A MODERN FAMILY & PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION
MONTHLY
VOLUME 1  •  ISSUE 1  •  SEPTEMBER 2026

BUILDING CONFIDENT
LEARNERS

for a successful school year
BACK-TO-SCHOOL EDITION

✓ Executive Functioning Explained

✓ Progressive ABA: Myth vs. Fact

✓ Printable Parent Toolbox

Providing the Missing Links to autism education and therapy

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Contents

AM’S CORNER

A Successful School Year Starts With Being Known

A letter from Am Badwall-Brown, Founder, Owner, Executive Director and Clinical Director of Missing Links.

September carries a special kind of energy. New classrooms, new expectations, new people and new routines can bring excitement, but they can also ask a great deal of children and families. The pressure to “start well” can make us focus on backpacks, schedules, completed work and getting everyone out the door on time. Those things matter, but they are not the foundation of a successful school year.

The foundation is whether a learner feels safe enough to participate, understood enough to communicate and confident enough to try.

At Missing Links, we do not measure a successful return to school by how quietly a child sits or how quickly they comply. We look more deeply. Can they ask for help? Can they show us when something is too much? Can they recover after a difficult moment? Can they begin a task, tolerate a mistake, connect with another person and experience genuine success?

These are not “extra” skills. They are the skills that make learning possible.

A child may know the answer but be unable to respond in an unfamiliar classroom. A learner may understand an assignment but struggle to organize the steps needed to begin it. Another child may manage all day at school and arrive home with very little energy left for conversation, homework or evening routines. When we look only at the behaviour we can see, we may miss the effort, uncertainty, sensory demands or executive-functioning challenges underneath it.

This is why a thoughtful start to the school year must involve more than setting expectations. It requires us to build relationships, create predictability, teach routines and make sure learners have meaningful ways to communicate what they need.

It also requires us to remain curious.

Instead of asking only, “How do we get this child to complete the task?” we can ask, “What is making this task difficult?” Instead of assuming that a learner is refusing, we can consider whether the directions are clear, the task feels manageable or the learner knows how to request help. Instead of immediately adding more prompts, we can pause long enough to see what the learner may already be capable of doing independently.

This does not mean removing every expectation or preventing children from experiencing challenge. Learners need opportunities to practise difficult things, make mistakes, solve problems and discover that they can recover. However, challenge should be purposeful and supported. The goal is not to make learning effortless. The goal is to make success understandable and possible.

That distinction is at the heart of Progressive ABA.

Progressive ABA recognizes that meaningful progress cannot be reduced to compliance or the absence of visible behaviour. It considers the whole learner: their communication, regulation, executive functioning, relationships, interests, environment and personal goals. It asks whether the skills being taught will increase the learner’s ability to participate in their own life—not simply make them easier for others to manage.

For families, September can also bring its own pressure. There may be forms to complete, transportation to arrange, new professionals to meet and uncertainty about whether a child’s needs will be understood. Parents may feel responsible for preparing everyone perfectly while also managing work, home and the emotional impact of another transition.

I hope families give themselves permission to begin gradually.

You do not have to solve the entire school year during the first week. Begin with the routines that matter most. Make one sequence more predictable. Help your child identify one person they can approach for support. Practise one useful request, such as “I need help,” “I need more time,” or “Can I take a break?” Notice what is already working and build from there.

Most importantly, remember that progress is rarely a straight line. A learner may manage a routine independently one day and need more support the next. They may appear confident in one environment and uncertain in another. Their ability to use a skill can change with fatigue, stress, sensory demands, illness, motivation and the complexity of the situation. Needing support on a difficult day does not erase previous learning.

As the founder and owner of Missing Links, I remain deeply committed to creating an organization where learners and families feel understood, where staff are encouraged to think beyond surface behaviour, and where programming remains focused on meaningful confidence, communication, participation and independence.

The missing link is never the child. Sometimes the missing link is a clearer teaching approach, a more supportive environment, an accessible way to communicate or an adult willing to pause and look more closely.

As we begin this new school year, my hope is that every learner has opportunities to feel capable, every family feels supported, and every educator remains curious about what each child needs in order to thrive.

A successful school year does not begin with perfect compliance. It begins when a learner knows: I am understood. I have a voice. I can ask for help. I can learn difficult things. I can make mistakes and try again.

