There For Every Step2015 Annual Report

Table of Contents

Vision and mission Our Mission Who We Support Board of Directors CEO’s Message

Important Events Annual Art Auction Dolce Vita Buenos Aires 51st Memorial Golf Tournament Generation M New Series: In the Kitchen

Investisments Hopes and Dreams Lou Greenberg Miriam Summer Vacation Child Financial Assistance Program E-Learning

Financial ReportSee Things My Way

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The Miriam Foundation is pleased to launch its new website, designed to make it simple to navigate.

Learning about the foundation and its activities is now easier than ever.

You are just a click away from:• Registering for an event• Donating online and receiving an e-receipt• Viewing our publications• Creating your own event• Viewing your giving history• Creating your own profile and keeping it

up to date• Linking to the Gold Centre and See Things

My Way website.

There is also a new section addressing the concerns of family members which highlights services and resources for individuals with intellectual disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Current articles are featured in our News section, and there is an informative Blog. Peruse our website and connect to the See Things My Way website, where you can design and upload a picture to see things your way!

Join our Facebook and Twitter pages and share your story on these links!

In an effort to reduce paper consumption and the cost of mailing, please help us by providing your email address and comments to info@miriamfoundation.ca or by phone at 514.345-1300.

AUTONOMISATION

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Vision & Mission

NURTUREAssessment Services Enables a team of trained profes-sionals to offer diagnostic services for children with suspected ASDs and IDs, allowing families to drasti-cally reduce the waiting time for a public diagnosis.

Early Intensive Intervention Services Subsidizes the high costs of treat-ment thereby reducing the direct cost to families.

Vacation program and respite Helps increase independence and improve quality of life for individuals with ASDs and IDs and their families.

Community Homes Enable residents to live fulfilling lives in a caring and supportive environment.

Lori Black Community Center Serves as the head office for Miriam Home and Services and as a hub for its day and evening client programs.

EMPOWERAdult Leisure Activities These programs were made possible by the Miriam Foundation through the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation. More than a dozen innovative recreation and leisure activities are offered for adults with ASDs and IDs.

Specialized Training Bilingual resource centre that offers training programs, work-shops and conferences in the field of ASDs and IDs for professionals, paraprofessionals and parents.

Educational Resource Bank Lending library of educational materials for professionals, edu-cators and families working with individuals with ASDs and IDs.

EDUCATEScholarships Through the Irving Maklan and Saul Levenson graduate schol-arships, the Miriam Foundation recognizes and promotes the academic achievements of university students in the field of developmental psychology whose research will ultimately serve to enrich the lives of people with ASDs and IDs.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship A Postdoctoral Fellowship was established in 2009 at McGill University’s Faculty of Education in Developmental Psychology, to promote knowledge transfer from university to community-based settings.

Canadian Best Practices Guidelines Early identification and treatment of ASDs is recognized widely as a crit-ical issue in need of attention. As a response, the Miriam Foundation published Best Practices Guidelines to help researchers, practitioners and families in Canada.

Our MissionOur mission is to help people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and intellectual disabilities (IDs) lead fulfilling lives.

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A network of community homes and the Lori Black Community Centre which promotes the well-being and integration of persons with intellectual disabilities or autism.

Established in 1960, one of Quebec’s leading public organisations providing rehabilitation and residential services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities as well as community and work integration.

centremiriam.ca

Center for Innovation in Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: providing early diagnosis of autism in children and better access for families to the needed services post-diagnosis.

seethingsmyway.org

Who we Support

Providing training, professional development and support for caregivers:

• Abili-T program: centre-based early intensive behavioural intervention program

• Trampoline program: intensive intervention program using a multidisciplinary approach

• MateriaTech: a bilingual educational resource bank

• Adult Leisure Programs (endowed by the Azrieli Foundation).

goldlearningcentre.com

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Around five years ago, the Miriam Foundation began to discuss the need for more change in order to improve the quality of life for people with Autism Spectrum Disor-ders (ASDs) and intellectual disabilities (IDs). To that point, we entered into discus-sions regarding building a Centre of Excellence addressing all the current challenges facing these individuals and their families today.

