October is Autism Awareness Month in Canada, Canadian Government Still Doing Nothing Eh Mike Lake?

October is Autism Awareness Month in Canada.  You would never know it based on the contribution made by Canada's federal government which has taken a strict, division of constitutional jurisdiction, approach to autism disorders in Canada.  In other words it has said that addressing Canada's growing National Autism Crisis is not a concern of the federal government. 


Harper Conservative MP Mike Lake, who I have met in person and spoken with by phone, and who seems like a genuinely nice guy, speaks lovingly of his autistic son in Parliament with a few words recognizing  World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd and that's pretty well it.  On Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Mr. Lake himself voted against Bill C-304, the private member's motion brought by Charlottetown Liberal MP Shawn Murphy,  an Act that would have amended the Canada Health Act and provided for the development of a national strategy for the treatment of autism.  

If non Canadians want an idea of how little is done by our federal government to help Canadians and their families suffering from autism disorders they need only refer to the October 2011 statement of former federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq:

Autism Awareness Month

October, 2011

Autistic disorders are heart-breaking conditions because they can cause developmental disabilities in very young children that may affect them for the rest of their lives. These disorders are typically diagnosed in children before they reach their fifth birthday. 

Autistic disorders have a broad range of symptoms. They can be mild to severe and tend to result in problems with social interaction, communication and behaviour. In Canada, it is estimated that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) affect as many as 1 in every 150 children, as well as the lives of their families, friends and caregivers.

Important advances have been made in the way we care for and educate Canadians living with ASDs. Yet more research is needed to learn what causes these disorders and to help develop better treatments and interventions so that those afflicted with ASDs can live more normal lives.

As Minister of Health, I am pleased that the Government of Canada, in cooperation with our colleagues in the provinces and territories, is setting up a national surveillance system to establish reliable data to:  

• determine how common ASDs are and how rates differ across Canada;
• describe the population of Canadians living with ASDs; and
• understand changes in the number of children being diagnosed over time.

This information will help in developing programs to serve the needs of Canadians living with ASDs and their families and caregivers. In addition, the Government has invested approximately $40 million on autism-related research since 2000.

In closing, I want to congratulate the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance and Autism Speaks Canada for their dedicated work in this area.

Leona Aglukkaq

Minister of Health

Government of Canada

Prevalence data, clearly based on existing US information of that time,  is about the extent of the federal government's contribution to autism awareness in Canada. Interestingly neither former Minister Aglukkaq, nor autism dad Mike Lake, mention the parents who advocated with determination in provinces across Canada for early evidence based intervention for autistic children.  Nor do they mention federal political figures who have in the past made great efforts to bring a real National Autism Strategy to Canada including Fredericton New Brunswick's recently deceased Andy Scott, Peter Stoffer of Nova Scotia, Shawn Murphy of PEI, and Senator Jim Munson.

Canada has a national health care plan which does provide basic health care for Canadians.  It is not perfect. Anyone can legitimately cite personal grievances with the system but it is a system that does not exist in the neighboring US.  For that national health care plan developed a half century ago this Canadian father is very thankful.  It would not exist if the  Harper government's constitutional excuses had prevailed during that era. It does  not exist today for the purpose of addressing the  autism specific needs of Canadians suffering from autism spectrum disorders.

During Autism Awareness Month the Harper government, and presumably Mike Lake, will make a statement or two about autism and earn some political brownie points.  If past practice holds firm they will announce no significant federal government efforts to help address Canada's National Autism Crisis.  

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World Autism Awareness Day 2014

If past is prologue very little awareness of the harsher realities of autism symptoms will be generated on this WAAD, April 2, 2013.  Next year, in 2014,  and for years thereafter, the streamlined DSM5 autism will also eliminate many on the very high functioning and low functioning ends of the autism spectrum. 

It is unfortunate that in the DSM5 Autism Spectrum Disorder definition the American Psychiatric Association is revising the medical definition of autism spectrum disorder in ways that are expected to change its diagnostic characteristics. There is no good reason to wreck havoc on autism research and diagnosis by redefining yet again what we are talking about when we say "autism".  

