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"When I first saw a child with autism, I had so many questions. It piqued my curiosity."

Jonathan Alderson, of Intensive Multi-Treatment Intervention, develops multifaceted at-home treatment programs for children with autism. He trains parents and therapists to implement them through demonstration and coaching.

"Autism is a mystery," explains Alderson. "People don’t know what causes autism or what to do about it. There are lots of different ideas but no certainty."

"To see a child lie down beside his father, hear a book being read and laugh or point to pictures, that’s a success that keeps me going everyday," says Alderson.

Through his work in education, Alderson has learned that different children have different learning styles and different motivations. As did he when he asked his mother to attend a boarding school outside of Toronto, Ontario.

While at Rosseau Lake College in Rosseau, Ontario, Alderson found the outdoor experiences he was looking for. He experienced rock climbing, winter camping and ice climbing, and would sign out sailboats, windsurfers and kayaks after school.

"These activities enhanced my experience of learning because they motivated me to want to work really hard so I could have that recreation time," explains Alderson.

"The skills I gained from going to Rosseau Lake College were really about application," says Alderson. "Practically applying things in life, which is what my career has turned out to be: taking theories from science and biology and psychology and applying them to treating a child with autism."