Autism News Articles Mailing for May 17th
Top Priority NEWS
Ministry of Education
McGuinty Government Delivering More Support For Students With Autism
Nearly $6 Million Being Invested In New Autism Initiatives To Help
Students Succeed
TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is improving the learning
environment for students with autism spectrum disorders by directing all
school boards to provide Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Education Minister
Kathleen Wynne announced today.
"All students with autism deserve equal access to this vital teaching
approach that can improve their focus on individual projects and strengthen
their communication with other students in the classroom," said Wynne. "We are
implementing our plan to ensure students with autism receive the best
education possible."
The Ministry of Education instructed school boards today that they must
provide programs that use ABA methods to students who need it. This directive
is part of the government's response to the recommendations of Autism
Reference Group report, Making a Difference for Students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders in Ontario Schools: From Evidence to Action, received earlier this
year.
The implementation of ABA will be supported by extensive staff training
starting with six to eight representatives, including superintendents,
principals, teachers, teaching assistants, school support staff and Special
Education Advisory Committee members, from each school board over the next two
months. This will be followed by school team training - funded through a
$1-million investment - for up to 1,400 principals, educational assistants and
teachers over the summer months.
Additionally, the government has provided a grant of $2.75 million to the
Geneva Centre for Autism. "We are very grateful for the government's support
so we can provide further training on ABA approaches to school staff in the
fall," said Margaret Whelan, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for
Autism. "This investment will allow educators to help more students with
autism succeed."
<<
The government is also taking the following initiatives recommended in the
reference group report:
- Implementing research-based collaborative approaches with school
staff and community groups to deliver autism services to students.
This will be supported through a $2-million investment
- Requiring principals to have transition plans for students with
autism when they start school, move between grades and schools, and
move on to colleges, universities or the workplace
- Creating a resource guide for teachers, educational assistants,
administrators and other staff on the most effective ways to teach
students with autism
- Encouraging school boards to establish multi-disciplinary teams that
include parents and provide input into a student's individual
education plan
- Meeting with the Minister's Advisory Council on Special Education
regarding implementation of the reference group report. The first
meeting will take place on June 7.
"The reference group's report has been very helpful as we work to ensure
that children and youth with autism spectrum disorder receive the supports
they need to achieve success," said Children and Youth Services Minister Mary
Anne Chambers. "Our government has been making great strides on several fronts
and we are determined to do more."
Other ways that the government is working together with the community to
support students with autism include:
- Assessing all children referred to the Autism Intervention Program
since July 2005 regardless of age
- Increasing the number of children receiving Intensive Behavioural
Intervention services outside of the classroom to more than 1,100 - a
105 per cent increase since April 2004
- Tripling the support for children with autism and their families
since 2003-04 - increased funding to nearly $130 million in 2007-08
- Increasing the number of qualified autism professionals graduating
each year from the Ontario College Graduate Certificate Program in
Autism and Behavioural Science to 220 by 2008-09
- Reducing the wait list for assessment by 69 per cent since 2004
- Training up to 1,600 childhood educators and child care workers and
5,000 educational assistants who work with children with autism
through the Geneva Centre for Autism
"I'm very pleased that the government is taking action so quickly in
response to the reference group's report," said Lynn Ziraldo, chair of the
Autism Reference Group. "This government has shown a strong commitment to
reaching every student with autism."
www.edu.gov.on.ca
www.ontario.ca/progress
>>
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For further information: Michelle Despault, Minister's Office (416)
212-3747; Patricia MacNeil, Communications Branch, (416) 325-2676; Public
Inquiries: (416) 325-2929 or 1-800-387-5514, TTY: 1-800-263-2892
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:
Shortcut to: http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2007/05/17/c2234.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html
May 17, 2007
IBI THERAPISTS STILL BARRED FROM CLASSROOM
QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Health Critic Shelley Martel slammed the McGuinty Liberals today for failing to allow IBI therapists in the classroom for all children with autism.
“Over and over again, parents of children with autism have demanded this government allow their children’s IBI therapists into the classrooms. Today’s announcement by Minister Wynne in no way meets that demand, the money is not for IBI therapists,” said Martel.
Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) is a specialized form of applied behaviour analysis (ABA). Most teaching methods for all students already use ABA. Encouraging school boards to use ABA is not the same as providing the IBI treatment many students with autism need to learn in the classroom.
Dalton McGuinty’s track record on autism speaks for itself:
• The McGuinty Liberals only stopped the age 6 cut-off after Justice Kiteley of the Ontario Superior Court ruled in April 2005 that the McGuinty government was violating the Charter of Rights of Ontario’s autistic children on the basis of both their age and disability – 18 months after being elected.
• More children are on waiting lists. The wait list of children assessed and eligible for IBI therapy has grown to 1,280 children. When the Liberals were elected, only 89 children were waiting for IBI treatment to begin. The wait list has grown 1,400% under McGuinty’s watch.
• Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act demonstrate the McGuinty Liberals have diverted $59 million that was supposed to be spent on autism services and spent it elsewhere. Every year, it costs approximately $50,000 for an autistic child to receive the 40 hours per week of IBI treatment. The $59 million not spent from the Liberals’ autism budget could have provided IBI therapy to over 1,000 children.
• Currently, the Ministry of Education bars IBI therapists from the classroom.
“Allowing IBI therapists into the classroom would be a regulatory change. Other therapists, including speech therapists, are allowed into the classroom – but IBI therapists are not,” said Martel.
Martel urged the McGuinty government again to stop stalling and get on with the business of getting qualified IBI therapists into Ontario classrooms.
“I am calling on the premier to do the right thing for children with autism. Extend IBI treatment to all children who need it by allowing IBI therapists in the classroom -- without delay,” said Martel.
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Media inquiries: Dan O’Brien (416) 325-2507
Pam is the host of Rogers Insights that films in Newmarket. Many of us
have been a guest of Pam's on the show, she is an amazing woman, runs a
fantastic show, and is also a listmate!!!!
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=261116b6-48f3-4932-881a-c48b334dcb7f&k=74811&p=1
National Post story - my daughter
>
>> Okay, everyone I know has to put up with me today! This full page
story
>> (with colour picture) was in the front section of the National Post
today
>> (I have many copies). My daughter received an email advising it was
>> going across the country.
>>
>> "'I know what it's like'"
>>
'I know what it's like'
Brampton teacher diagnosed with Asperger's inspires her autistic students
Karin Kloosterman, National Post
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2007
It is the middle of a lesson in the classroom at Greenbriar Public School in Brampton, and the boys, aged 12 to 14, take turns jumping on the trampoline in between listening to their teacher.
"It releases tension," teacher Carole Ann MacDonald says matter-of-factly, as she surveys a classroom that also includes terrariums, a beanbag chair, a sectional couch and, most importantly, three teaching assistants and a teacher for just nine students.
Ms. MacDonald knows, perhaps more than most, the need for an autistic child to have a release from the structure of a school day.
When she was a bit younger than these students, she was labelled "retarded" and severely disabled, and required a team of private tutors to get her through school. It was not until her final year of teacher's college, three years ago, that she was diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism.
Ms. MacDonald is considered by autism experts such as Dr. Kevin Stoddart to be among the highest functioning cases of Asperger's. She does not shake hands obsessively or have any noticeable physical tics. Her unusualness manifests itself in a way that is difficult to pinpoint.
In the classroom, where other teachers might give harsh words when students misbehave -- the boys on this particular day were eating, pacing the room and talking out of turn --Ms. MacDonald laughs.
Her laughter, punctuated by bursts of "ha" and her patient repetition of instructions, somehow diffuses the boys' frustrations to communicate. Inappropriate reactions, such as laughter, are among the traits that define Asperger's, which is a difficult disorder to diagnose.
The logistics of handling a busy day on a rotary teaching schedule is a challenge for someone with autism, who prefers order and structure.
"There are so many transitions all in one day. I teach science, then I switch to math, then I have to switch to drama and then I have to switch to teaching language," says Ms. MacDonald in one breath. "I rely a lot on the teaching assistants for support and understanding--[they] have no problem telling me, 'You need to switch subjects and keep focused.' "
It has taken Ms. MacDonald two decades to try to understand what made her different.
"The testing process was difficult, explains Ms. MacDonald, "It's not like you walk through the door and you are diagnosed. It mainly comes from a feeling inside -- that you know you are different from other people and you want to find out why.
