Bianca Go, Inclusion Core:
Terri is an amazing advocate for the autism and neurodiverse community. She is personable and funny, and it was an amazing learning opportunity to learn about her life experiences living with autism. If you are looking for advocate, speaker or an amazing person to talk to. Terri is your person.
Dr. Fakhri Shafai, Research and Evaluation Project Coordinator, AIDE Canada:
Terri Robson has offered her unique perspective and valuable insight as a panel member for webinars and as a reviewer for some other resources that AIDE Canada has created over the past two years. She is an excellent presenter and connects with the audience by sharing her experiences in an honest and straightforward manner. Terri is passionate about making this world a better, more accepting place for younger autistic people. She is able to bridge the gap between caregivers and autistic youth in a way that few people can. Terri has helped parents to better understand how their child is experiencing the world and what they can do to best support and empower their child to live their best life. We absolutely love working with Terri and will continue to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Amy Tatterton, Director of Learning and Connection, Sinneave Family Foundation:
I became connected with Terri as she participated in a Community Feedback Session on a guide that The Sinneave Family Foundation had created about the moving process for autistic adults. In addition to her exceptionally valuable feedback – her enthusiasm for potential collaboration paired with her energy and candor led me to get connected with her again and explore the possibilities. After meeting with Terri once to discuss a potential collaboration, I contracted her in April of 2022 to tell her life’s story and learnings through a monthly workshop presentation in collaboration with Alberta Health Services Community Education Service. Throughout the presentation planning process, Terri was flexible, positive, and I appreciated how she is committed to using the story of her life’s journey to educate others about Asperger’s’ syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. As a presenter, Terri is creative, engaging, and speaks honestly about challenges while weaving in humor and a number of amusing stories. Her passion for the autistic community is evident, and I especially enjoy bumping into her in a variety of different community meetings! It was a pleasure to work alongside Terri and I look forward to keeping up with her other projects. Any organization would be fortunate to have her consult with them and I also look forward to the opportunity to collaborate directly with her again!
Lois Currie:
I just feel compelled today to email you and thank you once again for your excellent presentation at the PDD Conference I attended in Edmonton on September 16th.
Your message and all of the information you shared has given me great insight into the life of someone living with Asperger’s. Although I am not a worker and don’t work one on one with our clients, I do have others in my life that struggle with disabilities as well and the insight that I gained from you will help me to work with those young folks in many other areas of life. I have knowledge now and information I can share with hockey and dance coaches, swim instructors etc and even parents that are friends struggling with children with a diffability.
I could have listened to you for the rest of the day! It was certainly the highlight of the day. You have overcome so much in your life, and although you suggested that you don’t adapt well to difficult situations very well, I would suggest that you don’t give yourself enough credit. Having sound or sensory issues and living with the volume of the television that your partner needs before switching to closed caption, requires a lot of adaptability.
I liken the insight you gave me to when I get angry, or excited or mad or any of those emotions that send my blood pressure through the roof and keep me from being calm and rational. If I understand your description correctly, Asperger’s is like being at that heightened level and NOT getting the break from it as those of us who don’t live with Asperger’s gets to have. It that is the correct understanding then I think it’s a great way to explain to others what it is like for the children they work with – we all know what that heightened feeling is like.
So, I say thank you again – you are a gift and a blessing and I hope that you continue to reach out and inspire and enlighten new people every day! I have shared your info with trainers of foster parents, workers and anyone I can think of that didn’t have the pleasure of sharing that day with you.
Take care Terri!
Angela, Adult Asperger Support Group (AASG):
My husband and I began attending the Adult Asperger parent support group in early 2018. The group so far is very small but it has been wonderful to connect with other parents who are dealing with similar challenges. We can both relate to, and learn from, one another. We would love to see the parent group expand, bringing a greater range of experiences and a larger pool of ideas from which to draw to support our adult children in living their best lives.
Though our adult children may, at times, struggle to articulate their thoughts and feelings, Terri—who facilitates the group and herself is an “Aspie”—is able to provide a voice. This allows us a glimpse into what our own children may be thinking and how they may be feeling; this experience is invaluable. With Terri’s passion, support and guidance and greater participation by other parents/caregivers, this group could become so much more than a “support group.” I believe it can become a driving force for change, an opportunity for us to work with our adult children to bring desperately needed programs and services to Red Deer and area. Please join us!
