Tony Clement's Autism Whopper

Posted by Unknown Posted on 2:56 ص with No comments

"Canada's Government has already begun to address the issues that individuals with ASD and their families are facing."

- Alleged Health Minister Tony Clement, The Tyee, September 1, 2008

Alleged Health Minister Tony Clement has given us quite a whopper with that one. To the extent that individuals with autism spectrum disorders have had their issues addressed in Canada it has been provincial governments, acting in response to parent advocates, that have been responsible. The federal government has done absolutely nothing of substance to help autistic individuals in Canada and Tony Clement should be ashamed of himself for pretending otherwise.

In fact the Canadian government has been counter productive, staging a sham autism conference, in an attempt to marginalize parent autism advocates, and to obscure the clear and compelling autism treatment information provided by responsible, credible American agencies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the New York State Department of Health, the MADSEC (Maine) Autism Task Force and the US Surgeon General. And to add insult to injury the Canadian government has provided a mediocre autism web page.

Contrary to Tony Clement's claim, the truth, the honest truth, is that the Canadian government has done nothing to address the issues that individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families are facing.