Jessica Brian is a Psychologist and Clinician-Investigator at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She co-leads the Autism Research Centre through the Bloorview Research Institute. Jessica received her doctorate from York University’s clinical-developmental program and received intensive training in applied behaviour analysis during a year-long internship at the Princeton Child Development Institute in New Jersey. Dr. Brian has been heavily involved in research aimed at understanding the emergence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in infancy and development across childhood, including the Canadian Infant Siblings Study. Dr. Brian co-developed the Social ABCs with Dr. Bryson, to empower families as they support their child’s early development.

Susan Bryson is a Professor Emerita in the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University and was the first Joan and Jack Craig Chair in Autism Research, as well as the Director of the Autism Research Centre at the IWK Health Centre. Her research focuses on the early detection and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, as well as attention, emotion and temperament. In 2005, Dr. Bryson took the lead in establishing Nova Scotia’s innovative Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) program for preschoolers with ASD. Building on the success of this program, she partnered with Dr. Brian in the development of the Social ABCs. She has received many prestigious awards, including both the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals for her contributions to the field of autism.

Dr. Smith, a Clinical-Developmental Psychologist, is the Joan and Jack Craig Chair in Autism Research at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. She is active in many research areas, including long-term studies that follow the development of children with ASD and their families, as well as treatment research. Dr. Smith has promoted evidence-based practices for identification, diagnosis, and treatment of ASD for many years through research and advocacy, as well as professional development and consultation.

Dr. Zwaigenbaum is a developmental pediatrician and site lead for Child Health at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, where he co-directs the Autism Research Centre. He holds the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Autism Research and is Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on early behavioral and biological markers, and developmental trajectories in children and youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). He also directs one of the two Canadian sites of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network, which focuses on approaches to optimizing acute health care for children and youth with ASD. 

Abbie Solish is a Clinical Psychologist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, working in the Child Development Program and the Autism Research Centre. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical-Developmental Psychology from York University in 2011. In the Autism Research Centre, Abbie provides supervision for multiple projects including the Social ABCs and the Infant Sibling Study. Her role as a Psychologist in the clinical program at Holland Bloorview includes diagnostic assessments with young children with suspected ASD, leading Cognitive Behaviour Therapy groups for children with ASD and significant anxiety, and providing supervision for trainees.

Erin has been a parent coach with the Social ABCs since its development in 2007. Erin holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies and is knowledgeable in very early intervention in autism spectrum disorders. Erin is an experienced trainer of Social ABCs parent coaches in both research and community contexts, and is passionate about parent-mediated intervention in the early years of a child’s development.

Kate is a Social ABCs parent coach and trainer working out of the Autism Research Centre at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital in Toronto. Her education and training are in the areas of psychology and child development and she is also a certified Child Life Specialist. Kate has worked in the field of autism and with the Social ABCs team for the majority of her career. She is currently a trained-trainer, as well as a parent coach for both the home and clinic-based Social ABCs programs.

Sara is a Social ABCs parent coach working out of the Autism Research Centre at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital in Toronto. Her background and training are in child and youth psychology and Applied Behaviour Analysis. Sara has worked with children of various ages and their families in different clinical settings over the span of her career and has used that experience to implement the Social ABC’s intervention. Sara is a parent coach in the community, coaching families one-to-one.

Ian Roth is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Parent Coach for the Group Social ABCs model at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab in Toronto. Ian has worked with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder since becoming an SLP in 2000. He has been an instructor for the Hanen Centre since 2009. Ian holds a status-only appointment to the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at University of Toronto and he sat on the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth’s ASD Clinical Expert Committee for a 3-year term, ending in 2018. Ian is a co-developer of the web app ASD PlayDate.

Stacey is a Social ABCs parent coach and trainer working out of the Autism Research Centre at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. Her background and training are in psychology and Primary-Junior education. Stacey has been working with children with autism and their families for the entirety of her career. She is currently a trained-trainer, as well as a parent coach for the Social ABCs.

Sanne is a Social ABCs parent coach working out of the Autism Research Centre at Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. Her background and training is in neuropsychology. Sanne has worked in the field of autism research for a decade, and joined the Social ABCs team in 2017 to help bring the program to Edmonton as part of a research study.