Medicare's Orphans: Autism and the Marinoiu Family

This third trailer for Medicare's Orphans, scheduled for release this fall, features the Marinoui family.  While on a previous Toronto visit I had the pleasure of meeting Stefan Marinoiu and his lovely family: wife Bernadette, daughter Lia and son Simon who is severely affected by autism.  Stefan has twice risked his life, walking in mid winter from Toronto to Ottawa, and engaging in a hunger strike,  to bring attention to the autism crisis in Canada and the need for a real National Autism Strategy, one  which treats autism like a health disorder and provides treatment to all autistic Canadians. The trailer shows some of the anguish of this caring and courageous family that has struggled to give Simon the best life possible and to bring attention to his challenges.  They are challenges shared by many Canadian families with a member severely affected by an autism disorder.   

The Medicare for Autism Now! information release accompanying the trailer is a call for your support to end health care discrimination in Canada:

Meet Stefan, Bernadette, Lia and Simon Marinoiu. They live in suburban Toronto, Canada. Simon has autism and no longer lives with his family. His devastating situation represents the fate of many autistic children in Canada who are being denied effective treatment. Simon and his family are featured in the just released third trailer advertising Medicare for Autism Now's upcoming documentary, Medicare's Orphans, scheduled for release in October.
www.medicareforautismnow.org

The film chronicles the stories of a number of families with autistic children from across Canada, each share the same problem - lack of access to effective autism treatment (ABA/IBI) via our "universal" health care system.

The film exposes some painful truths about who gets access to health care in Canada, the refusal to act by Canadian governments, both federal and provincial, and the Supreme Court of Canada's failure to protect our childrens' Charter rights, all of which rightfully brings Canada's reputation for fairness and human rights into serious question.

This film will be significant to both Canadian parents of children with autism as well as those living in other countries who live under the false assumption that Canada is a kinder and gentler place for people with disabilites. The film will also provide examples of what effective advocacy really is, what it has already achieved and what parents/supporters need to do in order to protect the gains others have made on behalf of their children, to move the cause forward, and to end health care discrimination in Canada in this generation.

To learn the history, the gains, the goals, and how to get involved in the autism treatment movement in Canada, go to: www.medicareforautismnow.org

Please forward this link, post it to your Facebook walls, and ask others to do the same. Also - very important - send it to your MLA and MP.

Thank you for your support.