After many years of consultations, discussions, meetings and strategic plans, our “dream” of embarking on a campaign to bring about change that will provide a more diverse array of high quality services and awareness in Quebec and across Canada has been launched.

As you will read in the following 20 pages, Miriam Foundation is working in partnership with the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and the FQCRDITED (Fédéra-tion québécoise des centres de réadaptation en déficience intellectuelle et en trou-bles envahissants du développement) to improve the lives of children with ASDs and IDs and their families. Our first steps will be to eliminate the long list of children on a wait list to receive a diagnosis.

Every plan must build upon its foundation and for that, I am grateful to Sal and Diane Guerrera whose vision and wisdom brought us to the point we are at now. I must also pay homage to our two great chairpersons, Jean Coutu and Aldo Bensadoun, who have allied themselves to this cause. As well, I would also to thank all the profession-als, board members and volunteers who believed in our goal and engaged in so many meetings to make certain that this plan would materialise. I invite everyone to join our team and become one of our ambassadors to advocate for our cause!

Every person is affected by the needs of individuals with ASD or IDs – parents, broth-ers, sisters, doctors, teachers, neighbours and friends. The Miriam Foundation must raise awareness, educate and motivate people to make a difference! Please visit the See Things My Way webpage (page 24) and help us reach our goal.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

MIRIAM FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2014–2015

NEVER BELIEVE THAT A FEW CARING PEOPLE CAN’T CHANGE THE WORLD. FOR, INDEED, THAT’S ALL WHO EVER HAVE.

— Margaret Mead

Chairperson of the Board

Diane Guerrera

Immediate Past President

J.C. Gravel

Past Presidents

David Black

Norman V. Cohen

Steven Goldberg

Syd Kronish

Shawn Leib*

Saul Levenson*

Irving Maklan*

Louis Novick*

Bernie Pollock

*deceased

Vice Presidents

Milan Bratin

Joël Paquin

Secretary

L.B. Erdle

Treasurer

Robert Bohbot

Ex-Officio LGMA

Carl Frymel

Board of Directors

Norman Bercovitch

David Black

Sylvie Coutu

Steven Goldberg

J.C. Gravel

Sal Guerrera

Charles Lafortune

Louis Ludwick

Nancy Maklan

Tony Meti

Andrew T. Molson

Chris Papp

Howard Wallace

Judy Wolfe

Chief Executive Officer

Warren Greenstone

Warren Greenstone | Chief Executive Officer

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Important Events

This year the Miriam Foundation raised more than $100,000 during its fifth annual art auction, which was held April 30th at the Parisian Laundry.

Event co-chairs Jeannette Hoffman-Zaffir, Carol Tryan sky, Judy Wolfe and Franki Yanfosky once again led the event, along with dedicated committee members, whose hardworking efforts made this year’s event a great success.

140 people came out to enjoy dinner provided by JavaU and a live auction by Rock Fournier, whose 30 years’ experience as an auctioneer charmed the crowd! Some of the evening’s highlights included the sale of a paint-ing by renowned artist John Little and the sale of a painting by Maxwell Bitton, a young Montreal artist with Autism, whose work delighted the audience.

Diane Proulx-Guerrera, Chairperson of the Miriam Foun-dation, was very pleased with the success of this fifth edition and the community’s solidarity. “We couldn’t be happier with the results of the evening; the founda-tion can always count on the presence of Montrealers. Once again, the Montreal community has shown its un-conditional support through their generosity, active lis-tening and empathy in supporting people with ASD and ID and their families,” said Mrs. Proulx-Guerrera follow-ing the event.

The foundation gratefully acknowledges RP Investment Advisors who was the main sponsor for contributing generously toward this event, for their ongoing support and to its CEO Richard Pilosof for taking the time to travel from Toronto to attend.

