ANCA Consulting has been providing services to autistic individuals and their families since 1995. We were the first company in BC to specialize in autism services and support. ANCA is created and run by autistic people, demonstrating an understanding of autism gleaned from real life experience; and an expertise derived from 22 years of supporting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. Combined we have over 60 years of experience providing services to the autism and special abilities communities.
ANCA provides training and consultation services to a variety of organizations, from school districts and teachers, to various government ministries and their staff, to non-profit organizations and societies servicing the autistic community. Through teaching, seminars and workshops, we have served more than 2,000 people.
Through our various programs and initiatives such as the ANCA World Autism Festival and International Naturally Autistic People Awards, we now reach out to some 30 countries world-wide with people from 123 countries visiting our website daily.
Leonora Gregory-Collura
President, ANCA Consulting Inc., Co-Founder of ANCA Foundation, Naturally Autistic magazine and President of the ANCA World Autism Festival, INAP AWARDS and Autistic Peoples Federation
Diagnosed in the early 1990’s, Leonora is a graduate Teacher from London’s Royal Ballet; a teacher, choreographer, writer, lecturer, consultant and co-founder of ANCA Consulting Inc. and the non-profit ANCA Foundation.
Leonora’s writings and direct teaching on the cognitive development of autistic children have made her a sought after teacher and speaker.
Her tireless support of autistic children and adults has impacted greatly on the lives of Autistic People throughout Canada, the U.S.A. and in the past 8 years, the world! Leonora has been teaching children and adults for over 40 years.
Charlie Collura
Vice President, ANCA Consulting Inc. and Co-Founder of ANCA Foundation
Self-identified, Charlie is a graduate of McMaster University and is the co-founder of ANCA Consulting and the non-profit ANCA Foundation.
Charlie is an educator, workshop presenter, writer and consultant. He has twenty years of experience working with autistic children and adults in the public school, group home, community and consulting settings.
Tim Pylypiuk
Tim has been with ANCA since 1996. He is a facilitator with the ANCA Group, writes reports for the directors, and facilitates the ADSS program for selected clients. Tim speaks at various workshops and assists with ANCA training sessions.
Tim is a writer and performance artist; putting on one man shows related to being autistic. He has written and published articles about being autistic.
Since graduating high school, he has attended ANCA, taught yoga, written for the East Cultural Center Newspaper and Just Business People Canada Magazine. Presently he is on the Board of Directors for the West Coast Mental Health Network.
Tim runs his weekly radio Drama Show on ANCA radio each saturday and one Saturday a month he has a Writer’s Block show with his co-host Editor, Robert Delaney
Nicholas Mitchell
Nicholas Joined ANCA in 2005 and is a facilitator and speaker for the ANCA Group, and also facilitates the ADSS program.
A recent high school graduate, Nicholas has spent over 5 years as a carpenter and cabinet maker.
He is an outdoor enthusiast; past member of Scouts, Ventures and is now a certified member of the Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue.
Being a talented auto mechanic and certified Lifeguard are among his many interests and pursuits.
“The Autistic Paradigm – from the inside out™”
When we started our Naturally Autistic® ANCA® journey, I had one particular question in my mind and that was ‘how was it that our son Anthony did not demonstrate inappropriate behaviours?’ and associating to that question was ‘why was Anthony naturally sociable?’
Over the course of the years that followed, I soon learned what separated the autistic child from the child with autism. For myself and the many autistic people and families we have served at ANCA, the autistic paradigm became the key to this understanding.
Upon launching ANCA, we felt it necessary to meet with young and mature autistic adults, to get a sense of each of our respective experiential history. I learned that the human condition is complex and not as simple as labelling. The personal underlying experiences would hold many answers as I found out from the group we were supporting.
We examined our lives and created four themes which later would become the foundation for our training program “The Autistic Paradigm – from the Inside Out”. Those four themes, Communication, Environment, Structure and Individuation, is how we approach all of our programs and services from our Educational Workshops & Professional Training Programs, Playworks program, the Autistic Developmental Support Systems program, the ANCA® Groups, Consultations, annual group events and the ANCA® Plan.