"Obtaining my diagnosis involved a long process of looking into my family history and by the time they told me I had Asperger's, I already knew."
She found the label empowering. As for her students, "Some people say we shouldn't label kids because 'kids are not jam,' but I disagree. Without the labels, my pupils wouldn't get the right placement or funding."
Like a typical Asperger's person, Ms. MacDonald has no qualms talking openly about her personal life, even in class.
"Boys, I know what it's like to be suspended from school. I know what it's like to fail math class," she tells them. "I used to forget my tuba and was always late for school. It's OK. When you get to high school, cling to the smart kids in class. That's what I did."
'I know what it's like'
Brampton teacher diagnosed with Asperger's inspires her autistic students
Karin Kloosterman, National Post
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2007
She explains her candour with her students this way: "Kids need to know if a teacher is gay or disabled so they can have role models to identify with."
When she applied for her job, straight out of teacher's college, she already had an impeccable resume, which included master's-level courses from York University, but what won her the job was a sense that she offered "this sort of 'other' dimension to her understanding of the students," says Pat Lewis, the school's principal.
Brooks Masterson, a school psychologist, said that people with Asperger's are known for not understanding other people's views, because they lack a pragmatic language. "But as a teacher, Ms. MacDonald conveys empathy and enthusiasm. She is an advocate for them and experiences what they go through."
Social worker Barbara McFarlane, who worked with Ms. MacDonald last year, can offer some insight into why her teaching method works so well: "Us outsiders would see a child's ignoring instructions as a weakness. Carole Ann is able to get in touch with them and recognize when a child does not understand instructions."
She said that it is through Ms. MacDonald's work that "these kids have risen from the bottom of the totem pole to the top of the educational system. In some cases they are functioning at a higher level than the mainstream students."
Ms. MacDonald's mother, Pam, a Newmarket business woman, says her daughter has been so focused from a very early age.
"It was almost as if Carole Ann had an innate sense of what she needed in order to succeed, and an unstoppable determination to obtain it," says her mom. "If she was quiet, you knew she was taking something apart. She seemed to have no fear. I always thought she was just a very active child. I have subsequently learned that autistic children don't understand non-verbal cues, and need things explained very clearly; they can make inappropriate comments, and almost shut down in stressful situations."
Admittedly, Ms. MacDonald says, some educational staff might think her teaching concepts are strange, especially since previous teachers in the class spent their time preventing injury from outbursts or meltdowns.
"Some teachers told me that I should give my students the basic life skills in the hopes that one day they could be a cashier at Wal-Mart. I tell my students that they are not going to Wal-Mart. They are going to college and university," she says.
"Now we even have students in our class attending the gifted classes at the school."
Today, more than 19 families are on a waiting list to put their child in Greenbriar's autism class. One family even moved from Saskatchewan to get a placement.
"I tell the kids and parents that I have Asperger's," Ms. MacDonald says. "The parents look relieved."
>>
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=261116b6-48f3-4932-881a-c48b334dcb7f&k=74811
>>
>>
Toronto star
http://www.thestar.com/Unassigned/article/214895
May 17, 2007 04:30 AM
bruce campion-smith
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–For more than a decade, the "Yes I Can!" nursery school in Toronto has taken in autistic and low-income kids for its award-winning summer programs, thanks to federal grants that made it possible to hire student counsellors.
But not this year. In a surprise move, the federal Conservative government has rejected the centre's request for $38,000, putting its program in peril.
"We got a rejection letter," executive director Janet MacDougall said yesterday. "We can't run camp. That's the bottom line."
Now MacDougall is dreading having to break the bad news to the parents of 45 children – all with autism – who have already signed up for the summer camp, run out of Bedford Park United Church, in north Toronto.
Over the winter, the Conservative government brought in a new name and a new mandate for its Canada Summer Jobs program.
And now, as students and organizations make their summer plans, those changes are having a big impact as organizations across the city – and the country – discover programs that have existed for years won't get government cash this year.
"It's devastating, although I knew something was wrong. I was calling and no one was calling me back," MacDougall said in an interview.
The summer jobs program is meant to help young Canadians obtain career information, develop skills and find good jobs, according to a government website. But last September, the Tories chopped the Youth Employment Strategy that helped about 50,000 people find work last summer, saving $55.4 million.