Our committee is actively seeking out new and excit-ing artwork for next year’s event… we will keep you posted. If you would like to volunteer, please call the Miriam Foundation at 514-345-1300.

Over $100,000 was Raised for the Miriam Foundation During its 5th Annual Art Auction

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Celebrating its fourth year, 200 people gathered at the Luciani Infiniti dealership in Montreal on May 28th to experience La Dolce Vita : Buenos Aires Argentina, a joint event put together by the Miriam Foundation and Unicorn Children’s Foundation. Thanks to ticket sales, generous donations and the silent auction, both foundations collaborated to raise $65K which helps fund scholarships for early intervention services to families in need of support.

This event was a huge success; upon entering into the showroom on Jean Talon, one was transported to an Argentian Villa. It was an evening filled with delicious food, wine & entertainment — Frank Cavallaro from CBC was the MC for the evening, the caterer, Beso, delighted everyone with Argentinian fare including churros made à la minute and attendees were treated to a surprise dance performance by Tango dancers, accompanied by a three piece trio. The highlight of the evening was a performance by the Glee Club, a Gold Centre leisure program for adults with an ASD or developmental disability. Members of the Glee Club charmed the crowd with their own rendition of (Don’t cry for me Argentina) as well as a few other popular hits

which got the crowd going. Co-chairs of the event were Pearl Bratin and Marsha Becker who worked tirelessly with the support of an extraordinary committee. The lead sponsor was once again Reitman’s.

The Miriam Foundation and Unicorn Children’s Foun-dation are very grateful to all the guests and sponsors who contributed to make this event a great success once again.

For more information regarding next year’s event or if you would like to volunteer, please contact the Miriam Foundation at 514-345-1300.

On July 13th, 2015, a full slate of 200 golfers partici-pated at the 51st edition of the Miriam Foundation golf Tournament, in memory of Lori Black, at Hillsdale Golf, situated in Mirabel.

This event, now Canada’s oldest charity golf tourna-ment, continued its success thanks to the support of its Honorary Chair, Montreal businessman Herb Black, who helped raise $520,000 for the foundation.

These funds will enable the Miriam Foundation to con-tinue to provide personalized support services for peo-ple with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities. To support the noble cause, many public figures were in attendance, including former Montréal Canadiens players Vincent Damphousse, Guy Carbon-neau and Yvon Cournoyer, along with Paul Karwatsky, news anchor for CTV Montreal.

“We are extremely pleased with this 51st edition of the oldest charity golf tournament in the country. Not only did we raise a substantial sum, but we were also able to draw attention to these increasingly prevalent disor-ders,” said Warren Greenstone, President and CEO of

the foundation. “The funds raised will be used to sup-port the activities of the foundation and its affiliated centres dedicated to the diagnosis and development of those living with ASDs or IDs. I would like to thank all of our sponsors, donors, volunteers, our chairman Norm Bercovitch and of course our honorary chair Mr. Herb Black, without whom none of this would have been possible,” said Warren Greenstone, CEO of the Miriam Foundation.

At the cocktail emceed by Paul Karwatsky, there was a presentation from Mike Lake, Member of Parliament for Edmonton, who has a son with an ASD. Also, sever-al prizes were given to players throughout the day by Sunice, Dassault Falcon, Fersten Worldwide, Air Can-ada and Stokes. The guests of honour were able to finish off the day with an exclusive dinner at the home of Herb and Veronique Black.

For the Miriam Foundation, the success of this event demonstrates the increasing commitment of busi-nesses and the corporate community toward all those touched by ASDs and IDs whose needs are growing.

The Miriam Foundation Raises $520,000 During the 51st Anniversary of the Lori Black Memorial Golf Tournament

The Miriam Foundation and Unicorn Children’s Foundation Raise Needed Funds at La Dolce Vita Buenos Aires Argentina

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Generation M stands for Generation Miriam, the young adult division of the Miriam Foundation. As volunteers, these young professionals share their ideas and do-nate their valuable time to help create new projects and plan fundraising events and create awareness for the foundation.

