21/05/2026
Ottawa, Ontario — Thursday May 21, 2026
Autism is being identified in more children than ever before, and research shows that when caregivers are supported early, they can play an important role in helping their child build communication and social skills for everyday life.
A new study led by Renee Baysarowich and Jessica Remedios examined the implementation of the Social ABCs early autism support program at CHEO, and how a structured clinician training pathway could help expand access for more families by training more clinicians to teach the program.
“Families shouldn’t have to wait to get early autism support. By training our own teams to run the Social ABCs program, we are able to reach more children and families sooner, with the same impactful outcomes.” – Renee Baysarowich
The study evaluated a shorter version of the Social ABCs that combines group learning with one-on-one coaching, along with a new structured approach to training clinicians. For the first time, the program was offered in both English and French.
Participating families at CHEO showed positive results. Caregivers became more confident and consistent in using the strategies, and children showed meaningful gains in social communication. These outcomes did not differ as the clinicians began to rely less on the external expert training team and more on the internal CHEO training team.
Through this training pathway, CHEO nearly doubled the number of children served, helping more families access early support sooner and in the language they are most comfortable using.
The CHEO research team is leading the effort to scale the Social ABCs program and recently presented their findings at the International Society for Autism Research conference in Prague.