The autism disorder picture, already muddied and muddled by "self" advocates and others who promote autism as a blessing,  will have even less real meaning as the APA, without any scientific or ethical reason, eliminates the most severe cases of autism from future diagnosis. Autism research, already challenged by previous DSM definition changes and alleged increased awareness, will become increasingly challenged.  

The actions of the APA in redefining autism in the DSM5 reflect the intellectual biases of the APA drafters, are in breach of the "first do no harm" principle and  are unethical. Be aware of that on this World Autism Awareness Day 2013 and prepare for a new autism on WAAD 2014, one that will look much different than the autism about which the world is expected to become more aware today.

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Canada's World Autism Awareness Day Act: Great Preamble, Zero Action

On November 1, 2012 Canada passed An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day an Act with a great preamble which provides for absolutely no action to ensure that effective evidence based early intervention for autism would be provided to all Canadian families affected by autism spectrum disorders.  

Talk, and rhetoric, is cheap.  Intervention is not. Failure to provide intervention and services is not cheap.   The human and financial costs of failing to take effective autism action continue to rise across Canada. 

60-61 ELIZABETH II

——————

CHAPTER 21

An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day

[Assented to 1st November, 2012]

Whereas autism spectrum disorders affect a significant number of families in Canada;

Whereas Canada has a health care system and social safety net to prevent illness and serve citizens;

Whereas Canadian families affected by autism spectrum disorders have unequal access to services across the country;

Whereas worldwide the number of diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders is growing;

Whereas a greater awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment for people with autism is required to engage more Canadians in helping their fellow citizens;

Whereas early intervention in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders can have promising results and help people engage with and contribute to society;

Whereas there is no known cause or cure for autism spectrum disorders;

Whereas 192 United Nations representatives agreed that World Autism Awareness Day would draw the attention of people across the globe to this neurological disorder that is affecting an increasing number of families;

Whereas in 2007 the United Nations General Assembly designated April 2, from 2008 on, as World Autism Awareness Day;

Whereas Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which maintain that children with disabilities should enjoy a full and decent life in conditions that ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate their active participation in the community, while also enjoying all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children;

And whereas Canada is a member of the United Nations and supports the work of this vital international organization;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the World Autism Awareness Day Act.

WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY

World Autism Awareness Day

2. Throughout Canada, in each and every year, the second day of April shall be known as “World Autism Awareness Day”.

Published under authority of the Senate of Canada

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Jaden Lake's Autism on the Hill Rally - Well Done Jaden!

Edmonton MP Mike Lake, whom I have met (at IMFAR 2012 in Toronto) and communicated with a few times about autism in Canada, have different perspectives on the proper role for Canada's national government in addressing Canada's autism crisis.  The government of Stephen Harper, of which Mike Lake is a member,  is not a strong supporter of Canada's national medicare system generally and has done nothing to advance in a meaningful way the National Autism Strategy advocated for by former and present opposition MP's Andy Scott,  Peter Stoffer, Shawn Murphy and Glenn Thibeault and by Senator Jim Munson.   I know though that Mike Lake is a dedicated father and a strong advocate for his 17 year old autistic son Jaden, who appears to have many similarities to my own son with autism of the same age.  I enjoy seeing Jaden in television and video appearances and was pleased to read the Ottawa Citizen article about the Autism on the Hill Rally and the pictures featuring Jaden Lake.

Thank you for advocating for autism awareness and services Jaden! Well Done!

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Unfulfilled Promise: Intellectual Disability Ignored on World Autism Awareness Day

Today is World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD). The establishment of WAAD held out great promise of elevating the world's understanding of the realities of autism spectrum disorders and the challenges they present to those diagnosed with one of the Pervasive Development Disorders slotted for merger into the New Autism Spectrum Disorder in the DSM5.  The promise, however, remains largely unfulfilled.  The world has learned to associate autism with the color blue but beyond that the very serious realities of those with autism and intellectual disability, those who are very low functioning, those who are self injurious, those who wonder away, some never to return alive,  are rarely spoken of in the rah rah fund raising promotions which mark the onset of World Autism Awareness Day.  Intellectual Disability, in particular, remains the  elephant in the autism living room, a very large presence of which no one speaks.