Generation M is the foundation’s link to Montreal’s vib-rant community of young adults in their 20s, 30s and early 40s. Generation M offers many exciting ways for these young individuals to get involved and get connect-ed including fun social events such as couple’s dinners, sports events; engaging in meaningful volunteer oppor- tunities as well as fulfilling leadership opportunities.

Presently we are seeking out young people who can bring fresh, innovative approaches to campaigning. We are currently looking for young adults who want to share their talents, serve as ambassadors for Gen-eration M and give back to their community. Please call the Miriam Foundation office at 514-345-1300 or send an email to aylaf@miriamfoundation.ca.

Generation M: Get connected

Miriam Foundation Hosts New Series: In the Kitchen

This year, the foundation introduced a new event se-ries, “In the Kitchen”, conceived and initiated by volun-teer Marsha Becker. The goal of this event series is to gather friends, new and old, around the kitchen for an evening of eating, talking and ultimately supporting the efforts of the foundation to improve services to indi- viduals living with Autism and intellectual disabilities.

On February 5th, 20 guests attended the very first “In the Kitchen” elegantly hosted at the home of Susan Wener; Chef Asher Adler demonstrated how to prepare a delicious seven course meal. The soiree organized by Marsha Becker had guests saying ’good night’ with appetites satisfied, all the recipes in hand and new insights into the Miriam Foundation and its mandate.

Following up on this success, Linda and Terry Smith opened their home on June 18th, with a meal catered by Bacaro Pizzeria. Fifty guests enjoyed an evening of eating and dancing complimented by a live auction, emceed by CTV’s Paul Karwatsky. The evening was de-lightfully organized by Linda Smith and Nadia Alberga.

Sponsors for both “In the Kitchen” events included Richardson GMP Arya Becker Wealth Management, Quartz Vodka, Crèmerie + Churros Radikal Dezzertz.

On October 14th, 120 guests attended a 5 @ 7 at the home of Francine and Robert Wiseman. This proved to be an informative and wonderful evening where scrump-tious food catered by JavaU, liquor and live music was abound. Guests of the Wiseman’s were enlightened and emotionally sensitized to the challenges facing a family whose young child was diagnosed with autism.

Funds raised will go towards the Miriam Foundation’s Child Assistance Scholarship fund which is allocated to the Gold Center’s Abili-T and Trampoline Early Inter-vention programs. The Scholarship Fund was created from a need to assist families whom otherwise do not have the financial means to register their child in the services provided by the Abili-T and Trampoline pro-grams. Studies have proven early intervention is key to a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities future.

If you are interested in hosting an evening, please call the Miriam Foundation office at 514-345-1300. It’s an evening of fun and good food and gives donors a way of raising funds while entertaining in their homes.

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something

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Investments & Support

For families caring for a relative with a disability, re-spite is vital to the overall, long term, well-being of the family. The demands placed on these families mem-bers are, by their very nature, far more demanding and stressful. Parents, brothers and sisters of a disabled child need opportunities for relaxation like everyone; yet for most of these families it is difficult to find some-one to look after their relative while they take a break. This is why we created the respite care program — to give these families desperately needed time away.

Miriam Home and Services offers specialized respite services with grants distributed through the Miriam Foundation. Aptly named the Dreams and Hopes Proj-ect, this service program provides a number of our Miriam Home families short term care for their loved one in a safe environment, where staff are trained to give individuals with complex profiles, usually involving behavioural challenges, the individualized attention they need.

Beneficiaries of the program tell us the outcomes are fantastic. The children look forward to attending; they are nurtured and given special guidance and care in a comforting home environment. They return home hap-py! The feedback from parents has been phenomenal; they tell us the respite helps them to cope long term. This short break allows them to spend quality time with each other, rest, catch up with their errands or do something spontaneously. They feel recharged and renewed, able to better care for their loved one with an intellectual disability.

