We have an Access Guide that provides additional information and visuals on all our services for both in-person or online services. 

View our Access Guide here.

How to Get Connected:

An individual can fill out the referral form on their own (self-referral)

Or a professional, caregiver, family or friend can fill out the referral form

(Please allow 1-2 business days for a Centre staff member to return your call or e-mail)

If an individual is eligible for services, the intake coordinator will contact them to schedule an intake appointment within seven to ten (7-10) business days from the day the referral was submitted.

Referral Form

What is an Intake Meeting? 

An intake meeting is an information gathering session and the first appointment at the Centre. The individual will meet with the Centre’s intake coordinator, who will go over a series of questions so they can learn more about them and help connect to services. 

What to Expect Before the Intake Meeting? 
 After receiving the completed referral form, the Centre’s intake coordinator will reach out to the individual by either phone or e-mail to schedule an intake meeting. The intake coordinator will be in contact to schedule an intake meeting within seven to ten (7-10) business days from the day the referral was submitted  

Services are available to individuals across the province of Nova Scotia.

What to Expect During the Intake Meeting:

The intake coordinator will meet with the individual for one hour (60 minutes) to ask review a series of questions and consent forms to connect the individual to services within the Centre or in the community. 

Here are some examples of questions that will be asked during the intake:

• In your own words, how can the Centre best support you? 
• What things help make you feel better? 
• What mental health services have you connected to in the past? 
• How was your experience?  

An individual may not know the answer to all of  the questions during the intake meeting, and that is okay! The Centre staff are available to support one through this process. 

What to Expect After the Intake Appointment:

After the intake meeting, the Centre’s intake coordinator will follow up by e-mail or phone with a few recommendations of services. The individual may be connected to another service at Pinwheel Wellness Centre, an Autism Nova Scotia program, or they may be connected to a service outside of Autism Nova Scotia. This will all depend on the information shared during the intake, which will help the intake coordinator coordinate services to best support the individual.   

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811.

Our Intake Team:

Pamela Secci, MSW, RSW 
Pinwheel Wellness Centre Intake Coordinator 
Registered Social Worker 
Pronouns: she/her  

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca
Phone: (782) 321-8811 

What is Counselling Therapy? 
Counselling Therapy is a process where the therapist supports the client(s) in identifying, developing and using supports to increase personal growth, wellbeing and mental health. The counselling therapy relationship is collaborative between the therapist and the client and is a mutual space guided by the client’s values, wants and needs. 

Common areas of support counselling therapy can help with are:

• Anxiety
  • Low mood
  • Grief & loss
  • Depression
  • Life transitions
  • Difficult thoughts or feelings
  • Identity exploration/navigation
  • Feelings of isolation and loneliness
  • Sexuality (gender & sexual orientation)
  • Body image & challenging relationships with food and eating
  • Relationships (family, friendships, co-workers, sexual/romantic)
  • and many other areas 

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811 

Our Counselling Therapy Team:

Yevonne Le Lacheur, MEd, MEd, RCT-C, CCC, CS, CSE 
Pinwheel Wellness Centre Director
Registered Counselling Therapist- Candidate (RCT-C)
Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC)
Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE)
Certified Sexologist (CS)
Pronouns: she/her 

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca 
Phone: (782) 321-8811  

Ray Frizzell, MACP, RCT, CCC 

Pinwheel Wellness Centre Supervisor 
Registered Counselling Therapist- Candidate (RCT-C) 
Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC)
Pronouns: he/him

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca 
Phone: (782) 321-8811

Alison (Alie) David, MACP, RCT-C 
Pinwheel Wellness Counselling Therapist (part-time) 
Registered Counselling Therapist- Candidate (RCT-C)
Pronouns: she/her

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca 
Phone: (782) 321-8811 

Staff on Leave:

Kirsten Spasyouti, MACP, RCT-C, CCC  
Pinwheel Wellness Counselling Therapist  
Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC) 
 Pronouns: she/her

What is Occupational Therapy? 

