About Us
Alysha (she/her) is a passionate advocate for inclusion, accessibility and play-based learning. She has a lifetime of experience working with multi-ability families like her own, and over 10 years of experience working within the inclusion industry. In consultation with multi-ability families across Canada, she aims to fill the gap of individualized and differentiated support to help set families and communities up for success in their everyday lives.
Alysha holds a BHK from the University of Ottawa, as well as a Practitioner Certificate in Solution Based Counselling. She also holds certifications in Differentiated Instruction, Psychological First Aid, Counselling Children and Adolescents, Skill Development Therapy, Inclusive Education, and Stress Reduction for Parents of Special Needs Children.
Why do you do what you do?
Well Family, in partnership with families and communities, helps multi-ability households successfully navigate and thrive at every stage of life by directly addressing the most prominent but significantly under supported issues such as lack of support and community, difficult transitions, inclusive education, community-driven advocacy and mental health and wellness support with a differentiated approach.
The importance of Well Family's commitment to supporting children, youth and adults living with disabilities, their families (parents, caregivers, siblings), those who identify as a multi-ability family, and anyone who aims to support a diverse family, person or household in any capacity (teachers, community program leaders, community-based businesses, etc…) is highlighted by the following statistics.
The Stats
"Just over three quarters (76%) of parents of children with disabilities were very or extremely concerned about managing their children’s behaviours, stress levels, and anxiety and emotions compared with 57% of parents of children without disabilities. This difference is expected since a large proportion of participants (84%) indicated a cognitive, behavioural or emotional disability, which are often associated with stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems (Ogundele, 2018)"
— Stats Canada
“A recent study found that mothers of adolescents and adults with autism had levels of stress hormones comparable to soldiers in combat”
Nearly 1 in 7 Canadians are living with a disability.
More than 200,000 Canadian children are living with a disability.
— Stats Canada
“Children with special needs are going to fewer wellness visits than other children. Without regularly scheduled healthcare visits, caregivers are likely to have significantly limited access to the established therapies that will lead to optimal outcomes for their children over time. While a child may have special needs that can be well managed through pre-pandemic standards-of-care, if caregivers can’t access this care, their children miss out on these supports and may regress in terms of key childhood milestones. Caregivers of children with special needs have fewer social supports than other caregivers.”