Many parents wish children came with instructions. You’re not alone. We have a program for you!
The Circle of Security Program can help you strengthen your parent-child relationship and gain confidence to better understand and support your child, especially during times of upset or distress.
This FREE 8-week virtual group will enhance your ability to support your child to achieve increased calmness, cooperation, and effective communication. You will gain knowledge and a deeper understanding of how behaviour and connection can impact your relationship with your child. As a caregiver, you will understand the importance of building a secure relationship with your child and help them to know that they can turn to you for support when confronted with difficulties or challenges.
The Circle of Security Parenting program is intended to support parents:
- To better understand their child especially during times of upset and distress
- To enhance parent’s ability to support their child to achieve increased calmness, cooperation, and effective communication
- To enjoy increased confidence, happiness, and delight in interactions with your child
- To gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the interaction between behavior, connection, and relationships with their child
If you think that this group is what you have been looking for, CALL us at 416-438-3697 x19055 for more information, and to be placed on the waitlist.
Attendance for every session is imperative to gain the full benefits from the program as each week builds on the topics presented from the previous week. If a group member misses 2 or more sessions, they maybe be asked to withdraw from the group and register for the next group session.
2025 Winter Groups
OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
Program focus: Behaviour Difficulty, Child Development, Parenting
The Triple P-Positive Parenting Program is a multi-level, preventively-oriented parenting and family support strategy developed by the authors and colleagues at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The program aims to prevent severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents.
The program content draws on the following:
- Social learning models of parent-child interaction that highlight the reciprocal and bidirectional nature of parent child interactions.
- Research in child and family behaviour therapy and applied behaviour analysis.
- Developmental research on parenting in everyday contexts
- Social information processing models that highlight the important role of parental cognitions such as attributions, expectancies and beliefs.
- Research from the field of developmental psychopathology that has identified specific risk and protective factors that are linked to adverse developmental outcomes in children.
- A population health perspective to family intervention that involves the explicit recognition of the role of the broader ecological context for human development.
The group goals are:
- To increase parents’ competence in managing common behavior problems and developmental issues
- To reduce parents’ use of coercive and punitive methods of disciplining children
- To reduce parenting stress associated with raising children
Triple P is offered over seven sessions:
- Introduction, What is Positive Parenting, Causes of Child Behaviour Problems, Goals for change, Keeping track of children’s behaviours
- Promoting children’s development, developing positive relationships with children, encouraging desirable behaviour, teaching new skills and behaviours
- Managing misbehaviour, developing parenting routines
- Planning ahead, family survival tips, high risk situations, planned activities routines
- Telephone session – Implementing parenting routines
- Telephone session – Implementing parenting routines continued
- Program close – phasing out the program, progress review, maintenance of change, problem solving for the future, future goals, celebration
Program focus: Communication Skills, Mental Health, Parenting, Skill Development
Facing Your Fears is a group program that uses a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) approach for the reduction of anxiety symptoms (Facing Your Fears Facilitator’s Manual, 2011). There is a vast amount of literature supporting the use of CBT to manage children’s anxiety, resulting in CBT being the best practice for the management of this disorder.
The overall goal is to provide children with the skills for them to be able to successfully cope in a variety of anxiety-provoking situations.
The treatment goals are:
- Helping children to recognize signs of anxious arousal and to use these as cues for the use of anxiety management strategies
- Encourage children to identify negative self-statements in order to initiate more positive and constructive self-statements
- Helping children to use self-ratings and self-rewards
- Identifying the cognitive processes associated with excessive anxious arousal
- Training in cognitive strategies for anxiety management and behavioural relaxation
- Performance-based practice opportunities with learned skills applied to real-life situations
- Provide parents with the knowledge and skills needed to support their child in coping with anxiety
There are 14 sessions, which cover:
- Welcome to Group: Words We Use for Worry
- When I Worry
- Time Spent Worrying
- What Worry Does to My Body: Beginning to Measure Worry
- The Mind-Body Connection
- More Mind-Body Connections: Introduction to Exposure
- Introduction to Exposure (Continued)
- Practicing Exposure and Making Movies
- Facing Fears and Making Movies
- Facing Fears and Making Movies
- Facing Fears and Making Movies
- Facing Fears and Making Movies
- Facing Fears and Making Movies
- Graduation
Access to this group is through Intake and Family Counselling Services which allows for assessment of eligibility criteria.
Program focus: ADHD
ADHD Seminars are a psychoeducation-based group for parents and caregivers of children ages 4 to 12 years old who may be struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The seminars are identified by topics and provide an opportunity for parents and caregivers to learn more about ADHD, the symptoms, the research, and its impact on children at home, school and in the community.
The seminars are offered September – May and each seminar is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Seminars are offered on a monthly basis; families can choose which seminars they would like to attend. Parents and caregivers learn to understand the disorder and the impact it has on children’s learning and their behaviour. This is a psychoeducational group intended to provide information to parents and caregivers so that they can better understand their children’s needs and support them in a neurodiversity-affirming way.
To find out more information or to join our participant list, please contact: Salmina at salmina.sabah@stridestoronto.ca or Shelby at shelby.eisner@stridestoronto.ca
Program focus: Behaviour Difficulty, Communication Skills, Employment, Housing, Immigration, Income Support, LGBT, Mental Health, Primary Care Support Referrals, School, Skill Development, Socializing, Trauma more…
The Youth Outreach Worker Program is an initiative for at-risk youth ages 12 to 21 years old and their families in East Toronto. It is designed to help empower and provide them with individualized programming to meet their unique needs and circumstances. Youth Outreach Workers (YOWs) also work with other community resources to coordinate youth activities and services.
