Alex
“My doctor just told me that I have autism.”
Imagine that was the first thing a young person said to you when they arrived at school one morning.
Alex felt confused and overwhelmed with their recent diagnosis.
The caring adults in the Take a Hike program were there to help Alex process the news. At first, there were more questions than answers to what having autism meant for Alex.
At first, there were more questions than answers to what having autism meant for Alex.
“What will my peers think about me when they find out?”
“Do I have to leave the Take a Hike program?”
“Where am I on the spectrum? What does neurodivergent even mean?”
“Is that why I’ve had such a hard time focusing on my schoolwork?”
“Who will hire someone like me one day?”
What happened next was truly amazing.
“I don’t know,” admitted the mental health clinician in Alex’s program. “But let’s figure it out together.”
Amid the uncertainty, what became clear to Alex was that they wouldn’t have to navigate their autism diagnosis alone.
The mental health clinician listened to Alex’s concerns and validated how uncomfortable the “not knowing” felt. She assured Alex that they could learn about neurodivergence together, getting a book the next day from the library for them to read and unpack the new information together.
The teacher in the program had experience working with youth with autism and led a discussion around how Alex learns best and what adaptations could be made to the classroom environment to better support them.
In their daily individual counselling sessions, Alex and the clinician would read a chapter of the book about autism. They started with the early stages and slowly worked their way through the rest of the chapters. Together, they pulled out relevant information from the book and used sticky notes to add their observations, feelings, and ideas to a large poster paper chart. Alex began to visualize what living with autism could look like and how they might manage their unique skills and challenges at home, school, and beyond.
This is what we mean when we say we walk alongside youth at Take a Hike.
The Take a Hike team made the time and space within Alex’s school days to explore their neurodivergence diagnosis. It was framed as “let’s learn about this together” and empowered Alex to discover what works best for them, instead of receiving generalized practices from someone who didn’t know what Alex’s day-to-day life looked like.
The Take a Hike environment and team helped Alex see themself as capable, resilient, and worthy of a bright future. Alex felt safe and supported.
That shift in perspective changed everything. Alex no longer viewed autism as a barrier, but rather as part of who they are—someone with strengths, unique ways of learning, and so much potential.
You can help make sure more youth like Alex have the support they need to thrive.