However, federal officials insist there's been no cut in funding to not-for-profit organizations, saying they will dole out $77.3 million in grants to community groups this year.
That's little comfort to MacDougall, whose program offers a summer camp for pre-schoolers with autism who "typically would not be able to go to camp anywhere else," she said.
"It's a camp where they actually get to practise and develop their social and language interactions with peers," she said.
In previous years, the camp has received funding to hire up to 30 university students and train them to work with the children and their special needs.
But in rejecting the camp's request for funding, the government says the nursery school scored poorly, despite its long record of service.
Awards won by the nursery school include the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education, and the Maria De Witt award for an outstanding community program. As well, some of the students who worked at the centre – more than 200 – have gone on to become doctors and speech pathologists, MacDougall said.
MacDougall is seeking an appeal of the decision.
The centre has an ally in local MP, Liberal John Godfrey (Don Valley West), who was impressed by his visits. "They do an extraordinary job and really help out parents who need some time off for themselves," he said. "I was just appalled ... I can't think of a more worthwhile thing for young people to be doing than helping autistic children."
But as the rejection letters go out, the changes promise to be felt across Greater Toronto.
Liberal MP Maria Minna (Beaches-East York) yesterday called on Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg to explain why Community Centre 55, which provides services to the underprivileged in her riding, had its funding cut after more than 30 years.
"Can he explain to my constituents why programs such as daycare and summer camp will be cancelled?" she said in the Commons.
Other Liberal MPs added their own tales of community groups that have lost their funding, including Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso) who said student jobs will drop to 100 from 1,000 last year in his riding. "They were community jobs in museums, theatres, recreation programs," he said.
Liberal Mark Eyking (Sydney-Victoria) said "cuts" to the program have left hundreds of students without work. "Daycare operations, museums, recreation programs, minor sports leagues, seniors' clubs and small retail operations in remote areas, all have been denied funding," he told the Commons.
But Solberg defended the changes, saying unemployment rates for students are at their lowest level in 40 years. And he denied that funding for non-profit groups had been trimmed.
"We are giving quality job opportunities to students and helping not-for-profit organizations," Solberg said.
Later, a spokesperson for Solberg said that not-for-profit organizations in Ontario will get $21.1 million in funding, about the same as last year.
Program funding gives priority to organizations in high unemployment areas as well as those that hire students "with disabilities, aboriginal students, and students who are visible minorities," Lesley Harmer said in an email. "It is unfortunate that every year there are always more applications for funding than money available," she said.
Cuts kill camp for autistic children
May 17, 2007 04:30 AM
bruce campion-smith
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–For more than a decade, the "Yes I Can!" nursery school in Toronto has taken in autistic and low-income kids for its award-winning summer programs, thanks to federal grants that made it possible to hire student counsellors.
But not this year. In a surprise move, the federal Conservative government has rejected the centre's request for $38,000, putting its program in peril.
"We got a rejection letter," executive director Janet MacDougall said yesterday. "We can't run camp. That's the bottom line."
Now MacDougall is dreading having to break the bad news to the parents of 45 children – all with autism – who have already signed up for the summer camp, run out of Bedford Park United Church, in north Toronto.
Over the winter, the Conservative government brought in a new name and a new mandate for its Canada Summer Jobs program.
And now, as students and organizations make their summer plans, those changes are having a big impact as organizations across the city – and the country – discover programs that have existed for years won't get government cash this year.
"It's devastating, although I knew something was wrong. I was calling and no one was calling me back," MacDougall said in an interview.
The summer jobs program is meant to help young Canadians obtain career information, develop skills and find good jobs, according to a government website. But last September, the Tories chopped the Youth Employment Strategy that helped about 50,000 people find work last summer, saving $55.4 million.
However, federal officials insist there's been no cut in funding to not-for-profit organizations, saying they will dole out $77.3 million in grants to community groups this year.
That's little comfort to MacDougall, whose program offers a summer camp for pre-schoolers with autism who "typically would not be able to go to camp anywhere else," she said.
"It's a camp where they actually get to practise and develop their social and language interactions with peers," she said.
In previous years, the camp has received funding to hire up to 30 university students and train them to work with the children and their special needs.