That is the kind of confidence we want to build—this September and throughout every stage of life.

Warmly,

Am Badwall-Brown, Ph.D., BCBA, R.B.A. (Ont.), OCT
Founder, Owner, Executive Director and Clinical Director
Missing Links

“Our goal is not simply to help learners meet expectations. It is to help them understand themselves, use their voice and experience their own capability.”

A gentler September question

Instead of asking only, “Did my child have a good day?” try asking: “What helped you feel comfortable today?” or “When did you feel proud of yourself?”

SIGNATURE SECTION

Executive Functioning Explained

The “management system” behind starting, remembering, organizing, shifting, monitoring and completing everyday tasks.

Executive functioning is not one skill. It is a group of mental processes that help us turn an intention into action. A child may understand what homework is, genuinely want to finish it and still struggle to begin, hold the steps in mind, ignore distractions, manage frustration or recognize when the work is complete.

The core skills

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CONTINUED

When “Lazy” Is the Wrong Explanation

Parents and educators may see unfinished work, lost belongings, repeated reminders, poor time awareness or an emotional response to a small change and conclude that a child is lazy, careless or unmotivated. But knowing what to do is different from organizing the brain and behaviour needed to do it.

Common signs

·    Needs many reminders to begin familiar tasks

·    Can explain the plan but cannot carry it out

·    Loses track of materials, time or steps

·    Becomes stuck when the original plan changes

·    Rushes, misses details or does not check work

·    Waits for an adult even when capable of part of the task

·    Appears inconsistent—independent one day and highly supported the next

Strategies families can use

Externalize the plan: Use checklists, visual schedules, calendars and timers.

Shrink the starting point: Define the first action: “Open the document and type your name.”

Create a launch cue: Use the same location, materials and brief start phrase.

Use body doubling: Work nearby while the learner begins, then fade your presence.

Build in review: Teach “stop, check, fix” rather than correcting every error for them.

Reflect without shame: Ask what helped, what got in the way and what to change next time.

How Progressive ABA teaches executive functioning

We identify the specific skill and barrier, teach the task in meaningful contexts, make invisible steps visible, arrange successful practice, reinforce growing independence, collect information about what works and gradually fade adult support. The aim is not to create dependence on a perfect schedule. It is to help the learner develop tools they can understand, choose and use across real life.

PROGRESSIVE ABA

Myth vs. Fact

Six common assumptions—and a more accurate, respectful way to understand support.

MYTH 1: ABA is only for young children.
FACT: Behaviour-analytic teaching can support meaningful skills across the lifespan, including self-advocacy, relationships, learning, employment, daily living and community participation.

MYTH 2: Reinforcement is bribery.
FACT: Bribery is usually offered during a problem to stop it. Thoughtful reinforcement is planned, connected to a meaningful skill and gradually adjusted as independence and natural outcomes grow.

MYTH 3: Autistic people do not want friends.
FACT: Social interest and social expression vary. Some people want many relationships, some prefer a small circle, and others value more solitude. Support should honour the person’s own goals.

MYTH 4: Eye contact proves engagement.
FACT: A learner may listen, think and connect without looking directly at a speaker. We should measure meaningful attention and participation, not force a specific appearance.

MYTH 5: Behaviour always means defiance.
FACT: Behaviour may communicate confusion, pain, overload, avoidance, a need for attention, limited access to communication or a skill that has not yet been taught.

MYTH 6: Progressive ABA means having no expectations.
FACT: Respectful practice can include clear boundaries and ambitious goals. Progressive ABA emphasizes assent, dignity, individualization, meaningful outcomes and teaching—not control for its own sake.

ASK AM

Three Questions Families Ask Most

Practical answers rooted in Progressive ABA, family reality and respect for the learner.

“My child hates homework. What should I do?”

Start by identifying what “hates homework” is telling you. Is the work too difficult, too long, unclear or arriving after the child has used all their capacity at school? Check whether they need food, movement, quiet or connection before another demand. Then reduce the launch: one visible task, a defined finish and a planned break. Instead of “Do your homework,” try “Let’s choose the first five-minute job.” Reinforce beginning, asking for help and returning after a break—not only completing everything.

Try this language

“Show me the part that feels hardest.”  •  “Do you want help starting or help checking?”  •  “Let’s decide what finished looks like.”