We also have specialized YOWs who have a focus on specific populations in Toronto, such as Syrian, Afghan and Tamil. Their goal is to make programs and services more accessible to youth and their families by overcoming language and cultural barriers. Outreach to specific populations help inform members of the community of the availability of services and to remove the stigma and fear associated with accessing services such as mental health.
We also offer clinical services as part of our Enhanced Youth Outreach Workers program (EYOW). In addition to providing support services, EYOWs can offer intensive intervention for example in the areas of mental health, addictions, trauma, relationship or family violence and / or human and sex trafficking etc.
Some of the many services we connect youth and families with include:
- Employment
- Housing
- Legal
- Education & alternative learning
- Volunteer hours
- Drop-in Programs
- Assistance in Applying for schools, loans & government assistance
- Help getting ID, SIN and Health Card
- Food Banks
- Counselling
- Newcomer youth programs
Program focus: Communication Skills, Community, Multimedia, Skill Development, Socializing, Youth, Youth Engagement more…
Studio 2 Multimedia Program supports youth in the development of multimedia skills, as well as social skills, with an emphasis on media literacy, employability skills and mental health.
Our program uses various industry standard software and hardware to help youth design a variety of media projects. Youth are engaged under the supervision and guidance of professionals and Strides Toronto staff. Projects youth can work on include film and documentaries, print, photography, portfolio development, and music/audio recording. Programming is delivered through one-on-one sessions, group workshops and facilitated workshops in the community and/or school.
In partnership with
Program focus: Nutrition, Postnatal, Prenatal
The Growing Healthy Together – Prenatal program offers prenatal and nutrition information and peer support in a group format to pregnant individuals experiencing risk factors including low income, newcomer status and poor nutrition, in community locations throughout Scarborough.
The program provides various topics related to healthy pregnancy, nutrition, and community resources delivered in partnership with community agencies, such as EarlyON centres and community health centres, with guest speakers from a variety of local community organizations. Staff also provide one to one nutrition counselling and opportunities to connect with peers.
Childminding, interpretation, public transit assistance, and a grocery gift card in a nominal amount is provided to reduce barriers to participation. The program is offered in community locations such as EarlyON Centres and is meant to be flexible to meet the needs of participants.
Eligibility Details
Pregnant individuals who may be:
- newcomers,
- living on a low income,
- feeling isolated, or
- needing extra support for a healthy pregnancy.
Current Locations and Hours
Malvern Family Resource Centre
1321 Neilson Road (lower level)
Mondays, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Scarborough Centre Ontario EarlyON
3478 Lawrence Avenue East, Unit C4
Tuesdays, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
The Hub, Mid Scarborough
2660 Eglinton Ave East
Wednesdays, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Scarborough Agincourt EarlyON
3410 Sheppard Avenue East, Unit 304
Thursdays, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Useful Resources
Midwifery Clinics and Primary Health Care
- Diversity Midwives
- Sages Femmes Rouge Valley Midwives
- Trillium Midwives
- Non Insured Walk In Clinic (for individuals who have no OHIP)
Other Community Resources
Employment Services
Funding for this program is provided (in part) by the Government of Canada and operates in partnership with community organizations.
Program focus: Child Development, Parenting
This program offers Family Home Visiting and Parenting Groups and is designed for families with children from birth to under 6 years of age who may be new to Canada, are living on a low income, or may be feeling alone or overwhelmed. The goal of our program is to help mothers and fathers see their strengths, build strong relationships with the children, and find positive ways to raise healthy, happy children. This program is free and voluntary.
Family Home Visiting
Supportive professional Family Home Visitors can meet regularly with parents in their home to provide information about infant and child development, healthy eating, safety, breastfeeding, toileting and community resources.
Parenting Groups
Trained staff offer a variety of weekly parenting groups such as Infant Massage, Parent-Child Mother Goose®, Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Group, Building Connections, and Summer Fun. Groups are offered at different community locations across Scarborough.
Eligibility Details
Families with children under 6 years of age who are either:
- new to Canada
- single or young parents
- having a language barrier
- living on a low income
- feeling isolated
AND with a self-identified parenting struggle.
Strides Toronto has been providing services for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental disabilities, and/or dual diagnoses for over 20 years. As a trusted agency in Toronto, a high degree of inter-professional partnership is in place to support information sharing and collaboration among services and the community.
We are proud of the high-quality, evidence-based practices our Autism and Developmental Services provide to the children, youth, adults, and the families we serve. Our service offerings are flexible and consider individual needs. Individualized intake assessments are completed to help determine a plan for service.
Behavioural interventions and family services are integrated and coordinated with other services (e.g., mental health) which a child or youth and their family may be receiving. The wide range of services available to children, youth and their families are frequently evaluated and monitored to be flexible and responsive to changing evidence and practice.
Developmental Services provides therapeutic programming and respite to youth and adults with an autism spectrum disorder and/or a developmental disability. The services delivered strive to promote independence, encouraging the development and maintaining of a peer network, empowering them to build their capabilities, with the goal of enhancing their social and life skills development.
Family-centered care is the fundamental basis of service delivery within Strides Toronto’s Autism and Developmental Services. This approach values parents and caregivers as experts on their child and as key decision makers in their child’s interventions. It also recognizes their lifelong commitment to their child’s learning and wellness.
We offer a variety of in-person and virtual services and resources to support families. Our virtual services are offered by phone or by video through our secure Zoom Healthcare platform.