Vivre et Grandir autrement is taking a major step forward in its commitment to people living with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by opening its first-ever outreach center in Les Cèdres. The opening is scheduled for next March, at the end of spring break.

The center is the first of five planned for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region over the next few years. In an interview with our editorial team, the organization's founder, Mélanie Deveault, explained that the aim of these spaces is to promote the integration and support of neurodivergent families in a community setting. “The aim is to be at the heart of village cores and to promote living together, which is the primary value of our organization,” she said.

These centers will be designed to meet the needs of people living with ASD by offering an adapted, accessible and inclusive environment. “We want the public to be able to come and ask questions about neurodiversity and offer rental spaces for organizations or families, especially during the holiday season, when stimulation can be too intense at home,” adds Ms. Deveault.

Personalized support for families

Clinically speaking, the Cedars center will mainly offer a day-care service, with programs structured around five axes: being, doing, growing, living and becoming. Support will be tailored to all age groups, from childhood to adulthood. “Our oldest customer is 49, and we believe that support should not be limited by age,” says the founder.

The centers will also offer support to families by facilitating the transmission of information between the various players involved in supporting autistic people, such as schools, day-care centers and specialists. “With our centers, we aspire to become a support hub for neurodivergent families so that the action plan can be useful to the family. When they receive a diagnosis of autism, families receive a multitude of information and don't always know what to prioritize. We want to help them regain control of their daily lives,” she adds.

An adapted staffing ratio and diversified services

Each center will have three caregivers on site at all times, with an average ratio of one caregiver to 3 participants, including individual one-to-one opportunities. For daycare services for teenagers who cannot return home alone after school, the ratio will be one caregiver for every five to six youngsters.

Accessibility remains a major challenge, and the organization hopes to implement a social mobility service by the end of 2025 to facilitate users' transportation to the Les Cèdres center. 

Collaboration with other organizations

In addition to its own services, Vivre et Grandir autrement hopes to create partnerships with other organizations in the region. “We want to share our tools, knowledge and resources with other organizations pursuing missions similar to ours,” explains Ms. Deveault, who hopes to create synergy with, among others, the Centre de services scolaires and other organizations in the region. 

By the end of 2025, Mélanie Deveault and her team intend to continue their efforts to create the Centre intégré d'éducation spécialisée en autisme. “There's a lot of work going on at this level. At this stage, we still can't specify where this center will be located, as we're still in the negotiation stage. We hope to be able to make an announcement very soon,” she confirms.

Finally, Vivre et Grandir autrement is appealing to stakeholders and organizations that would like to offer services or workshops for neurodivergent people. “If there are services we haven't thought of, or people who would like to offer their workshops to neurodivergent clients, we are more than open to collaborating,” concludes Mélanie Deveault.