As you can imagine the demand for the program is greater than our ability to supply services and with the recent cuts in government funding for such services, we have needed to turn to the public to encourage pri-vate support. Thanks to our incredible supporters the Miriam Foundation is moving closer to meeting the de-mands, but we do have a ways to go. Please consider this when supporting the Miriam Foundation.

By its very definition, respite, being a short period of rest or relief from something difficult, is like time – precious.

Hopes and Dreams

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For the twenty-eighth year, the Miriam Home vacation program, funded in large part by an annual grant from the Miriam Foundation, proved to be another spec-tacular year for Miriam Home vacationers. This year, 67 people and their vacation animators participated in vacations and travelled away from home for 12 day vacations to either Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Kingston or Ayer’s Cliff.

During the month of July, participants visited tourist attractions such as the CN Tower, The Plains of Abra-ham, The National War Museum, The Kingston Pen-itentiary Museum; some saw a Blue Jays baseball game and the Hockey Hall of Fame, others visited the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City. Many of our cli-ents took the opportunity of visiting with close friends and relatives who now live in one of the destination cities; they attended barbecues at the homes of rel-atives of the vacation animators, they got to visit for-mer Best Buddies and former animators at the Lori Black Drop-in Centre. Everyone was busy and engaged throughout the twelve days away from Montreal.

In August, another group of 27 men and women went to vacation on the shores of Lake Massawippi on the outskirts of the village of Ayer’s Cliff; they stayed at Camp Massawippi owned and operated by the MacKay Centre of Montreal. This was the third year that Camp Massawippi welcomed a group from the Miriam Home in the twelve days after the end of the camp’s regular summer camping program. The group had the entire camp to themselves! Daily activities included a musi-cal project, fishing in the lake, arts and crafts projects and baking and cooking. In addition to these daily ac-tivities there were trips to Magog and the village centre of Ayer’s Cliff, boat rides on the lake, bonfires in the evenings and a lot of physical activity.

Vacations proved to be fun and memorable; everyone returned to Montreal happy, refreshed and recharged for the year ahead with stories, mementos and photo-graph albums capturing wonderful memories of their vacations!

The Lou Greenberg-Miriam Association owns and mai-ntains 19 community homes purchased with funds raised through the Miriam Foundation. These homes are located in the communities served by Miriam Home and Services and are adapted to meet the indi-vidual needs of the residents. Every residence houses clients and is staffed by Home Managers and other support workers who provide quality care, guidance and support.

The community residences offer stable, nurturing and family-like environments in which residents are giv-en the opportunity to integrate into the community, further develop their autonomy and experience emo-tional growth, friendship and self-expression. In the homes, residents participate in all aspects of fami-ly life and make choices that affect their day-to-day lives. Every home is designed and managed to evolve according to the changing needs of its residents for the duration of their lives.

Each year, all the homes are evaluated and necessary repairs are done accordingly. This past year, renova-tions were made to several homes to adapt them to the aging clients. Elevators were installed and bath-rooms were modified to accommodate mobility issues of the residents and allow them to be autonomous. Some of the homes received new roofs, new furnac-es, new floors, paint and windows and in one of the homes a new kitchen was installed.

As well, to comply with the new standards in fire pro-tection, technical changes had to be made to existing systems in all the homes. In various homes, a new fire alarm system was added and in others, an intrusion alarm systems needed to be installed.

Lou Greenberg Miriam Foundation Renovations

2015 Summer Vacations for Clients of Miriam Home and Services

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The Gold Centre, established with the support of The Miriam Foundation, is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help improve the lives of people living with intellectual disabilities and autism.

The center works with these individuals and their fam-ilies to address the gaps that exist in the fields of ser-vice delivery, knowledge and research. To that end, the Gold Center responds to evidence-based demands for services by providing clients with the ABILI-T Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) Programme and the Tram-poline TEACCH Programme both helping to facilitate social development for children aged 18 months to 6 years with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and oth-er intellectual disabilities.

