Jane is a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist in New Brunswick and Ontario and a member of SAC. She has experience providing a wide variety of services to individuals across their lifespan. In her first year of practice, she provided speech, language, feeding, swallowing, social and play therapy services in English and French to individuals and their families from 1 to 100. Jane has experience with multilingual families and finding the optimal approach to treatment to meet her clients’ specific needs.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Université de Moncton and a Master of Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Maine. She is also nearing completion of PLAY Project certification. Jane is passionate about international travel, solidarity and friendship. She has previously traveled, studied and worked abroad, and looks forward to the opportunity to do so again.

“ACT Learning Centre provides extensive opportunities for training, professional growth and diversified practice, within the realm of autism services. It is ACT’s commitment to providing quality services for its clients and diverse opportunities for its staff which make me a proud employee.”

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Portugal and China are next on my list!

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?

A fox

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Ice cream

This post is also available in: French

Jenna has extensive experience providing ABA therapy in-home and clinic settings. She also has experience providing programming, assessments and client intake. Jenna holds a Bachelor of Arts – Sociology, an Autism and Behavioural Science certificate and is currently completing her PLAY Consultant Certification. Jenna is a Registered Behaviour Technician (RBT) with the BACB. As the Assistant Manager for the PLAY Project at ACT, Jenna combines her clinical and administrative experience while supporting the team to provide the best services possible. On the weekends, you can find Jenna sitting around a table playing a board game with friends.

“When I was offered a job in the PLAY Project at ACT, I decided to take the leap and learn more about developmental approaches for supporting children with Autism. The team at ACT is so supportive and encouraging in every aspect and a positive work environment is so important to me. I’m glad I made the change!”

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?
Elephant, hands down.

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pizza

What’s your favourite holiday?
Christmas

This post is also available in: French

Jennifer is a Registered Early Childhood Educator with more than 20 years of experience working with children. She is very passionate about her work with children and truly enjoys being a part of their development. Jen loves the outdoors and glamping at her trailer. You can always find her swimming or boating with family and friends.

“I love the entire program at ACT. The children, families, staff and management make it very easy to come to work every day.”

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Hersheys Eggies

What’s your favourite holiday?

Christmas

Are you a morning person or a night-owl?

Morning person

This post is also available in: French

Jessica is a Speech-Language Pathologist with experience in services for early language, articulation/phonology, motor speech, fluency, alternative and augmentative communication, ASD and social language skills.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences with a Minor in Linguistics from the University of Ottawa and a Master in Speech-Language Pathology from McGill University. She is certified in PECS Level 1 and 2, Hanen More Than Words, PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills), and has additional training in AAC, motor speech (DTTC- Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing), as well as coursework on Natural Language Acquisition. She has also completed the certification course in Play Project.

“I love working in the Entry to School Program supporting children to learn the communication skills they need for school and to be able to communicate with anyone anywhere”.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I really love exploring and visiting Canada! I’d love to visit New Zealand and Ireland someday.

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Indian food

What’s your favourite holiday?
Christmas (everyone is filled with kindness and good cheer).

This post is also available in: French

Jessica graduated from Algonquin College with a diploma of Early Childhood Education in 2017 and is a Registered Early Childhood Educator under the College of ECEs. She speaks English and French and has worked with children for over 10 years. She has been a Registered Early Childhood Educator for the past five years. Throughout her career, Jessica has provided children with a safe learning environment where they could develop their skills and learn through play.

I am passionate about learning more about early child development and different techniques and strategies that I can implement to help children progress and become successful. I am grateful to be a part of the Play Project where I can pass down my knowledge to families so that they as well can learn these techniques and strategies and be a part of their child’s learning journey.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Australia

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?

Lion

What’s your favourite holiday?

Christmas

This post is also available in: French

Joanne holds an Early Childhood Education Honours Diploma, as well as a Working with Children with Special Needs Certificate. Joanne has worked with children and adults with special needs for over 25 years. Joanne describes herself as a lifelong learner who is always keen and excited to learn new things and experience new challenges. A fun fact about Joanne is that she was once a professional clown named “Jelly Bean” who volunteered her time in hospitals to bring joy to patients.

