About Us - EB Building Blocks

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Elaine Bissonnette, Behaviour Consultant

Elaine has close to 40 years of experience working with children and teens diagnosed with ASD and/or other exceptionalities. After earning her DSW diploma from Algonquin College, Elaine worked in several different environments, developing skills ranging from assessment to parent training to intervention, using evidence based practices.
 
Her knowledge of school, community and home-based programs has earned her accolades as an experienced hands-on service provider in the Ottawa-Carleton region.  
 
 
Behaviour Consultant
 
PEERS® Certified Provider

Elizabeth Todd , Intake Coordinator

Elizabeth received a BA in Psychology at the University of Ottawa and a graduate certificate in Autism and Behavioural Science at Algonquin College, Elizabeth joined the Building Blocks Team in 2014 as a PEERS facilitator. She is now the intake coordinator and often the first point of contact for parents. Elizabeth also completed her Masters in Social Work at Carleton University, in 2018 and works as a healthcare social worker, providing youth and adult mental health counselling and supporting patients leaving hospital.




Lynda-Marie Trifilette

Lynda-Marie has a BA in Psychology, Master in Education and a post graduate certificate in Autism and Behavioural Science.  Recently she has qualified as a Registered Behaviour Technician with BACB, and she is a Certified Canadian Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychology Association. Lynda-Marie has close to 20 years working for various school boards and has been a consultant for Building Blocks since 2014 as a facilitator for the teen boys’ social skills program.  For the last 5 years she has been offering presentations to parents regarding 2 new programs that she has developed, Using the IEP Process to Teach Self Advocacy and The Spectrum of Executive Functioning Skills. Lynda-Marie is also a trained LEGO® Facilitator and uses LEGO® to teach social skills.
Heyam Rabaa

Heyam graduated from Algonquin College with honours as a Development Service Worker. Prior to graduating, Heyam began working with children diagnosed with ASD as a therapist implementing in home behavioural programming in teaching communication, social and self help skills.   She continues to co-facilitate in social skill groups with Building Blocks.  In addition to this, Heyam has 7 years of experience working in group homes and has worked as an Educational Assistant in the school board providing one on one support for children in a classroom setting.

Michele Elstone

Michele is currently working at the WQSB as an Autism Consultant. She also worked as a Special Education Technician-ASD and primarily works with students who have ASD and, sometimes, who have other exceptionalities.  Michele worked for 20 years as a Speech and Language Assistant, providing speech and language therapy to children, under the direction of a Speech Pathologist.  She has worked in both the school setting and in private therapy settings. She also worked as a nursery school teacher for children with ASD, and implemented behavioral, communication, social and self-help skills. She has been working with Building Blocks for 7 years.
Karen Cook

Karen has been a facilitator with Building Blocks since 2017, after having received her BA in Linguistics and Psychology at Carleton U and a certificate in Autism and Behavioural Science from Algonquin College. She has since obtained her M.Ed from the University of Ottawa, and completed a synthesis on teaching and learning social skills in a post-pandemic environment. Along with working for Building Blocks, Karen works as a Project Manager with the ACT Foundation, helping high schools across Canada establish CPR and AED training programs for their students.
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