“My child won’t make friends. Should I push more?”

First separate the adult’s worry from the child’s own goals. Some children want connection but need support with initiation, shared interests, flexibility or repairing misunderstandings. Others genuinely prefer less social contact. Create low-pressure, interest-based opportunities with one compatible peer. Teach specific skills in the activity itself, and measure success by comfort, reciprocity and choice—not by the number of friends.

ASK AM CONTINUED

“How Much Should I Prompt?”

Use the least amount of help that allows meaningful success, then reduce that help as soon as you can. Too little support can create repeated failure; too much can teach the learner to wait for an adult.

A simple prompting ladder

1. Pause: Give time to process and begin.

2. Environmental cue: Point to the checklist, materials or natural signal.

3. Brief verbal or gestural cue: “Check the next step,” or gesture toward it.

4. Model: Show the action once.

5. More direct support: Use only when needed for learning, access or safety, and plan how it will be faded.

Watch for these signs

You may be prompting too quickly
The learner looks at you before trying, waits passively, or completes the skill only after the same cue.

You may need more support
The learner repeatedly guesses, becomes distressed, cannot locate the first step, or practises the task incorrectly.

The fading question

After success, ask yourself: “What is one small piece of my help I can remove next time?”

Have a question for Ask Am? Submit it through www.missinglinks.ca. Questions may be edited for length and answered without identifying information.

PULL OUT AND USE

Parent Toolbox

Four quick tools for the school week. Copy, photograph or remove this page.

Make the visual schedule work

Use only the number of steps the learner can scan successfully. Show “finished.” Let the learner check, move or cross off each step. If the schedule creates more conflict than clarity, simplify it.

MEET AM

The Founder Behind Missing Links

Meet Am Badwall-Brown: behaviour analyst, educator, author and the founder, owner and clinical leader of Missing Links.

AM
BADWALL-BROWN

Ph.D. • BCBA
R.B.A. (Ont.) • OCT

Founder • Owner • Executive Director • Clinical Director

Am leads the vision, clinical direction and continued growth of Missing Links. Her work brings together behaviour analysis, education, leadership and a deep commitment to helping people build skills that matter in their actual lives.

Why Am created Missing Links

Am founded Missing Links from a belief that the gap is not within the learner. Too often, the missing link is found in the systems surrounding them: a teaching approach that has not been individualized, a communication need that has not been understood, a transition that has not been prepared for, or an opportunity that ends before the person is finished growing.

That belief continues to shape the organization today. Missing Links was built to offer thoughtful, progressive support across ages and stages of life, support that recognizes strengths, teaches meaningful skills and remains responsive to the whole person.

Her approach to Progressive ABA

Am’s clinical leadership emphasizes dignity, assent, self-advocacy, communication, confidence and genuine participation. She believes that strong behaviour-analytic practice should look beyond surface behaviour, ask what a learner is communicating, identify the skills or supports that may be missing, and create respectful pathways toward greater independence.

“The missing link is never the child. Our responsibility is to understand what support, teaching or opportunity will help that learner move forward.”

Beyond the centre

In addition to leading Missing Links, Am contributes to the broader autism and behaviour-analytic communities through consultation, governance, training, writing and the Progressive ABA Network podcast. She is also the co-author of Abandoning Traditional Autism Programming with a Modern Approach. Her vision is for Missing Links to keep growing as a centre of excellence known for innovative programming, meaningful family partnership, professional training and support across the lifespan.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

What Actually Happens in an Executive Functioning Session?

Not a worksheet hour. A guided practice space where learners build tools for real tasks, real choices and real life.

 1. ARRIVE & CHECK IN
The learner identifies energy, emotions, priorities and anything likely to affect the session.

2. REVIEW THE PLAN
Learner and clinician make the session visible, estimate time and decide where choice is possible.

3. LEARN ESSENTIAL SKILLS
The focus may be starting, planning, organizing, flexible thinking, self-monitoring, time awareness or asking for help.

4. PRACTISE IN CONTEXT
The learner applies the skill to homework, an email, a project, a personal goal, a conversation or a daily-living responsibility.

5. REFLECT & ADJUST
What worked? What got in the way? Which support was useful? What should change next time?

6. PLAN FOR GENERALIZATION
The learner chooses one manageable way to use the tool at home, school, work or in the community.