Autism Speaks was one of the prime movers in establishing World Autism Awareness Day.  The official Autism Speaks WAAD site describes what autism is in very general terms but makes no mention of the very close association between Intellectual Disability and Autistic Disorder or classic autism with as many as 80 % of all persons with Autistic Disorder also having Intellectual Disability:

What is the intellectual disability component of autism that no one mentions this World Autism Awareness Day?

From 30% to 60% of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an IQ measure that falls in the intellectual disability (ID) range.

(Catherine Rice et al., Risk for cognitive deficit in a population-based sample of U.S. children with autism spectrum disorders: Variation by perinatal health factors, Disability and Health Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 202-212 (July 2010)

Autism and intellectual disability: a study of prevalence on a sample of the Italian population.

La Malfa G, Lassi S, Bertelli M, Salvini R, Placidi GF.

Psychiatry Unit, Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Hospital of Careggi, Florence, Italy. gplamalfa@videosoft.it

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In 1994, the American Association on Mental Retardation with the DSM-IV has come to a final definition of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), in agreement with the ICD-10. Prevalence of PDD in the general population is 0.1-0.15% according to the DSM-IV. PDD are more frequent in people with severe intellectual disability (ID). There is a strict relationship between ID and autism: 40% of people with ID also present a PDD, on the other hand, nearly 70% of people with PDD also have ID. We believe that in Italy PDD are underestimated because there is no agreement about the classification system and diagnostic instruments.

METHOD: Our aim is to assess the prevalence of PDD in the Italian population with ID. The Scale of Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Mentally Retarded Persons (PDD-MRS) seems to be a very good instrument for classifying and diagnosing PDD.

RESULTS: The application of the PDD-MRS and a clinical review of every individual case on a sample of 166 Italian people with ID raised the prevalence of PDD in this population from 7.8% to 39.2%.

CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the relationship between ID and autism and suggests a new approach in the study of ID in order to elaborate a new integrated model for people with ID.

Canadian Psychological Association Autism Brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology November 9, 2006

Definition: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, first identified by Kanner in 1943. Decades later, Autism came to be viewed as the more severe of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) which also include Asperger’s Disorder. ASD is a heterogeneous disorder that includes a range of developmental impairments in the areas of social skills, verbal and non-verbal communication as well as restricted or repetitive interests or behaviours.

Symptoms and Impairments:

• Cognitive impairment is present in about 80% of persons diagnosed with Autism and
general intellectual functioning is most often below average. Persons diagnosed with
Asperger’s Disorder have average to above average intellectual functioning.

CDC Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Marshalynn Yeargin-Allsopp - CMAJ Interview 

"But the autism umbrella has since widened to include milder forms, says Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. For example, it now includes Asperger syndrome, where the sufferer is socially impaired, but experiences typical language development.

Another difference between past and present autism diagnosis involves the presence of intellectual disabilities, adds Yeargin-Allsopp. During the 1960s and 1970s, the vast majority of those diagnosed with autism had an intellectual disability but today, only about 40% have one."

[Note: Dr. Yeargin-Allsopp's figure of "about 40% with an ID is for the entire Autism Spectrum and is lowered because of the inclusion of Aspergers which, as a diagnosis, excludes ID]

Department of Health & Human Services - Center for Disease Control Counting Autism 

CDC’s most recent data show that between one in 80 and one in 240 children with an average of one in 110 have an ASD. This is a prevalence of about one percent of children. These results reflect data collected by CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in multiple communities throughout the U.S. in 2006. 


Estimates are based on health and education records from participating communities, which includes eight percent of the U.S. population of eight year olds. All children in the studies were eight years old because previous research has shown that most children with an ASD have been identified by this age for services.

...

Cognitive Functioning (from the pdf version)

2004
 
From 37.9% (Arizona) to 63% (Alabama) (overall average: 43.8 %) of the children identified with an ASD also had an intellectual disability (an IQ ≤70, at the sites that had test results on intellectual ability for at least 75% of the children identified).

2006
 
From 29.3% (Colorado) to 51.2% (South Carolina) (overall average: 41.0 %) of the children identified with an ASD also had an intellectual disability (an IQ ≤70, at the sites that had test reults on intellectual ability for at least 75% of the children identified)

The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural DisordersWorld Health Organization, Geneva, 1992

F84.0 Childhood Autism

A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour. The disorder occurs in boys three to four times more often than in girls. 