But in rejecting the camp's request for funding, the government says the nursery school scored poorly, despite its long record of service.
Awards won by the nursery school include the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education, and the Maria De Witt award for an outstanding community program. As well, some of the students who worked at the centre – more than 200 – have gone on to become doctors and speech pathologists, MacDougall said.
MacDougall is seeking an appeal of the decision.
The centre has an ally in local MP, Liberal John Godfrey (Don Valley West), who was impressed by his visits. "They do an extraordinary job and really help out parents who need some time off for themselves," he said. "I was just appalled ... I can't think of a more worthwhile thing for young people to be doing than helping autistic children."
But as the rejection letters go out, the changes promise to be felt across Greater Toronto.
Liberal MP Maria Minna (Beaches-East York) yesterday called on Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg to explain why Community Centre 55, which provides services to the underprivileged in her riding, had its funding cut after more than 30 years.
"Can he explain to my constituents why programs such as daycare and summer camp will be cancelled?" she said in the Commons.
Other Liberal MPs added their own tales of community groups that have lost their funding, including Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso) who said student jobs will drop to 100 from 1,000 last year in his riding. "They were community jobs in museums, theatres, recreation programs," he said.
Liberal Mark Eyking (Sydney-Victoria) said "cuts" to the program have left hundreds of students without work. "Daycare operations, museums, recreation programs, minor sports leagues, seniors' clubs and small retail operations in remote areas, all have been denied funding," he told the Commons.
But Solberg defended the changes, saying unemployment rates for students are at their lowest level in 40 years. And he denied that funding for non-profit groups had been trimmed.
"We are giving quality job opportunities to students and helping not-for-profit organizations," Solberg said.
Later, a spokesperson for Solberg said that not-for-profit organizations in Ontario will get $21.1 million in funding, about the same as last year.
Program funding gives priority to organizations in high unemployment areas as well as those that hire students "with disabilities, aboriginal students, and students who are visible minorities," Lesley Harmer said in an email. "It is unfortunate that every year there are always more applications for funding than money available," she said.
From a Listmate:
Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Autism Society of Nova Scotia
Cutback to Funding for Jobs at Summer Day Camp
Hon. Jim Munson: Honourable senators, I rise on a troubling issue. Today I will read excerpts from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. As honourable senators know, autism is a passion in my life since committees here in the Senate issued a report Pay Now Or Pay Later, Autism Families In Crisis, dealing with families with children with autism.
The excerpts of the article are:
Autism group has no cash for camp.
More than 40 autistic Halifax children may be left home for the summer because of changes to a federally funded student job program.
The Autism Society of Nova Scotia found out Monday afternoon it will not receive money through Canada Summer Jobs to hire staff to run its summer day camp.
Society executive director Vicky Harvey is scrambling to try to save what she terms an 'innovative and special program.'.
For the past five years, the society has run a summer day camp in July and August.
'These are kids who are significantly affected by autism,' Ms. Harvey said.
Besides giving children aged six to 16 a chance to attend a structured program, it also gives their caregivers a summer respite. But since last year, the federal program has had a name change — it used to be called Summer Career Placement — and has been revamped.
Funding is determined by a point system. . . .
Last year the autism camp had 30 staffers. Seven of those positions were funded through Service Canada. . . .
As Ms. Harvey goes on to say:
'We just finished interviewing quite a few people.' It costs about $110,000 to run the camp.
She said that she would be very disappointed to feel that we could not run this camp again this summer.
I would like the new Government of Canada to take a deep breath, to take a look at these particular student placement programs, and take a look, for goodness' sake, at their own website, Summer Work Experience. It says:
Canada Summer Jobs, a new initiative, provides wage subsidies to help Canadian employers of not-for-profit, public sector, and smaller private sector organizations with 50 or fewer employees create career-related summer jobs for students between the ages of 15 and 30 at the start of employment.
The initiative is specifically designed to help students having trouble finding summer jobs because of where they live and/ or other barriers.
I urge you to take a look at your program and for goodness' sake take a look at what is going on in Nova Scotia, and listen.
__________________________
House of Commons
HANSARD
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Summer Career Placements Program
Mr. Michael Savage (Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, FANE is a francophone organization.
