From Hanging In to Hanging Out: Creative Ways to Support Friendships for Neurodivergent Kids and Teens

📅 Friday, October 23, 2026 | 🕘 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM 📍 Parkview Manor, Toronto (North York), ON Early Bird Rate: $350 CAD on now (ends Aug. 31st) Research tells us that having just one or two close friends has a significant impact on building positive self-esteem and independence, as well as handling stress, depression, and anxiety. Yet, many neurodivergent individuals struggle to make fulfilling social connections. This unique, 1-day workshop explores neurodiversity-affirming strategies to support highly verbal neurodivergent individuals to develop personally meaningful relationships. Designed specifically for professionals supporting Autistic individuals and/or those diagnosed with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental differences, this course focuses on bridging the gap between clinical theory and everyday practice. This course provides 6 hours of professional development. What We Will Cover Morning Sessions: A discussion into foundational friendship pillars, including promoting regulation, exploring authentic interests, and supporting genuine connection during play. Afternoon Sessions: We will build directly on these themes with an actionable focus on creating personalized, collaborative, strengths-based goals, alongside frameworks to coach invested adults to help kids and teens thrive with friends. This workshop focuses on supporting individuals with well-developed verbal language skills. Meet Your Presenters Learn from three registered Ontario Speech-Language Pathologists who bring extensive clinical experience to this topic: Lanni Zinberg-Swartz, M.Sc.(A), S-LP (C), Reg. CASLPO Lisa Drake, M.Cl.Sc., Reg. CASLPO Lauren Lowry, M.Sc.(A), Reg. CASLPO Registration Details: 🎟️ Early Bird Rate: $350.00 CAD Includes full day workshop access, continuous all-day beverage refreshment station, morning snack break, a full lunch buffet, and afternoon pastries/trail mix station. Regular ticket price begins September 1st: $399.00 CAD Registration is strictly limited to room capacity to maintain an interactive environment.