Occupational Therapy is a health profession that promotes health through occupations. Occupations refer to activities. These include activities people do to take care of themselves, activities they do for fun, and activities they do that make themselves feel proud. An Occupational Therapist will support a person in doing their everyday occupations by considering the individuals personal, environmental, and occupational health.

Our Occupational Therapy services are free.

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811

Our Occupational Therapy Team:

Adrean Ojoleck, MScOT, Reg. (NS)
Pronouns: they/them

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca 
Phone: (782) 321-8811

Occupational Therapy Student:

Brea Pluta
Student Occupational Therapist
Pronouns: She/Her

What is Social Work?

A social worker supports individuals in accessing and coordinating services that they may find difficult to navigate on their own. Social Workers assist individuals in communicating their needs, empowering individuals by providing them with tools to advocate more effectively and exploring strategies to deal with life challenges.

The Centre’s social workers have mapped out information about various services provided by organizations throughout Nova Scotia. If the Pinwheel Wellness Centre does not offer a service that can support an individual, the Centre’s social workers and/or student(s) will endeavor to give the individual information on a program or service that can; this process is called service navigation.

Our Social Work services are free

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811

Our Social Work Team:  

Pamela Secci, MSW, RSW 
Pinwheel Wellness Centre Intake Coordinator 
Registered Social Worker 
Pronouns: she/her  

Email: pinwheel@autismns.ca
Phone: (782) 321-8811

What is Sexuality Education?

A sexuality educator provides education and training to individuals on sexuality topics in a wide range of settings to people across the lifespan. Sexuality educators develop curriculum, workshops, seminars, deliver programs, and provide individualized educational services to individuals.

Our Current Sexuality Education Programs:

HRSA- Adult Program:  
The HRSA-Adult program is a free Comprehensive Sexuality Education program designed specifically for Autistic adults (ages 19+). This program is delivered both in person and virtually through Zoom, depending on the cohort.

HRSA- Youth Program:  
The HRSA-Youth program is a free Comprehensive Sexuality Education program designed specifically for Autistic youth (ages 15-18). This program is delivered both in person and virtually through Zoom, depending on the cohort.

HRSA-Caregiver Program:  
The HRSA-Caregiver program is a free introductory program to the concepts of Comprehensive Sexuality Education program designed specifically for parents/caregivers of Autistic family members. This program is delivered both in person and virtually through Zoom, depending on the cohort.

Services:

Professional Sexuality & Autism Training:
Autism Nova Scotia provides sexuality related training and education for professionals supporting Autistic people in various settings.
https://campus.autismnovascotia.ca/PreRegister.php 

Free Sexuality Resource Library:
These FREE information sheets are for Autistic people, caregivers, professionals, and anyone who may need accessible information on topics of sexuality and relationships. They were created by sexuality educators, a counselling therapist, and an Autistic advocate. The information sheets are based on comprehensive, sex positive, sexuality education information.
https://www.exploringthespectrum.ca/hrsa-resources 

Sexuality Resource Store:
These for fee lessons, activities, tool kits and resources for Autistic people, caregivers, professionals, and anyone who may need accessible information on topics of sexuality and relationships that are more in-depth and specific to teaching than those in the free resource library. They were created by sexuality educators, a counselling therapist, and an Autistic advocate. The information sheets are based on comprehensive, sex positive, sexuality education information.
https://www.exploringthespectrum.ca/shop-for-resources/healthy-relationships-and-sexuality 

 Our Sexuality Education Team:

Alyssa (Ali) McCulloch, BMSc, MPH    
Healthy Relationships, Sexuality & Autism Coordinator  
HRSA Trained Sexuality Educator
Pronouns: she/her

Email: amcculloch@autismns.ca
Phone: (782) 321-8811

Yevonne Le Lacheur, MEd, MEd, RCT-C, CCC, CS, CSE 
Pinwheel Wellness Centre Director
Registered Counselling Therapist- Candidate (RCT-C)
Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC)
Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE)
Certified Sexologist (CS)
Pronouns: she/her 

Email: yevonne.lelacheur@autismns.ca
Phone: (782) 321-8811

What are Therapy Groups?