...

All levels of IQ can occur in association with autism, but there is significant mental retardation in some three-quarters of cases. 

F84.1 Atypical Autism

A pervasive developmental disorder that differs from autism in terms either of age of onset or of failure to fulfil all three sets of diagnostic criteria. Thus, abnormal and/or impaired development becomes manifest for the first time only after age 3 years; and/or there are insufficient demonstrable abnormalities in one or two of the three areas of psychopathology required for the diagnosis of autism (namely, reciprocal social interactions, communication, and restrictive, stereotyped, repetitive behaviour) in spite of characteristic abnormalities in the other area(s). Atypical autism arises most often in profoundly retarded individuals whose very low level of functioning provides little scope for exhibition of the specific deviant behaviours required for the diagnosis of autism; it also occurs in individuals with a severe specific developmental disorder of receptive language. Atypical autism thus constitutes a meaningfully separate condition from autism.

Includes:
* atypical childhood psychosis
* mental retardation with autistic features

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Wretches and Jabberers Review "Disabled Doesn't Meant Dumb" - Is It OK For Higher Functioning Persons with Autism to Mock Intellectually Disabled?

"Disabled Doesn't Mean Dumb" is the title of an Associated Press (John Curran) review of "Wretches and Jabberers" published online in the Washington Times. W and J is said to be a documentary by Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, 2 non verbal persons with autism who have been able to communicate via augmentative technologies including equipment which converts typed messages into voice communication.  The two were presumed to lack intelligence because of their inability, prior to the introduction of the augmentative technology, to communicate. Now they are sought after as speakers and field questions about autism including autism and intelligence:

"For 10 years, Mr. Thresher and his friend Larry Bissonnette, 53, have been advocates for people with autism and the disabled community at large. They are about to get a new platform for spreading their can-do message: They are the focus of “Wretches and Jabberers,” a documentary film opening in 40 cities that makes the point that “disabled” doesn’t mean “dumb.”"

The message seems to be a positive one for the most part in that they are using their life stories, and humor, to let the world know that some non verbal people with autism may be quite intelligent.   The substance of the  review though suggests that the documentary will  also assist those who wish to pretend, contrary to several credible professional reviews,  that intellectual disability is not related to Autistic Disorder as it is currently defined.  The Intellectual Disability characterizing 80% of persons with Autistic Disorder is just another autism "coincidence". The article title is not necessarily theirs but it does seem to reflect the implicit message of the documentary, as reviewed,   that it is OK to mock those with intellectual disabilities.

As World Autism Awareness Day approaches the Intellectual Disability of the vast majority (as described  by CDC Autism Expert Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp  ) of those with Autistic Disorder will again be pushed further and further out of sight.   After all Thresher and Bissonnette are "not dumb" and therefore all non verbal persons with autism disorders are "not dumb" ... not Intellectually Disabled.  

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Will The Intellectual Disability Elephant In The Autism Room Be Mentioned On World Autism Awareness Day?

From 30% to 60% of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an IQ measure that falls in the intellectual disability (ID) range.

(Catherine Rice et al., Risk for cognitive deficit in a population-based sample of U.S. children with autism spectrum disorders: Variation by perinatal health factors, Disability and Health Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 202-212 (July 2010)

The above range refers to the entire range of Autism Spectrum Disorders including Aspergers whch, by definition, excludes anyone with an intellectual disability. If you exclude Aspergers from the calculation then you are looking at a figure similar to the 80% figure referenced for non-Aspergers autism referenced in the 2006 Canadian Senate brief of the Canadian Psychological Association.  Yet we continue to ignore intellectual disability in our public discussion of autism.  Intellectual Disability is very much the elephant in the autism room.

One aspect of autism awareness events that puzzles me about autism awareness events is the extent to which they don't really raise awareness about the realities of autism disorders.  In many cases there will be no mention of the fact that autism disorders are exactly that ... disorders ... diagnostic categories listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.  As the father of  a son with Autistic Disorder and "profound developmental delays" .... intellectual disability .... I have long been annoyed by the persistent attempts to hide under euphemisms like "profound developmental delay" and under blurred professional terms like "co-morbidity" the obvious fact that Autistic Disorder is actually a form of intellectual disability.  I am not just talking about IQ test scores although I am not a member of  the trendy IQ scores don''t count crowd.  Serious functional impairment in daily life is a real characteristic of Autistic Disorder. 

