Date: Saturday, May 24, 2025
Time: 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. ET
Format: In-person
Location: Giant Steps Centre, 4400 Rue Molson, Montreal (QC) H1Y 0A3
Language: French, with bilingual discussions (English and French)
Audience: Open to all, with registration
While research shows that outdoor play benefits child development, there is still a gap in understanding how autistic children experience and engage with outdoor play spaces. Many face barriers that can limit their access and enjoyment, from overwhelming sensory environments to a lack of accessible spaces and inclusive social opportunities. They also often have fewer chances to spend time in nature.
Join us for this interactive panel, co-organized by TACC and Giant Steps in the context of the Autism Festival, which brings together diverse voices to reflect on how we can make outdoor play more inclusive and meaningful for autistic children and their families.
What to expect
- Insight into the unique benefits of outdoor play for autistic children
- Practical strategies to create accessible, inclusive play environments
- Opportunities to share and exchange knowledge across research, education, policy and living and lived experience.
Contact
Konstandina (Nadia) Bakopanos
Coordinator, TACC
konstandina.bakopanos@mcgill.ca
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The Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) connects and mobilizes research strengths in Quebec to improve quality of life for autistic individuals and people with neurodevelopmental conditions. TACC is a community-partnered network launched in 2017, recognized by the Fonds de recherche du Québec.
TACC’s Autism Festival celebrates inclusion through art and science. Showcasing the intersections of creativity, research, and lived and living experience, the festival invites communities across Québec to engage with and appreciate neurodivergent perspectives.
Giant Steps has been at the forefront of autism education and inclusion for nearly 45 years. Its intensive educational and therapeutic programs, offered to students aged four to 21, are unique in Quebec and have been replicated around the world. With specialized services and educational programs for autistic adults, Giant Steps develops skills leading to employment, in all its forms, as well as greater independence at home and in the community. In addition, Giant Steps plays a vital role in autism research and training across all sectors. Opened in September 2023, the Giant Steps Centre meets the changing lifespan needs of autistic individuals, their families and professionals in the field.