Conor Debunks TWO Autism Myths Eh!

Yesterday was Canada Day and Conor sported his Team Canada shirt to celebrate.  He also debunked not one but TWO autism myths.  Conor has received ABA based intervention at school for 8 years.  Yet, contrary to the myth that ABA causes discomfort and harm to persons with autism disorders,  Conor shows his terrific smiles again ( see also side bar on this blog) debunking that nonsense yet again.  He also debunks the myth that people with autism disorders do not like hugs and his Mom was very happy to assist in the demonstration!

Happy Canada Day, Eh!

Canada flag photo by Harold L Doherty, very happy to be a Canadian,  

living in Canada, despite the lack of progress on the national autism front  

Today is Canada Day and I am very happy to be a Canadian living here in Canada.   We can still enjoy living in one of the world's freest countries in the world.  I am happy and thankful that Canada is my home. I am thankful for our freedoms, our beautiful natural environment and our national health care system that generally takes  good care of all Canadians not just those who can afford the very best care. 

Not much positive though can be said on our national autism front, a point that was reinforced by the death this week of former Fredericton MP, national autism champion and all aground great guy Andy Scott.  Andy did succeed in getting autism on the national agenda with his private member's motion M-172 and tried to follow up to push the Harper government to action. Our Prime Minister and his submissive federal health bureaucracy though have done absolutely nothing to advance the cause of Canadians with autism, particularly those with severe autism disorders ... Canadians like my youngest son.   

Notwithstanding lack of autism progress nationally though events of the past year have brought home to me all too forcefully that I am very lucky to be living in this wonderful Canada. When I could not breathe while waiting in an after hours clinic I received immediate care, was sent by ambulance to the emergency clinic of the local hospital and received acute care attention for a week at minimal expense.  When Conor suffered grand mal seizures and an adverse drug reaction he received care for two weeks at the same hospital including 6 days in the intensive care unit where he received the medical attention that saved his life.

My family and I are fortunate to live in Canada even without national level autism effort. 

I will continue to fight on the national autism front with wonderful autism advocates like the members of Medicare for Autism Now! 

In the meantime I wish everyone a very happy Canada Day, eh!

Conor Enjoys Canada Day Weekend Despite Autism

We have had perfect Canada Day weekend weather here in Fredericton and Conor has been outside enjoying it .... for the most part.  Some may not see autism as a disorder.  Conor though is severely affected by his autistic disorder including his sensitivity to sounds.  Walking across the bridge with traffic noise can be disturbing for Conor as these pictures show.  Other than that though Conor took full advantage and enjoyed the great outdoor weather.

Happy Canada Day! Now Let's Start Addressing Canada's Autism Crisis

Happy Canada Day EVERYONE! 

Including Canadians With Autism Disorders!

I can not imagine living in any other country in the world.  As much as I love our great neighbors to the South, I would not want to live in any country except Canada. I do not pretend, however, that Canada is perfect, not at all. It is impossible for me as the father of a severely autistic son, now 16 years of age, to ignore the exclusion of autistic children and adults in Canada from coverage for treatment of their serious neurological disorders, their autism disorders, under our so called "universal" health care system.   

As much as I love my country I admire our American neighbors for the leadership they have shown in dealing realistically with autism disorders.  ABA was applied and developed in the US as an autism intervention by Dr. Lovaas and remains the only solidly evidence based effective intervention for autism disorders. ABA has been endorsed in a recent US federal court decision requiring Medicaid coverage of ABA for autism in Florida.  US federal government employees now have medical insurance coverage of ABA for autism. 

Meanwhile in Canada,  autistic persons remain excluded from Medicare coverage for ABA.  We held one sham, orchestrated, (ABA 4 autism advocates, including me, were excluded)  National Autism Symposium that produced no tangible results and no road map for future efforts to help Canada's autistic children, youth and adults. Canadian autistic children who are fortunate enough to receive ABA do so under a national patchwork of largely ineffective service delivery systems.  New Brunswick, once hailed as a leader in autism service delivery by US autism expert Dr. David Celiberti, is now regressing into "in house training" for early intervention and education assistants.  Living conditions for adults with autism are simple: those who are high functioning will be housed in a variety of locations including group homes with untrained staff, hospital wards and  rented hotel rooms.  Those who are severely autistic with intellectual disabilities will often live out their lives in psychiatric hospitals. 

In the US, where they are not asleep at the wheel, the CDC estimates that 1 in 88 have an autism spectrum disorder. It is now time for Canadians to wake up and start addressing our national autism crisis in an organized, concerted effort.  Let's start including Canada's autistic children and adults in our national agenda before the next Canada Day celebrations. 

I love you Canada. I hope you feel the same way about Canada's autistic children and adults ... and start showing it.

Blogger Blogged While Blogging

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Canada Day in Fredericton brought out all kinds of people to enjoy the festivities. It should come as no surprise that New Brunswick's most popular blogger, read by government, police, legal counsel and a legion of fans and malcontents, would be busy taking pics for his blog site. In this shot Charles LeBlanc, the ADHD Activist turned general pain in the ... neck and social conscience gets blogged while blogging. You are getting too old and slow on the draw Charles!

Charles is currently pitching in to help get signatures on our petition to the House of Commons to include autism treatment in Medicare coverage. Thanks for the help Charles!

Have A Great Canada Day!

From Facing Autism in New Brunswick - Have a GREAT Canada Day!