The Portia Learning Centre

01/29/2026

Staff Highlight: Tianna Gabriel 💙

Tianna has been a valued member of the Portia team since November 2024, bringing energy, creativity, and a consistently positive presence to her work with learners.

She approaches therapy with a fun, child-centred, and engaging style, helping children feel motivated, supported, and confident as they build new skills.

Tianna is currently studying Cognitive Science and has a strong interest in speech and language development, which informs her thoughtful and responsive approach during therapy sessions.

Combined with her background in tutoring and education, Tianna brings creativity, flexibility, and enthusiasm to every session. Her dedication, compassion, and commitment to making learning meaningful and enjoyable make her a valued member of our Portia community. 💙

01/27/2026

Zeinab has been a valued member of the Portia team since 2024 and has recently surpassed her one-year anniversary with us!

She is now a Supervised Lead Therapist at our Ottawa East location where she ensures a compassionate, creative, and welcoming environment for both clients and staff. Zeinab also provides exceptional 1:1 therapy for our clients and prioritizes a supportive and fun atmosphere for all learners to be a part of.

Zeinab holds her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Developmental Psychology. She is eager to continue studying developmental disorders and how best to support children with these diagnoses.

01/22/2026

Celebrating 20 Years of The Portia Learning Centre 💙

Founded in Ottawa in 2006, The Portia Learning Centre was created with a simple belief: every child deserves the chance to thrive.

From the beginning, we embraced naturalistic, child-led teaching and brought together behaviour analysts, psychologists, and therapists to care for the whole child, not just goals on paper.

Twenty years later, we’ve grown from one location to four centres across Ontario, including three in Ottawa and one in Whitby.

We’re still family-owned, still guided by the same values, and still honoured to support children and families at every step of their journey. 🤝

Thank you to the families who have trusted us over the past 20 years. Here’s to many more years of learning through play and unlocking potential!

01/20/2026

🌟 Team Spotlight: Mamrin Khan 🌟
📍 Whitby Location

Mamrin has been a valued member of the Portia team since 2023 and is approaching two years with us this February. Over the past year, she has stepped into the role of Lead Therapist at our Whitby location, where she continues to make a meaningful impact on both clients and colleagues.

With a strong academic background in Human Biology and Psychology, complemented by training in Mental Health Management, Mamrin brings a thoughtful, strengths-based approach to supporting neurodevelopmental needs. She is deeply passionate about advocacy and is committed to supporting and mentoring her peers within the centre.

Mamrin is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Applied Health Sciences at Western University, further reflecting her dedication to continuous learning and excellence in care.

We are grateful for Mamrin’s leadership, compassion, and commitment to our Portia community — and we’re excited to continue this journey with her! 💙

01/14/2026

Understanding Masking in Autism 💙

At The Portia Learning Centre, we’re committed to continuous learning.

Recently, our staff completed a workshop exploring autism spectrum disorder in more depth, including an important topic many families may not fully understand: masking (also called camouflaging).

Masking is a coping strategy that many autistic people use (sometimes consciously, sometimes without even realizing it) to hide or reduce their autistic traits to meet social expectations or “blend in.”

Common examples include:
🔵 Forcing or maintaining eye contact when it feels uncomfortable
🔵 Suppressing stimming behaviours (like fidgeting or hand-flapping)
🔵 Smiling or laughing when others do, even without fully understanding the joke
🔵 Rehearsing conversations or scripting responses beforehand
🔵 Copying others’ facial expressions or body language
🔵 Holding back from sharing special interests to seem more “typical”

Why it matters: While masking might help someone "fit in," it can lead to burnout, increased anxiety, delayed diagnosis, and difficulties forming authentic relationships.

Our approach? We create safe, accepting environments where children don't need to mask. We celebrate their authentic selves while building skills that truly support their wellbeing.

This is just one example of how our team stays at the forefront of evidence-based, compassionate autism support.

💙 Every child's communication journey is unique. Let's find the right path for yours.

Book a free screening today:https://www.portialearning.com/book-free-screening/

01/12/2026

🌟 MEET THE TEAM: Razan Bastaki 🌟
Clinical Coordinator, BA., Psych.

Since joining The Portia Learning Centre in 2022, Razan has been an integral member of our team, bringing her background in Psychology from Concordia University and her passion for child development to every aspect of her work.

In her role as Clinical Coordinator, Razan oversees staff recruitment and leads the training and onboarding of future Instructor Therapists, ensuring our team continues to grow with skilled, compassionate professionals. She also works closely with families who are continuing their services at Portia and manages all client contract renewals with care and attention to detail.

Razan’s greatest joy comes from teaching meaningful skills that make a lasting impact—both for her clients and their families.

Thank you, Razan! 💙

01/08/2026

📣 Help Shape The PP-SIG Empowerment Series 📣
The Private Providers Special Interest Group is gathering feedback from private practice professionals to ensure our upcoming Empowerment Series reflects the real needs of Ontario’s ABA community.
📝 Share your perspective as a business owner, clinician, or private practitioner by completing our short survey:
👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5wqpG-fnO_D6KN7jqfwZX5Z0nnBjn-xwJyy6j8jTbTixV2A/viewform
📢 Please share with other private providers!

Purpose: The Private Providers SIG is developing our upcoming Empowerment Series, and we want to ensure these sessions reflect the real needs of Ontario’s private ABA community. Your feedback will directly guide our planning. We already have two upcoming sessions in development: Immigration - supp...

01/01/2026

Happy New Year from The Portia Learning Centre! 🎉

To every parent, caregiver, and family member who has trusted us on your journey: thank you for allowing us to be part of your child's growth and development. Your dedication, resilience, and partnership inspire us every day!

To our amazing team of behaviour analysts, therapists, and support staff: your compassion, creativity, and commitment to helping every child reach their full potential truly embodies the spirit of what we do.

Here's to new growth, new achievements, and continuing to help every child reach their full potential as we head into our 20th year in 2026. 💙

12/25/2025

Happy Holidays from The Portia Learning Centre 🎄

Whether it's reading stories by the tree, baking cookies, playing in the snow, or simply enjoying quiet moments of connection, we hope your holidays are filled with warmth, laughter, and all the little traditions that make this season magical.

To all the families we work with and our wonderful team: may your holidays be filled with love, rest, and plenty of happy memories with those who matter most!

12/22/2025

This weekend, our East End location was filled with joy as we hosted our annual Holiday Respite program!

For one special Saturday each holiday season, we open our doors at each centre to provide FREE respite care for our Portia families. While parents tackled holiday shopping, errands, or simply enjoyed a well-deserved break, our amazing team kept the kids engaged with fun activities and festive cheer.

Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces reminds us why we love this tradition so much. It's our small way of giving back to the incredible families who trust us year-round.

Thank you to our dedicated staff who made this day possible! 💚❤️

12/18/2025

🎙️ New Podcast Alert!

🎧 Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYIxNHLJAVE

We are thrilled to share that our very own Charlene Gervais was recently featured on The Flex podcast with host Scott Herbst.

In this insightful episode, Charlene dives deep into the realities of leadership in the field of ABA.

She shares her journey from working 1:1 in homes to overseeing clinical innovation, and the lessons learned along the way.

As Charlene puts it, leadership is like a "mountain with no top"—the goal isn't just to arrive, but to continually climb, adapt, and improve the quality of care for our learners.