About Saima
The child shows us how they learn; the relationship determines how well they continue to learn.
I am a first-generation Canadian, born in Scotland and primarily raised and educated in Pakistan. I am a non-practising physician with training in pediatrics, an autism consultant, and the mother of an adult son, Qasim, who has Level 3 autism with significant sound sensitivities.
My journey in autism began not professionally, but as a parent in the late 1990s, trying to understand how my own child experienced and learned from the world around him.
Following Qasim's diagnosis, we pursued early intervention services in Hamilton, Ontario, including speech-language therapy and Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention. However, the approaches available to us at the time did not adequately meet his needs. I eventually left my medical residency and began developing a child-centered, home-based learning program shaped around his sensory profile, interests, communication, and ways of learning.
Through ongoing research, observation, and adaptation, I drew from established approaches and resources including the Lovaas-based teaching and ABLLS-R, DIR/Floortime, Hanen, and TEACCH. Over time, Qasim developed foundational visual communication and learning skills that he was able to carry into his preschool environment. More importantly, this experience taught me something that has continued to shape my work: before deciding how to teach a child, we first need to understand how that child learns.
When our family relocated to Northern British Columbia in 2001, we encountered new challenges. As Qasim's learning and emotional well-being became increasingly difficult to support within the local school environment, I chose to homeschool him through BC distance education.
At the same time, I began supporting other local families of children on the autism spectrum. What began informally grew into professional work with families and community services. My work was recognized first through the Ministry of Children and Family Development and later through Autism Community Training. I was recognized as a Behaviour Consultant and included on the Registered Autism Service Provider (RASP) List to support families in Northern BC.
To strengthen the educational and behavioural foundations of my work, I studied principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis and special education at the University of British Columbia, including studies under Dr. Pat Mirenda. These experiences added to, rather than replaced, what I had learned through years of observing children closely and adapting teaching to the individual learner.
In 2013, our family moved to Nanaimo to better support Qasim's transition into adult services. I continued working with school-aged children across a wide range of abilities and support needs. In 2018, I brought many years of observation, assessment, teaching, and program development together in AAPT: Autism Skill Assessment and Programming Tools, a structured curriculum and training resource registered with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Since 2000, I have also been actively involved in autism and disability advocacy, parent initiatives, professional training, and community education in British Columbia and beyond. Over the years, I have worked with and contributed to organizations and community groups including Autism Community Training, the Family Support Institute, Plan Institute, Nanaimo Association for Community Living, Diverse Family Roots, and the Pakistan Autism Meetup Group, as a parent or member first, and later in staff, consultant, board, and volunteer roles.
Today, my work is grounded in a strength-based, child-centered and relationship-centered approach. I believe that understanding begins with the individual child: their sensory experiences, communication, interests, abilities, and ways of processing the world. But meaningful support also requires us, as adults, to examine how we communicate, what we expect, and how we build relationships that make learning feel safe and relevant.
The child shows us how they learn;
the relationship determines how well they continue to learn.
My goal is to help parents, professionals, and paraprofessionals become informed partners in that process. Through workshops, webinars, consultation, and accessible educational resources, I hope to create a space where families and professionals can learn from one another while keeping the individual child at the centre of every decision.
Consultation Services
My current professional focus is on education and empowerment: supporting families, professionals, support teams, and communities to better understand autism, recognize individual strengths and needs, and develop meaningful, individualized approaches to support.
While much of my work is now focused on education, consultation, workshops, and capacity-building, I remain available to work with a limited number of individual clients at any given time. This allows me to provide thoughtful, individualized attention while continuing to support families and the broader community through education and knowledge-sharing.
RASP status
I am not currently listed on the Registered Autism Service Provider (RASP) List by choice. My decision reflects the direction and focus of my current practice rather than a change in my commitment to supporting children, families, and their support teams.
My consultation practice is guided by professional standards, ethical practice, respect for individual differences, confidentiality, and a commitment to collaborative, family-centered support. Please see the Consultant, Approach and Plan for further details.
For further information or to discuss consultation availability, please contact Saima Ijaz at sijaz@autismsolutions.info.
Preparing for a consultation
Complete the relevant forms to share information about the child and prepare for an individual consultation. Send completed forms to sijaz@autismsolutions.info.