What can the minister possibly have against the YWCA, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and arts groups, all of which are non-partisan, non-profit organizations across Canada?
Last year the Autism Society of Nova Scotia had seven positions. This year? Nothing.
Organizations like these have a question for the government: “Why is the government shutting us out?”
When will the minister restore full funding to this program? When will he do what is right for these organizations across Canada?
Hon. Monte Solberg (Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I guess the question is why the previous government routinely shut out thousands of groups every year that it did not fund.
The member speaks of autism. I want to point out that the Autism Resource Centre in Moncton will receive $29,000 this year from this government. Previously it got only $9,000.
This government is stepping up to the plate, helping groups that need the help and, more important, making sure students get the work experience that they need to succeed.
_________________________________________
Minister defends cuts to student job funding; Politics Monte Solberg says Tory government is 'helping groups that need the help
New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
May 17, 2007
Page: A3
By: Rob Linke TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Student job funding in an MP's riding has to be one of the more tangible, readily understood examples of federal assistance at the local level.
But across New Brunswick this year, it's easier to find an MP railing about the funding than one crowing about it.
That's because under changes by the Conservative government, universities, hospitals, town recreation programs and community non-profit groups have discovered this week they're not getting the funding they have relied on for years.
Liberal and NDP MPs say their phones are ringing as much as ever as irate and confused constituents call to protest the outcomes of a new Conservative program.
"It is an unmitigated disaster," said Fredericton MP Andy Scott. "People are expressing a combination of shock and outrage."
Opposition MPs are themselves aghast at some of the reasons the cabinet minister responsible has offered for the changes.
Human Resources and Social Development Minister Monte Solberg has defended the changes on the grounds they no longer subsidize Tim Hortons or Wal-Mart or "Liberal friends."
In Fredericton alone, institutions that have gotten funding year after year who have been turned down flat this year include the University of New Brunswick, which applied for 47 positions, St. Thomas University (18), the city of Fredericton (29) and the town of Oromocto's recreation department (25), as well as dozens of smaller applicants.
Roughly 50 groups in the Saint John area have also been denied funding.
Saint John MP Paul Zed has invited Solberg to a community meeting over the issue in Saint John next Tuesday.
In Question Period Wednesday, Solberg was hit with five questions from across the floor.
He said students across the country are benefiting from the lowest unemployment rates in 40 years. Funding for the non-profit sector has stayed the same, as well.
And the government has said that employer surveys found a third of the jobs created under the Liberals would have been created even without the program.
When Nova Scotia Liberal MP Mike Savage rattled off a list of groups denied funds, Solberg had a Moncton example at hand.
"The Autism Resource Centre in Moncton will receive $29,000 this year from this government. Previously they only got $9,000.
"This government is stepping up to the plate, helping groups that need the help," he said.
In New Brunswick, the Liberal government funded $5.3 million in student jobs last year, but the Conservatives have kept only the $3.7 million that goes to subsidize student wages in the non-profit sector.
The Conservatives' Canada Summer Jobs program is also giving priority to proposals that employ students in areas with high crime and unemployment rates. That rules out New Brunswick entirely for crime, and much of the south of the province for unemployment, said Scott.
"This is what happens when you put people who don't fundamentally like government in charge of government," said Scott.
And NDP MP Yvon Godin said Acadie-Bathurst is still being hit hard by the changes.
"In my riding, where some areas have almost 20 per cent unemployment, they have turned down jobs in small municipalities and the tourism sector," he said. "I know of one museum that had four jobs that will not open, and another tourism centre that won't open.
"I'm getting calls from all over the place."
Godin said the department's local office has been told not to talk to MPs about the funding decisions.
"We've been told to talk to Moncton and they know nothing about our riding."
______________________________
Letters
New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
May 17, 2007
Cuts could end boy's camp dream
This was the first year we were able to scrape enough money together to send our autistic nine year old to the YMCA Integrated Camp. Ever since we received acknowledgement of his accepted application Jeremiah has been an excited little boy.
Now how do I tell him he probably isn't going? He doesn't understand the government has pulled funding for it.
It certainly isn't the first time autistic children and adults have been dumped on by the federal and New Brunswick governments.
The current and former governments have dragged their feet or totally ignored the needs of its autistic citizens as well as others with disabilities.