So, how does ANCA® define the Autistic Paradigm?
ANCA® focuses on “how” the autistic mind processes information – a mental/cognitive processing map that is unique and distinct to all autistic people – children, teens and adults.
By understanding the communications process that autistic people naturally have to work with and supporting this unique, inherent process, inappropriate behaviors dissipate. These behaviors are often a form of communication in an effort for the autistic individual to communicate and express themselves.
Mya Fortin, an ANCA parent for over 12 years expresses how this worked for her during a television interview in 2000. She stated Cole successfully graduated from High School with a leadership award, scholarship and bursary to attend College in January 2011. He has had various jobs during High School and is currently working, saving up his money for when he starts College. Cole continues to attend ANCA® Group and events and is beginning his own journey of self discovery as an adult.
To hear and see the whole interview , join our FREE Community membership on our website at https://www.naturallyautistic.com and click “Media tab” to view this interview and to hear Mya’s understanding and application of the ‘Autistic Paradigm – from the Inside Out’.
ANCA® was founded in 1995 by Charlie Collura and myself, Leonora Gregory-Collura. The organization values compassion, understanding and diversity. The company is driven by a desire to help children and their families grow and develop together naturally. As well, Charlie and I formed the ANCA® Foundation in 1998 to provide additional support through information, education and public awareness through annual conferences, camp-outs and cultural events.
ANCA® is unique in that it understands the autistic mind from the “inside out”. All support staff are autistic and understand autism through both self-examination and extensive work with clients and can speak to the success of the ANCA® approach and “The Autistic Paradigm.”
With 21 years of documented success in providing support, ANCA® has worked with hundreds of autistic individuals and their families. Our organization has put on numerous workshops, training and speaking engagements throughout North America to audiences including community living associations/societies, school districts and clinical professionals. Reaching over 2,000 people with our teachings, Charlie and Leonora, together, have over 60 years experience working in the field of special needs and autism.
ANCA®’s mission is to support the natural development of autistic people by providing education and training to autistic individuals, their families, and the community at large.
ANCA®’s Philosophy – ANCA® values compassion, understanding and diversity. The company is driven by a desire to help autistic children and their families grow and develop together, naturally – Naturally Autistic®.
| Diversity | Everyone processes differently and has a unique contribution to make to society |
| Understanding | Learning to understand one another is the key to effective communication |
| Compassion | Service to others makes the world a better place |
What people are saying about ANCA®
“I feel very confident to recommend ANCA Consulting Inc. As a member of the Early Childhood Educators Community, I am very excited that an opportunity exists to promote a shared understanding between parents and professionals that recognizes each child’s uniqueness and our need to honor their diversity.” – Patricia Hilton, Preschool teacher, North Vancouver, BC, Canada.
“Learning about autism from autistic people, I can’t think of a better way to learn.” – Teachers and support staff, Langley School District, Langley, BC, Canada.
“It helped me understand why some of the kids I work with, do the things they do.” – North Shore District, Resource Center, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What I liked about the workshop: “The insights into thought processes and the normalizing of autism…” – Teachers and support staff, Langley School District, Langley, BC, Canada.
“…We were challenged in a kind way to rethink misconceptions we may have had.” – Applied Psychology Group, Surrey, BC, Canada.
To view more about our work you can join our You Tube channel called naturallyautistic and you can view the following 5 videos the most recent being the inaugural international Naturally Autistic People Awards slide show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MY6iU7eAk and one of our ANCA videos of our work culminating in our “Year in Review” which was also shown at the awards event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MY6iU7eAk
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Nominated as ‘BEST DOCUMENTARY’ by the Hoboken International Film Festival, NY, USA
Official Film Trailer CONNECTED: A Film About Autistic People
OUR ANCA Radio SHOW page – Online BlogTalkRadio link
Subscribe to our international Naturally Autistic magazine page