These two programs are partially subsidized by the Miriam Foundation however parents are left with a siz-able fee to pay. Some families are unable to afford the

remaining costs for the services and end up waiting several years to get their child into the public system. These financial burdens to families simply add further stress and top off all the other emotional challenges of dealing with an autistic or intellectually disabled child.

Given the success of the first project, we recently lau-nched the Parent Training Program. This project has granted over $100,000 to families in need.

With so many waiting to receive vital early intervention therapies that help ensure future successes, we can-not, as a community, afford to wait another day. We know that each day lost to obtaining services impacts on a child’s quality of life. Please join us by making a meaningful contribution and declare that you care!

Child Financial Assistance Program E-Learning

This past fall, the Gold Centre launched an on-line ver-sion of its successful Support Worker Training Program.

This online program, made possible through the fund-raising events jointly organized by the Miriam Founda-tion and the Unicorn Children’s Foundation, is a mod-ified version of the in-class training, with content that was designed to meet the needs of a North American audience.

There are eight modules, each focused on a specif-ic topic and created explicitly for support workers in classroom and daycare settings who are providing aid to students with neurodevelopmental disabilities re-lated to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Intel-lectual Disabilities (ID).

The course material is offered in 15-35 minute mod-ules, using audio-visual presentations, case studies and PowerPoint slides, accompanied by short quizzes and a final exam that help test knowledge integration.

Given the success of the first project, we recently launched the Parent Training Program. This project will help parents to better understand their child’s disorder and related issues; they will learn how to encourage development in their child and how to deal with possi-ble related difficulties.

Having access to both these online programs offers vital support and help families be proactive while they wait, often too long, for services in the public sector.

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Operating 38 %

Fundraising 20 %

Strategic 6 % Consulting

Charitable 26 % distributions

Marketing 6 %

Amortization 4 %

Campaign 38 %

Fundraising 25 %

Contributions 35 %

Investment 2 % income (loss)

Revenus 2014 2015

Campaign $136,601 $1,181,423

Fundraising $697,032 $762,139

Contributions $1,023,059 $1,084,808

Investment income (loss)

$(7,621) $45,354

$1,849,071 $3,073,724

Expenses 2014 2015

Operating $887,170 $872,942

Fundraising $344,373 $465,428

Strategic Consulting $167,846 $138,153

Charitable distributions

$524,694 $612,289

Marketing – $131,392

Amortization $20,577 $105,402

$1,944,660 $2,325,606

2015

Financial Report

Excess of revenue over expenses

($95,589 ) $748,118

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Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: Much-needed Help for Families in Quebec

The Miriam Foundation recently announced a break-through partnership with Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services and the FQCRDITED (Fédération québécoise des centres de réadaptation en déficience intellectuelle et en troubles envahissants du dévelop-pement) to improve the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities and their families.

At a press conference held at the Quebec National Ar-chives, the Miriam Foundation stated it will contribute the necessary human and financial resources to help eliminate the current waitlists for diagnosis for young children with possible autism, intellectual disabilities or global developmental delays on the island of Mon-treal as a priority program. Today, some 800 children wait between 12 and 24 months for a diagnosis at Montreal hospital centers and other clinics.

The foundation will also support first line public pro-grams to support and guide families following a diag-nosis over the next four years, after which the public service network will assume complete responsibility for these services, offered at three different loca-tions: CRDITED de Montréal, Centre de réadaptation de l’Ouest de Montréal (CROM) and CRDITED Miriam. The FQCRDITED will assist in the management of the required transformations to bring about the improved efficiencies. With the first line resources freed up thanks to the Miriam Foundation support, the Ministry has pledged to intensify specialized early intervention services for children with ASD and ID.

