Seeing the Unseen: Disability Awareness for Newcomer Families

TIES proposes a disability awareness project for newcomer families in Calgary. Through community information sessions, offered in person, virtually, and in families' first languages, recorded for wider reach, and a dedicated webinar reaching underserved communities outside Calgary, families will learn to recognize the signs of disability, especially invisible disabilities such as autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, speech and language delays, and anxiety, and be connected to the community and government supports they may be eligible for, including TIES's own benefits navigation services, helping families apply for supports such as the Disability Tax Credit, the Canada Disability Benefit, and Alberta's Family Support for Children with Disabilities program. A plain-language guide, translated into French, Arabic, Punjabi, Dari, Spanish, and Urdu, will help families take their first steps toward support as soon as they recognize the signs. This project also builds on and expands our Disability Family Resource Fair.

Invisible disabilities often go unrecognized for years, since they aren't immediately apparent the way a visible disability is, and newcomer families may be especially unfamiliar with how these conditions present, or face cultural stigma around naming a disability at all.

This gap became painfully clear to us this August, following the death of a young boy in our community who was non-verbal and had autism. In response, TIES brought families together for our Disability Family Resource Fair, a single day where over 300 people and 16 organizations came together to offer support. One mother told us there: "Being a mother of a special needs child, it is very difficult. It is very hard to find information. There are thousands of things on the internet, but it is so overwhelming. You don't understand where to start." Another mother described her son this way: "People called my son introverted, antisocial, a loner. Then he was diagnosed with autism, and I finally understood. If I had known earlier, I could have supported him so much more."

This project responds directly to what families have told us they need: clear information, delivered in their own language, in a space where disability, of every kind, can be discussed without stigma or shame.

This project will directly benefit newcomer and immigrant families in Calgary and surrounding communities raising a child with a disability, especially invisible disabilities that are harder to recognize and often go unsupported longer. It will directly reach an estimated 500 newcomer families through a translated resource guide, in-person and virtual community information sessions, a dedicated webinar reaching underserved communities outside Calgary, and an expanded Disability Family Resource Fair, building on our existing Disability Family Resource Fair, which brought together 16 organizations and over 300 attendees this past August.

While TIES's broader disability work supports families regardless of disability type, this project responds to a specific and often overlooked gap: invisible disabilities are harder to recognize than visible ones, and can go unidentified for years, especially in newcomer families who may be unfamiliar with how these conditions present, or who face cultural stigma around naming a disability at all. These families often face a compounding set of barriers beyond recognition itself: language that makes it hard to access information, limited familiarity with Canada's health and education systems, and in some cases, isolation from community supports, particularly for families outside Calgary who may have no access to in-person services at all.

TIES already works closely with this community through our language and settlement programs, our existing parent group for families raising a child with a disability, and our client-led disability advisory group. We also help families apply for supports such as the Disability Tax Credit, the Canada Disability Benefit, and Alberta's Family Support for Children with Disabilities program. Our monthly tax clinic and "Bringing Government to You" events connect families directly with Service Canada and CRA, helping speed up applications.