Our Programs

Ability Online members have 24/7 access to friendship, support, sharing of information and skill development opportunities in a monitored and family-friendly environment. Whether or not it is health related, educational, vocational, or recreation related, there are people of all ages and abilities online waiting to answer questions, or at least point our members in the right direction. To make it easier to find the connections and information you are looking for, we have divided our site into four separate sections: "Kids and Teens", "Young Adults/Alumni", "Parents" and "Professionals" (health care and education).

In the youth section we have divided our online message area into “forums” based on a specific topic. From family pets to medical issues, from life after high school to sports, we even have one to welcome all our new members.

Recognizing that we could provide more than just social support, we started to add skill development opportunities via specific program modules. We started a few years ago with a program feature to address the academic needs of our members. We launched a “Homework Help” portal, with e-tutors ready to answer questions about Science, Math, English, History, Geography and French (geared for grade 4 to grade 12). Great tips are posted, and individual questions are answered. All elements are designed to help our student members learn how to ask for the right kind of help, and how to work through the academic challenges they are experiencing.

Recognizing the social challenges that often impact the academic experience, we have also created our “Bully Bouncers” program to help with bullying on and offline and most recently we have added a social skills program (Friendship Builder) to facilitate the development of social thinking and appropriate social responses both in and out of the classroom.

For the students in high school, we are creating a “Transitions Plus” Program that will guide the students through different modules (e.g. Homework Help) but with a focus on moving from one stage to the next –especially moving to high school or college. Here we will address course options and have career chat nights to help guide our members in meaningful directions.

Wanting to support the fact that high school students need to earn their community service hours, we offer several online volunteer opportunities which can be fulfilled easily from any computer and at times that work with a student's very busy schedule. Check out the “Get Involved” section of our site or contact the office for more information (information@abilityonline.org or call toll free 866-650-6207).

Leadership Opportunities exist for high school students looking to get involved in philanthropic activities. Whether for Grade 10 Civics (and the Youth Philanthropy Initiative) or fundraising for a special cause, we can provide your students with information and tool kits to make  presentations or run successful events and help us keep our program going free of charge for our members and partners as we solely rely on donations to exist. It’s a win-win situation.

We have come a long way from the original bulletin board system started back in 1991, and we look forward to working with our partners to go even further in providing the support required to really help our members be the best that they can be.

So join with us in creating a whole new world of possibilities.