What families may notice over time

More independent starts • clearer help-seeking • improved awareness of time and materials • greater ability to recover from mistakes • better use of personalized tools • less dependence on repeated adult reminders

Interested in learning more?  Visit www.missinglinks.ca

FAMILY SUCCESS STORY

The Backpack Breakthrough

One learner. One meaningful change. One lesson about independence.

Every afternoon, one learner arrived home exhausted. Their backpack landed by the door. Forms disappeared, lunch containers stayed inside, and every reminder from a parent made the situation more tense. The family initially described the concern as “not taking responsibility.”

When the team looked more closely, the learner could explain every part of the after-school routine. The difficulty was not knowledge. It was initiation, sequencing and regulation after a demanding school day.

The support

·    Ten minutes of decompression before any backpack demand
·    A three-step visual placed beside the bag: lunch container, communication folder, charging device
·    Materials stored exactly where each item needed to go
·    One neutral cue—“Check your landing list”—instead of repeated instructions
·    Specific recognition for independent starts and honest help requests

The breakthrough

At first, the learner completed the list with a parent nearby. Then the adult moved farther away. Eventually, the learner came home, took the planned break and began checking the list without being told. The breakthrough was not a perfectly organized backpack. It was the learner recognizing: “I know how to start this.”

“Independence grew when the adults stopped repeating the outcome and started teaching the pathway.”

The lesson

If a learner can tell you what to do but cannot consistently do it, look at executive functioning, regulation and environmental supports before assuming a lack of responsibility.

This composite story is anonymized and reflects common clinical patterns; details have been changed to protect privacy.

COMMUNITY CORNER

Useful Beyond Our Doors

Ideas and resources to help families stay connected, informed and supported.

September at Missing Links

·    Fall programming registration is open.
·    Individualized ABA services, adult programming, executive-functioning, communication and social-learning options are available based assessment of need and schedule
·    Missing Links is closed Aug 31- Sept 4 and Labour Day, September 7, 2026. Regular programming resumes Tuesday, September 8.

Book recommendation

The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene : A widely known introduction to looking beyond “won’t” and considering the skills and problems that make expectations hard to meet. Families can use its collaborative spirit alongside individualized professional guidance.

Podcast recommendation

Progressive ABA Network: Conversations between Am Badwall-Brown and Michael Daniels about behaviour analysis, education, clinical practice and building supports that remain responsive to the whole person.

Explore in the community

·    Check Autism Ontario’s events calendar for current virtual and local family opportunities.
·    Ask your public library about sensory-friendly programs, quiet study spaces, adaptive technology and accessible borrowing options.
·    Use community activities as practice grounds for real skills: ordering, asking for help, managing waiting, checking a schedule and making choices.

Before attending an event

Preview the location • identify an exit or quiet space • bring communication and regulation tools • decide what a successful visit could realistically look like • make leaving early an acceptable plan

Event availability can change. Confirm dates, eligibility and registration with the organizer.

THIS MONTH’S HOME TOOLKIT

The Five-Day Successful-Start Reset

One small routine each day. Repeat the week whenever your family needs a reset.

My family’s reset plan

Routine we chose: ____________________________________________________

What the learner will see/use: ____________________________________________________

First prompt we will try: ____________________________________________________

One sign of progress we will notice: ____________________________________________________

Keep the goal human-sized

A successful routine does not have to be fast, silent or perfect. It should become clearer, more manageable and increasingly owned by the learner.

COMING NEXT MONTH

Helping Children Understand Big Emotions

October 2026 • Emotional regulation, flexibility and practical preparation for seasonal change.

EMOTIONAL REGULATION
What regulation really means—and why calm cannot simply be demanded.

HALLOWEEN PREPARATION
Costumes, surprises, social expectations, sensory needs and a flexible plan.

FLEXIBLE THINKING
How to practise change without creating unnecessary distress.

SENSORY SUPPORTS
Using observation and learner input to plan supportive environments.

NEW PARENT TOOLKIT
Printable tools for identifying body signals, needs and individualized coping options.

PROVIDING THE MISSING LINKS TO AUTISM EDUCATION AND THERAPY

Missing Links Monthly provides general educational information and is not a substitute for individualized clinical, educational or medical advice.