Jakoby, Adult Asperger Support Group (AASG):
It’s difficult to be a parent. It is exponentially more difficult to be a parent to a child that does not portray the neurotypical behaviours of other children.
I knew I needed support. And I knew I needed resources. What I did not know was what that would look like, and how to access them.
As many parents do, I relied on the school system to provide me with those resources and feedback about how to help this child mature and grow. Unfortunately the well-meaning school staff did not alleviate our struggles.
My child went through multiple educational-psychological assessments. Each reported something different and none of them agreed with the assessment of another practitioner. So, now I had multiple assessments, and NO diagnosis of what was different about my child.
He has always been different; quirky is how I have described him on many occasions. He is not as mature as his peers; he lags far behind them in his social abilities, yet he is more mature than his peers in other areas. He is NeuroATYPICAL.
About a year ago I discovered a light at the end of the tunnel. I had long suspected my child could have Asperger’s Syndrome, and by some miracle I found an article about a support group meeting for parents and caregivers of those diagnosed with Asperger’s. With trepidation I attended. It was one of the best things I could have done. Terri, the facilitator of the group, was kind and open about her own struggles as an adult with Asperger’s syndrome. The encouragement of all that attended the meeting that very first day was nothing short of amazing.
I was not alone in this journey! There were other parents and families like mine sharing the same struggles and overcoming them. I knew at that moment that this group was to be a blessing for my son, my entire family, and me. I had lots of questions. Of course I did! I now had more resources right in front of me than I had EVER had in the years leading up to this day. So many of the struggles I and my family tried to cope with have been lessened by having the opportunity to meet in a safe and non-judgemental setting surrounded by other parents and family members of kids and adults with a diagnosis in the Autism Spectrum. They shared similar stories to mine, validated my feelings of concern and sometimes despair in navigating a world so foreign to me. The group facilitated communication with my child, taught me ways to talk to him so that he would not only listen, but also understand. The Asperger’s Support group also helped me to navigate other avenues for support for this child.
I believe that opportunities come at a time in which they are most needed, but also when we are most ready to receive them. I cannot begin to express just how grateful I am to have been able to partake in that first meeting. I am grateful beyond words to be able to be a part of this group, and maybe I’ll be able to make a difference in the world of another not unlike me, in a time that is right for those individuals.
Jay, Adult Asperger Support Group (AASG):
What this group means and how it has helped me…
Before I found out about this group, I knew and always felt different than everybody else. For example, I am unsure about how to enter a conversation, I have difficulties keeping jobs, and I had difficulty in school.
What this group means to me:
It’s a group that has helped discover a little bit about Asperger’s/Non Verbal Learning Disability, and the quirks that I have. Through this group I have met some nice people whom I consider to be friends. This group has helped me to access some great supports such as EPSS and given me information about how and what to do to keep a job.
This group means a lot to me because I feel like I have found a group in which people understand me and aren’t weirded out one bit. I hope to keep these friendships for a long time. I also hope that the group expands and that we get to meet some more people that have been diagnosed with Asperger’s and/or NLD.
What others have to say:
;– Central Alberta Teachers Convention, Red Deer, AB
“Informative & hope-filled, interesting, entertaining and enlightening” – various presentations
“Anyone with an AS child (student or offspring) should see this” – Central Alberta Teachers Convention, Red Deer, AB
“The best Asperger session I’ve ever been to” – South Western Alberta Teachers Convention, Lethbridge, AB; – South Eastern Alberta Teachers Convention, Medicine Hat, AB
“All teachers need to hear this presentation” – South Western Alberta Teachers Convention, Lethbridge, AB
“This was amazing” – South Eastern Alberta Teachers Convention, Medicine Hat, AB
“Best presentation possible because the presenter lives it” – South Eastern Alberta Teachers Convention, Medicine Hat, AB
“It was an honour to meet you and hear your story.” – UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Bonnyville, AB
“Thanks for sharing your story.” – Living Waters School Division, Whitecourt, AB
“Excellent presentation for understanding differences and appreciating value of each human being.” – Central Alberta Teachers Convention, Red Deer, AB
“You were real. You were funny.” – Central Alberta Teachers Convention, Red Deer, AB
“I would like my son (who has AS) to meet you.”– UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, St. Paul, AB
“Pleased to know that your hair hurts!” – South Eastern Alberta Teachers Convention, Medicine Hat, AB