See Things My Way

Helping people with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities lead fulfilling lives

Miriam Foundation Announced a Breakthrough Partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Services

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Warren Greenstone, CEO of the Miriam Foundation, stated “Today is an important and historic day for families across the province that are touched by ASD and ID. This agreement heralds the beginning of a new era of partnership with the Quebec government. We have waited a long time for this, and we are optimistic about the outcomes of this agreement.”

The Minister for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection and Public Health, Lucie Charlebois, was present in sup-port of this new collaboration. Diane Proulx Guerrera, Chairperson of the Board at the Miriam Foundation appreciated the Minister’s collaboration: “Thanks to Minister Charlebois’ leadership and vision, there is now some hope that the challenging situation in which thousands have found themselves will begin to improve. Our shared hope is that the Ministry will continue, through concrete actions to support our Foundation’s mission of helping people with ASD and ID to lead more fulfilling lives.”

SEE THINGS MY WAY CAMPAIGN

In October of 2013, the Miriam Foundation launched its “See Things My Way” campaign, with the announce-ment that Jean Coutu and Aldo Bensadoun would act as a co-chairs. See Things my Way is an innovative campaign with a novel concept – a pair of glasses – to portray how different individuals can see the world in their own way. The campaign reflects the importance of empathy and individuality in treatment, support, care, awareness, advocacy and mobilization of those with ASDs and IDs.

At the press conference, Marie-Josée Coutu, president of the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation announced a five million dollar donation to the Miriam Foundation. Although not present, Jean Coutu, chairman of the board of The Jean Coutu Group, said via video that “through this donation, we believe that financial and human resources will be better allocated to support the growing needs of families touched by ASDs and other developmental problems. We must ensure that children and adults touched by these disorders can live full and productive lives. There is so much hope for them; our foundations want to give them every chance to succeed.”

THE MIRIAM FOUNDATION LAUNCHES THE SEE THINGS MY WAY CENTRE FOR INNOVATION IN AUTISM AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

In January 2015, the See Things My Way Centre for Innovation was officially incorporated. Its mandate is to launch pilot models of services across the lifespan for families touched by Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities. Thanks to the generosity, compassion and vision of the Marcelle and Jean Cou-tu Foundation, the first service, a pilot interdisciplinary diagnostic clinic for young children, was launched on March 23, 2015. The goal of this clinic is to help elimi-nate the one to two year wait lists for diagnosis on the island of Montreal. Many children have already been referred to the clinic from partner institutions that in-clude the Douglas Mental Health Institute, the CSSS de la Montagne, the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

The Centre for Innovation is now moving ahead to im-plement three other pilot projects:

1) services for families and young children immedi-ately post-diagnosis while they await longer-term intensive intervention services

2) a specialized medical and dental clinic for adults with ASD and ID, and

3) a pilot residential model given the dire need for increased access to specialized residences for our populations. The Centre for Innovation is working closely with the Quebec Ministry of Health and So-cial Services on all initiatives to help ensure sus-tainable province-wide improvements in access to these much-needed services.

SPOKESPERSON: CHARLES LAFORTUNE

Mr. Charles Lafortune, a major TV and Radio celebrity in Quebec, officially announced his role in the See Things My Way campaign: he will act as a spokesperson to help the campaign raise the much-needed awareness and funds for the many programs the Miriam Foundation plans to launch in the coming years. “This campaign, and the Miriam Foundation, are going to make a real difference for thousands of families. I can attest to the difficulties that families face: from waiting for a diagno-sis, to waiting for services, to integrating into the school system, we know that ASD is a lifelong condition, and we count on programs like those offered by the Miriam Foundation to help us. I am very proud to have been asked to be a part of this incredible movement; I hope that all Quebecers will join me in supporting it.”

Charles Lafortune, actor and comedian

Friends and memories from this past year’s events and celebrations

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Everyone’s destiny holds adversity and challenge. How we cope with the trials that lie ahead depends on how well we learn from past experiences and our level of awareness as we walk through life.

— Randi G. Fine