Therapy groups at Pinwheel Wellness are facilitated by team members consisting of Counselling Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Sexuality Educators and clinical practicum students. All therapy groups are open to individuals already accessing Pinwheel Wellness Centre services and to individuals interested in obtaining services for the first time (based on eligibility of the group and criteria outlined on the main page).

Therapy groups run for four (4) to eight (8) weeks for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour per session.

All our therapy groups are free.

Are you already getting Services at Pinwheel Wellness Centre?
If an individual is already accessing services at the Centre, they will only need to complete a pre-screen assessment for the program to ensure that it is a good fit for them. This pre-screen will be completed by one of the group facilitators.

New to Services at Pinwheel Wellness Centre?
If an individual is interested in accessing services through Pinwheel Wellness for the first time, they will need to complete an intake meeting with the Centre’s intake coordinator and the pre-screen assessment.

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811

Our Therapy Groups:

Life Skills Therapy Group:
Pinwheel Wellness Centre’s Life Skills Group is a series of eight (8) free virtual sessions providing an opportunity for Autistic adults , across the province of Nova Scotia to learn and develop skills in a group setting.

Anxiety Management Therapy Group:
Pinwheel Wellness Centre’s Anxiety Management Therapy Group is a series of four virtual sessions providing opportunities for Autistic adults who live in Nova Scotia, to learn and develop skills in a group setting.

SibsCONNECT:
Pinwheel Wellness Centre’s SibsCONNECT Group is 12 week in-person program for siblings of Autistic people.

The Pinwheel Wellness Centre hosts clinical placements for variety of students in clinical placements. A placement with the Centre provides direct supervisor from a registered clinician who has experience supporting Autistic people.

Field Placement Offerings: 

Master of Science in Occupational Therapy programs

Master of Education in Counselling Therapy programs

Master of Arts in Counselling Therapy programs

Master of Health Promotion programs

Master of Social Work programs

Bachelor of Health Promotion programs

Bachelor of Education programs

Student Internship Application Process:  

1. Complete the Autism Nova Scotia Student Placement Application:
   If you are interested in completing your student placement with Autism Nova Scotia, please complete this application.

• This application takes about 30-45 minutes to complete
• Once completed the application will be sent directly to our Student Intake Coordinator. They will be in contact with you in 5-7 business days

*Please Note: Applications are reviewed on a “first-come-first-serve” basis.

Autism Nova Scotia requires all of the following information before placement applications will be reviewed. These documents can be uploaded into the application directly:

• Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Check
• Child Abuse Registry Check
• Resume
• School Contract
• Placement package
• Insurance covering placement

Additionally, student applicants will be asked to review and sign the following documents, as part of the application process:

• Confidentiality Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Internet Policy
• Policies and Procedures
• Code of Professional Conduct
• COVID policies
• COVID proof of vaccinations

*Please Note: Applications are not processed until all the information outlined above is provided to the Autism Nova Scotia Student Placement Coordinator.

2. Attend a Student Placement Interview:
Autism Nova Scotia’s Student Intake Coordinator reviews all Student Applications and connects with all student to arrange an interview.

Interviews are held online via zoom at a time that works best for the student and staff facilitating the interview.

This interview is to help Student Intake Coordinator gain an understanding of the student’s background, interests and future career plans. This supports the Student Intake Coordinator in deciding if Autism Nova Scotia is able to offer a placement applicable to the student’s program recruitments.

*Students are asked to bring their school’s placement package and a resume to this interview.

3. Attend Mandatory Student Placement Training:
   All students are required to complete Autism Nova Scotia’s online training module. This will be provided to students after all the interview. Students will be required to upload their certificate of completion to the BetterImpact application.
4. Connect to your Pinwheel Wellness Site Supervisor:

Once all the onboarding is completed the Student Intake Coordinator will connect accepted students to their Autism Nova Scotia Site Supervisor.

For more information, please contact the Autism Nova Scotia Student Intake Coordinator, Kathleen Watson at kwatson@autismns.ca or by calling 902-446-4995.