions that will address your child’s current communication and will provide them with opportunities to learn to communicate their needs.  Learn more about speech therapy services.

Occupational Therapy: Occupational Therapy allows people to do things that are important to them.  An Occupational Therapist devises interventions that allow your child to be more successful in engaging in the activities that they are interested in or are required to do. Some examples of areas where an OT might be helpful include: self-care, participation in the community or school and leisure activities. Learn more about occupational therapy services.

Respite: Every family needs time to rest and rejuvenate.  Respite provides that opportunity to rest with the comfort of knowing that your child is being cared for by someone with extra training in their specific needs.  Respite can also be an opportunity for your child to engage in activities that you’re not able to accompany them to, allowing your child to expand their life experiences by opening up their world. Learn more about respite services.

Social Skills Training: Many children do not pick up social cues through osmosis.  These children need to be taught these missing skills through a structured intervention that follows a curriculum.  These skills could include: how to initiate and end conversations, how to respectfully interrupt, how to understand other’s body language and more. Learn more about social skills training.

Therapeutic Recreation: Recreation Therapists treat and maintain physical, cognitive, social and emotional wellbeing by engaging their clients in recreational activities. It is not simply playing with the client, but rather achieving goals while using the vehicle of recreation. Goals are written for each client and each activity is chosen to specifically target these goals. The idea behind Therapeutic Recreation blends nicely with ABA in that motivation is key and that activities are tailored to the interests of the client. Learn more about therapeutic recreation.

Psycho-Educational Assessment: Often children who are struggling in school are referred for ‘testing’. Parents often don’t understand what this means or what will be accomplished. Using a variety of tests, our psychometrist will work with your child to establish the baseline of your child’s learning, to see what areas are difficult and will suggest strategies or interventions that will be helpful for your child. He will assess your child’s academic, intellectual and social-emotional development. An integral part of the process is meeting with the parents to discuss the child’s needs and the parent’s perspectives. He can also meet with your child’s school to explain the findings. Learn more about psycho-educational assessment services.