With news that the DSM5 would formally combine Aspergers with Autistic Disorder and PDD-NOS into the New Autism Spectrum Disorder the media rushed to report that some with Aspergers were concerned about being lumped together with the "other" autism categories, the categories which included those with Intellectual Disabilities.  No discussion of, absolutely no discussion, occurred, outside of this humble blog, about the possible negative  impact on the many with Autistic Disorder and Intellectual Disability of having the Intellectual Disability aspect of autism hidden further from public view.

Don't hold your breath while you search for information about Intellectual Disability and Autism on World Autism Awaerness Day.  On World Autism Awareness Day you are unlikely to find any mention of this important aspect of autism reality.  Unless you check this blog, Facing Autism in New Brunswick.  

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On World Autism Awareness Day Canadian Government Damned Itself With Faint Praise

Damn With Faint Praise

Compliment so feebly that it amounts to no compliment at all, or even implies condemnation. 

For example, The reviewer damned the singer with faint praise, admiring her dress but not mentioning her voice. This idea was already expressed in Roman times by Favorinus (c. a.d. 110) but the actual expression comes from Alexander Pope's Epistle to Doctor Arbuthnot (1733): "Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer."

 Answers.com

The Government of Canada, with its World Autism Awareness Day message from the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health,  damned itself with faint praise for its feeble efforts to help children and adults with autism disorders in Canada:

April 2, 2010

As Minister of Health, I am pleased that Canada is joining other countries in recognizing April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Autism Society of Canada and all autism organizations across the country for their tireless work in creating awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and providing support to those affected by this condition.

ASD affects people from all walks of life, as well as their families, friends and caregivers. Roughly one out of every 150 Canadian children is affected by ASD . While there has been progress in research, care and education, we need to learn more about the causes of ASD and the most effective treatments and interventions.

The Government of Canada recognizes that autism is an important health and social issue which presents challenges for many Canadian families. We are committed to supporting research and raising awareness. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has provided approximately $35.3 million for research related to autism since 2000. 

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to every autism organization in Canada for their continued dedication to improving the lives of Canadians living with ASD.

Leona Aglukkaq

Minister of Health

Government of Canada 

You will notice that the Government of Canada's World Autism Awareness Day message makes no reference to any  monies spent  to assist the provincial governments in providing effective evidence based preschool interventions, autism specific training of teachers and education assistants  or autism appropriate residential and treatment facilities for youths and adults.


The sum total spent by the Government of Canada to address Canada's autism crisis, "an important health and social issue which presents challenges for many Canadian families"to quote the Honourable Minister of Health, is $35.3 million dollars for research ....... over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2010.

Alexander Pope, were he with us today, might say that the Government of Canada has damned itself with faint praise,  that it has, without sneering,  taught us all to sneer  ..... at its less than feeble efforts to address Canada's important health and social issue, our national autism crisis.  

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On World Autism Awareness Day Conor and Dad Wear the Blue

World Autism Awareness Day arrives and Conor and Dad wear the blue.

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On World Autism Awareness Day Please Be Aware That Autism Is A Disorder

On  World Autism Awareness Day, April 2, remember that autism is a disorder or more accurately a group of disorders.  It is not just a different way of thinking, a way of life or a political career path for a media savvy high functioning University student with little  exposure to, or actual knowledge of the realities of  severe Autistic Disorder. 

There are indeed many very high functioning persons with Aspergers and some high functioning persons with other "autism" disorders.  There are also many persons with Autistic Disorder and Intellectual Disability and others who are generally very low functioning, who will self injure, be at greater risk from the ordinary dangers of daily life, remain unemployed throughout their lives and live in the care of others in a variety of residential and institutional settings. These are facts.  