“It is an absolute thrill and honour to be a part of the ACT team of heart-centered leaders!! Everything about ACT’s teaching philosophy completely resonates with what I believe and know to be true of how children. Children grow best when we see life by looking through their eyes and understanding what they need. We must continuously adjust the program and be relentlessly solution-focused to accommodate the ever-changing needs of each individual. Learning is never one size fits all and at ACT Learning Centre there is a complete understanding of how each child learns so they can thrive in all areas of development on the level they are at for optimum success.”

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Sushi

What’s your favourite holiday?

Christmas and all things that glitter!!

Are you a morning person or a night-owl?

Morning person

This post is also available in: French

Jocelyne is the Director of Operations, Certified ESDM therapist and French Senior Therapist at ACT Learning Centre.

Jocelyne graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2009 with an Honours degree in Social Science with a major in both psychology and criminology. Upon graduation, she immediately began her work in the field of Applied Behavioral Analysis. Jocelyne has extensive experience working as a senior ABA therapist in the Ottawa area. Jocelyne has continued to further her knowledge in the field by completing a series of professional development training.

Jocelyne is fluent in both French and English and has extensive experience in the development of personalized individual intervention plans for children and youth and their families in both official languages. Jocelyne can assess children and develop intervention programs with the use of ABLLS-R, VB-MAPP, RDI and ESDM.

“I work at ACT because I strongly believe in a holistic approach when it comes to finding a well-rounded program that will best meet the client’s needs. Collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team ensures a comprehension intervention plan for our clients.”

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Bora Bora

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?
Koala Bear

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Haitian meal called Fritay (fried plantains, pikliz, fried goat/chicken/fish)

This post is also available in: French

Jordan has been working with children and youth providing ABA services across different settings such as clinical settings, homes, schools and daycares since 2018. Her experience includes running assessments to identify areas of need and implementing individualized programming to help children achieve meaningful change in their lives using evidence-based principles. Jordan graduated from Carleton University with an undergraduate degree in psychology. She is currently working towards a Master of Disability Studies specializing in ABA and hopes to become a certified BCBA in 2023. Her favourite part of the day is the smile clients put on her face and watching them grow and learn.

“I chose to work at ACT due to its interdisciplinary team and a centre that allows me to grow and develop professionally. I enjoy the collaboration between different professionals and my colleagues and the fact that ACT is always trying to expand its services and provide children and families with opportunities outside of the box.”

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

New Zealand

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?

sloth

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

mashed potatoes

This post is also available in: French

Julie Tessier is a registered Occupational Therapist (OT) with the province of Ontario. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics and completed a Master of Health Science in Occupational Therapy in 2019. She provides Occupational Therapy services in both English and French. In addition to providing assessments, interventions and consultations in private practice, Julie is also part of many projects such as a registered PLAY consultant for the Play Project, a member of the supervisory team in the Entry to School (ETS) Program and a mentor for the Secret Agent Society (SAS) research project.

Julie’s love of helping kids has led her to acquire several years of experience working alongside experienced pediatric therapists. For the past eight years, she has worked with children on the autism spectrum in different settings. She has skillfully assisted with integration in day cares, has developed and led social groups as well as summer camps, provided respite services to families. She continues to pursue her passion as an Occupational Therapist with a special focus on working with children of all ages.

Julie aspires to help children gain independence in their everyday activities as well as work in an interdisciplinary setting. Julie provides quality interventions that emphasize promoting the child’s motivation and engagement within activities of their daily life. Julie is highly motivated to grow and develop as a therapist as she and completed various trainings.

In her spare time, Julie loves to travel, spend time outdoors, participate in various sports and being surrounded with her friends and family.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Iceland

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Stir fry

If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be?

Goat

This post is also available in: French