Medicare for Autism NOW! in Oakville, Organizing and Sending A Message

It was a warm sunny day in Oakville yesterday as the Medicare for Autism NOW! team gathered at the Iroquois Ridge Community Centre to meet families in the communities west of Toronto, to organize and to send a message to ALL federal politicians: Canadians are suffering from a NATIONAL autism crisis. Some autistic children, depending on where they live, receive NO treatment for autism. The lack of treatment prevents some autistic children from living a full life and imposes emotional and financial hardship on family members.

Many of us have talked about a National Autism Strategy to address Canada's national autism crisis for years. Some politicians of character and conscience, people like Senator Jim Munson and MPs Andy Scott, Peter Stoffer and Shawn Murphy have actively campaigned for a National Autism Strategy. Stephen Harper, alleged Health Minister Tony Clement and Conservative MP and autism father Mike Lake on the other hand have largely mocked the efforts for a national autism strategy. Aided and abetted by Dr. Rémi Quirion and the CIHR the national autism strategy has been reduced to a less than mediocre web site and a secretive, politicized and staged National Autism Symposium that resulted in absolutely NO autism information being disseminated to Canadians.

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking at the Oakville rally along with Jean Lewis who has led litigation and political autism battles in British Columbia and experienced political organizer David Marley. We were joined by Jennifer O'Brien from Oakville, autism winter trek hero Stefan Marinoiu from Toronto, Barry Hudson from Toronto and constitutional lawyer Deborah Coyne from Toronto. Medicare for Autism NOW! is national in scope. We are organizing coast to coast and we have a message for federal politicians of all stripes. Something must be done NOW. We need Medicare for Autism NOW. David Marley, show in the bottom picture below has prepared a strategy. A number of ridings that were decided by 2% or less in the last election will be targeted for election action by the Medicare for Autism NOW team. We will be making an impact in those ridings on behalf of the candidates, whatever their political stripe, who support Medicare for Autism NOW. David Marley is also organizing of team of people with political organizing skills and experience to help get our message across effectively.

One of the key ridings will be the Parry Sound Muskoka riding of Alleged Health Minister Tony Clement. Mr. Clement won by one of the smallest margins of any MP in Canada in the last election. Stefan Marinoiu, David Marley and Jean Lewis toured the riding this week and apparently there is already, for various reasons. substantial dissatisfaction with Mr Clement amongst his riding constituents who were also very supportive of the Medicare for Autism effort. Medicare for Autism NOW! will be active in the riding of alleged Health Minister Clement to remind constituents of Mr Clements refusal to help autistic Canadians and their families.

Iroquois Ridge Community Centre in Oakville

Jennifer O'Brien

Jean Lewis

Stefan Marinoiu

Deborah Coyne

Barry Hudson

David Marley

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Facing Autism In Toronto and Oakville

Tomorrow I will be 'goin' down the road', flying actually, to Toronto and then on to Oakville where I will be speaking as part of a national autism awareness and advocacy campaign. I will be joining a team of dedicated parents and concerned citizens from FEAT-BC and FEAT Ontario who are advocating for a real National Autism Strategy; for the inclusion of autism in Canada's medicare system so that autistic children, wherever they live in Canada, will have access to effective evidence based treatment.

For me, the trip will be a homecoming of sorts. I worked in Toronto for a few years in the 90's. Both of my wonderful sons were born down the QEW at the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington. When Conor was born there 12 years ago I had almost no awareness of autism beyond some vague movie imagery of autistic savants. I did not know then what autism would come to mean for Conor or our family. Two years later I had returned to New Brunswick and after Conor's diagnosis became immersed in the world of autism and, by necessity, autism advocacy.

For that time, Conor was diagnosed at a relatively early age, 2 years. He was diagnosed after tests and observations over a period of several months which also occurred after time waiting for our appointment with the pediatrician. We had sought medical assessment because of lack of speech, lack of interaction of the kind that a child usually shows with their parents and because of a variety of odd behaviors.

When Conor was diagnosed there was very little in the way of autism specific services or information available in New Brunswick. Along with a number of other concerned parents I began my life as an advocate for my son, and for effective autism treatment, education, and residential care. Although much remains to be done, we have accomplished much for a small province lacking the financial resources of wealthier provinces. One of the tools we used to make gains for autism services in Canada was the trial decision in the Auton case, which was upheld on appeal by the British Columbia Court of Appeal but was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. Notwithstanding the SCC reversal the trial decision in Auton set out accurately the state of expert opinion on the effectiveness of ABA as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders, information that was very helpful in advocating publicly for the creation of autism specific services.

Notwithstanding the advances made since the trial decision in Auton Canada remains a patchwork quilt in terms of provision of autism treatment. Oil rich Alberta provides substantial funding for autism treatment until age 18 while next door in Saskatchewan they are just starting to provide autism services. A national autism strategy, inclusion of autism treatment in Medicare, is imperative if all autistic children in Canada are to benefit, and benefit fully, from intensive early intervention.

I will be honored to travel to Toronto and Oakville and join the people from FEAT Ontario, FEAT-BC (including people like Jean Lewis one of the "Auton" parents), and fellow speakers like Constitutional lawyer Deborah Coyne and autism's winter trek hero Stefan Marinoiu The Supreme Court of Canada effectively removed the courts and the Constitution of Canada as effective tools for helping ensure that autistic children receive effective evidence based treatment in Canada. We have to get political to ensure that all autistic children in Canada are treated equally and receive the treatment they need to prosper and grow. To accomplish such a large undertaking we all need to come together and advocate EFFECTIVELY for medicare for autism.