"Autism", or what is described as autism varies.  Autistic Disorder is currently shown in the DSM IV as one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders:

299.00 Autistic Disorder

(A)
total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3):

1. qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
   
   
   
   

   (a)

   marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction

   (b)

   failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

   (c)

   a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)

   (d)

   lack of social or emotional reciprocity

   
   
   
   
   


2. qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following:
   
   
   
   

    

   (a)

   delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gestures or mime)

   (b)

   in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others

   (c)

   stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language

   (d)

   lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

   
   
   
   
   
   


3. restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
   
   
   
   
   

   (a)

   encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

   (b)

   apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals

   (c)

   stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)

   (d)

   persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

   
   
   
   
   

(B)   

Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play.

 

(C)

The disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett's Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

As currently described Autistic Disorder is exactly what it says. It is a disorder.  Not a social movement, not a culture and not just a different way of looking at the world.

On World Autism Awareness Day please be aware that autism is a disorder, one that impairs and restricts the lives of many persons who carry the diagnosis of Autistic Disorder and to some extent those that are diagnosed with other Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

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Renewed Calls for a Real National Autism Strategy

Canada does not have a real national autism strategy but it is not for lack of trying by some dedicated federal politicians  including  Liberal  Senator Jim Munson and  NDP MPs Glenn Thibeault and Peter Stoffer who     have renewed calls for a real National Autism Strategy for Canada.

The struggle for a National Autism Strategy began many years ago including here in New Brunswick where Andy Scott issued a public call for a National Autism Strategy on October 18 2003:

""Fredericton MP Andy Scott said Saturday he has been lobbying prime- minister-to-be Paul Martin for a federal program to help young children with autism. "I desperately want a national autism strategy - and let me just assure you that Paul Martin knows it," Mr. Scott told supporters at a party celebrating his 10th anniversary as an MP in Fredericton Saturday evening.

Early work by therapists with young autistic children, Mr. Scott said, can make a big difference in their capacity to lead fulfilling lives as adults - and can save money in the long run. But the costs of starting such early intervention programs are high and should be borne directly by Ottawa rather than each individual province, he said. "We have responses and therapies and so on that I genuinely believe can work," he said. "You're going to save millions of dollars over the lifetime of an autistic adult. If you can get in at the front end, you can make enormous progress.

"But it's very expensive, and there's not a lot of stuff being added to Medicare, generally - that's why we have catastrophic drug problems and other things," he said. "In the province of New Brunswick, P.E.I., or even Quebec or Ontario it's very, very expensive. The feds are going to have to step up to the plate." "

Tali Folkins, Telegraph Journal, October 20, 2003

Mr. Scott was successful in getting a commitment by the federal government to a National Autism Strategy recognized in principle but the strategy at that time did not commit to the hard action necessary to provide assistance to all parts of Canada in providing early autism intervention programs.  Even the National Autism Symposium which came out of that commitment was a sham, pure and simple, a sham.  Public autism advocates, including me were excluded from the Symposium.  Those in attendance were all screened by federal health agency involved with organizing the event to ensure that they would go along with the government's do nothing to help autistic children agenda.

Senator Munson has been literally crossing the country for several years fighting for a real national autism strategy  and he has not given up on his efforts.  He organized and  spoke in Ottawa yesterday at an event to mark World Autism Awareness Day this Friday, April 2, 2010:

“There’s no reason why we cannot treat autism within our own communities equitably across the nation,” said event organizer Senator Jim Munson. “There is a crisis and I know that we can come up with a plan to deal with the issue that is so important to all of us.”

MetroNews.ca, Ottawa, March 31, 2010

The event was also co-hosted by  NDP MP's Glenn Thibeault and Peter Stoffer who spoke at the event.  Mr. Thibeault also  introduced a private member's bill, seconded by tireless autism advocate Peter Stoffer,  to create a real national autism strategy, one that would actually help autistic children and their families by having the federal government work with the provinces:

"“Autism doesn’t discriminate based on geography.  It’s time for federal leadership to ensure that no matter where a child is born with autism, they receive equal treatment and services of the highest caliber.”

Glenn Thibeault,  March 30 2010

“I’m very pleased that my colleague has done this.  We’ve been asking for many years for the federal government to work with the provinces to develop a national autism strategy. I hope this will become a reality in the near future.”

Peter Stoffer, March 30 2010

Senator Munson and MP's Thibeault and Stoffer have been fighting for a National Autism Strategy for several years.  

As World Autism Awareness Day approaches this "autism dad" says thank you.

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