Telling Our Stories
About the Project
Telling Our Stories: A Photovoice Project with Diverse Autistic Youth in Northern Ontario responds to urgent gaps in autism research and services for autistic youth in Northern Ontario and Indigenous communities where systemic barriers to care are exacerbated by geographic and cultural factors. Autistic youth in these regions often face environments where services are limited and culturally incongruent, failing to account for their specific contexts or unique gifts and needs. The result is exclusion and distress for autistic youth, and limited resources for providers.
Over the next three years, working alongside autistic youth and community partners the team will:
Analyze the existing research on autism and youth thriving in Northern and Indigenous communities.
Map current youth services and identify where the biggest gaps lie.
Co-design new, culturally relevant supports with youth and community partners.
Share insights in academic journals, community talks, art exhibits, and policy briefs.
Scale up the project to three new communities interested in the project
Stay tuned for more information.
This project is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant 890-2024-0164).