If you are interested in getting involved in advocating for medicare for autism I hope to meet you in Toronto and Oakville. See you there!

"Medicare for Autism Now!" Rally

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Iroquois Ridge Community Center,

1051 Glenashton Drive,

Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6Z4

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Medicare for Autism Now! Rally April 19th Oakville

"Medicare for Autism Now!" Rally

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Iroquois Ridge Community Center,

1051 Glenashton Drive,

Oakville, Ontario, L6H 6Z4

Why should you attend?

* Despite a decade of lobbying, collaborating and litigating – autism treatment is still excluded from our universal health care system. Canadian families from BC to Newfoundland and everywhere in between are still bankrupting themselves in order to provide treatment for their disabled children.

* The current and limited patchwork of funding and services provided through the provinces’ social services ministries could evaporate tomorrow with a change of government, or the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen. No legislation or mandate exists within these social services ministries to deliver health care or to protect and enshrine our children’s medically necessary treatment.

* In 30 years of "advocacy", the only two initiatives which have achieved ANY success in obtaining treatment funding in any province has been litigation, and more recently, focused political action. Both were brought by volunteer parent groups.

* Autism is an epidemic of staggering proportions, it now afflicts one in every 150 children in North America, one in every 94 boys. Autism has become an election issue in the U.S. - Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain have all articulated extremely progressive positions. In 2006, the U.S. federal government unanimously passed the "Combating Autism Act" which allocated $945 million into research and treatment. The U.S. federal government recognizes their responsibility to intervene by acting to avoid a major health and social crisis.

* It is time for our federal government to recognize their responsibility to act! This is not a left or right issue – it’s a right or wrong issue!

* Today, all over Canada, parents of children with autism and growing numbers of fair-minded, but outraged Canadian voters expect our federal government to act. We are letting those who govern and those who wish to govern know they will be held accountable, regardless of party affiliation, at the ballot box in the next federal election.

Who should attend?

You – and every fair-minded Canadian you know!

In Canada, children with autism and their families suffer from political indifference. It will take the sustained energy and dedication of EVERY CANADIAN who desires a just society to correct this injustice. For our children’s sake, and the sake of future generations, we urge you to attend this rally. Please bring friends, family, kids, anyone and everyone you know who is appalled by the gross injustice done to our children every day by the governments of Canada and its provinces.

Come and find out how you can make your vote actually count!

Featured speakers will include:

Jean Lewis – Vancouver parent, B.C. Co-ordinator for "Medicare for Autism Now!" initiative

Harold Doherty – Fredericton parent, Maritime Co-ordinator for "Medicare for Autism Now!" initiative

David Marley – Vancouver supporter/advisor, B.C. Co-ordinator for "Medicare for Autism Now!" initiative

Stefan Marinoiu – Toronto parent, "Medicare for Autism Now!" supporter

Deborah Coyne – Toronto parent, "Medicare for Autism Now!" supporter

Please RSVP a.s.a.p. to: Jennifer O’Brien

Email: jobrien116@cogeco.ca

For more information regarding "Medicare for Autism Now!" – check out:

www.medicareforautismnow.blogspot.com


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Deborah Coyne - Time Overdue To Put Autism On The National Agenda

Deborah Coyne has joined the Medicare for Autism Now team and will be one of the speakers when the team visits Oakville, Ontario on April 19, 2008 as part of a national initiative that will include speakers from BC to Toronto to New Brunswick. (AutismRealityNB will also be there).

Deborah has spent her life engaged in public policy work. She is a lawyer, university professor, constitutional activist, public servant, writer, small businessperson and the mother of two children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. She has often been at the centre of the great public debates of our times -she became a leading figure actively engaged in the constitutional debates that unfolded involving the Meech Lake Accord and the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. She is currently a policy analyst with an international consulting practice.

Deborah has also started a blog site Canadians Without Borders On the future of our great country, the challenges we face and what lies beyond the horizon . Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day and Deborah wasted no time weighing in on the subject of Canada's need for a national autism strategy in Time overdue to put autism on the national agenda Medicare for the twenty-first century. I encourage everyone to add Deborah's blog to their blogrolls or blog links. Deborah's blog will be a source of well informed, quality, legal and policy perspectives on a number of important issues including a National Autism Strategy to ensure the proper effective treatment and education of all autistic Canadians - wherever they live in Canada.

It is now beyond debate that the most effective type of autism treatment is Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) – something which involves intensive one-on-one assistance to parents and their ASD child at the earliest possible age. ABA is an enormously valuable and justifiable investment in a huge and growing number of young persons who have a great deal to contribute to society and who need not be a heavy burden on the health care system as they grow older.

Provinces do try to meet the needs of ASD children, but in a haphazard ad hoc way generally through social services mainly for respite and support, not medical treatment. And much depends on the uneven ability of parents to access the necessary funding and services available. Only Alberta has complied with a court order requiring the province to fully fund the appropriate medical treatment for autism - ABA intervention - through the health care system.

Effective autism treatment of course impacts both health care and education. We need not only the investment in people to provide the services through the health care system – ABA specialists, speech therapists, child psychologists etc – but also the investment in the people needed to provide the services in the education system, notably one-on-one teachers’ assistants.

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