I hope the Community Autism Centre Inc (CACI) runs their three afternoons a week Autism Camp this year as it is the only summer activity Jeremiah could get. He has attended that in previous years and enjoyed it. But I was hoping for something different this year a little closer to our home as we don't have a car. Going to CACI requires taking taxis back and forth. If the Y's camp is cancelled, hopefully our money will be refunded so I can pay for those taxis.
At least his sister's Cheerleading camp also run by the Y is a go. How typical, our autistic child gets left out.
LYN CATO
Saint John
____________________________
Funding pulled for nursery school camp for autistic children (Autistic-Camp)
May 17, 2007
OTTAWA - For more than a decade, the `Yes I Can!' nursery school in Toronto has offered summer programs for autistic and low-income kids.
But in a surprise move, the federal government has rejected the centre's request for $38,000, putting the program in peril.
Executive director Janet MacDougall says she now dreads having to tell the parents of 45 autistic children already signed up for the summer camp.
MacDougall says the program offers a summer camp for kids who typically would not be able to go to camp anywhere else.
In previous years, the camp received funding to hire up to 30 university students and train them to work with the children and their special needs.
But in rejecting the camp's request for funding, the government says the nursery school scored poorly, despite its long record of service. (Toronto Star)
_____________________________
'I know what it's like'; Brampton teacher diagnosed with Asperger's inspires her autistic students
May 17, 2007
Page: A11
Section: Toronto
Edition: Toronto
By: Karin Kloosterman
It is the middle of a lesson in the classroom at Greenbriar Public School in Brampton, and the boys, aged 12 to 14, take turns jumping on the trampoline in between listening to their teacher.
"It releases tension," teacher Carole Ann MacDonald says matter-of-factly, as she surveys a classroom that also includes terrariums, a beanbag chair, a sectional couch and, most importantly, three teaching assistants and a teacher for just nine students.
Ms. MacDonald knows, perhaps more than most, the need for an autistic child to have a release from the structure of a school day.
When she was a bit younger than these students, she was labelled "retarded" and severely disabled, and required a team of private tutors to get her through school. It was not until her final year of teacher's college, three years ago, that she was diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism.
Ms. MacDonald is considered by autism experts such as Dr. Kevin Stoddart to be among the highest functioning cases of Asperger's. She does not shake hands obsessively or have any noticeable physical tics. Her unusualness manifests itself in a way that is difficult to pinpoint.
In the classroom, where other teachers might give harsh words when students misbehave -- the boys on this particular day were eating, pacing the room and talking out of turn --Ms. MacDonald laughs.
Her laughter, punctuated by bursts of "ha" and her patient repetition of instructions, somehow diffuses the boys' frustrations to communicate. Inappropriate reactions, such as laughter, are among the traits that define Asperger's, which is a difficult disorder to diagnose.
The logistics of handling a busy day on a rotary teaching schedule is a challenge for someone with autism, who prefers order and structure.
"There are so many transitions all in one day. I teach science, then I switch to math, then I have to switch to drama and then I have to switch to teaching language," says Ms. MacDonald in one breath. "I rely a lot on the teaching assistants for support and understanding--[they] have no problem telling me, 'You need to switch subjects and keep focused.' "
It has taken Ms. MacDonald two decades to try to understand what made her different.
"The testing process was difficult, explains Ms. MacDonald, "It's not like you walk through the door and you are diagnosed. It mainly comes from a feeling inside -- that you know you are different from other people and you want to find out why.
"Obtaining my diagnosis involved a long process of looking into my family history and by the time they told me I had Asperger's, I already knew."
She found the label empowering. As for her students, "Some people say we shouldn't label kids because 'kids are not jam,' but I disagree. Without the labels, my pupils wouldn't get the right placement or funding."
Like a typical Asperger's person, Ms. MacDonald has no qualms talking openly about her personal life, even in class.
"Boys, I know what it's like to be suspended from school. I know what it's like to fail math class," she tells them. "I used to forget my tuba and was always late for school. It's OK. When you get to high school, cling to the smart kids in class. That's what I did."
She explains her candour with her students this way: "Kids need to know if a teacher is gay or disabled so they can have role models to identify with."
When she applied for her job, straight out of teacher's college, she already had an impeccable resume, which included master's-level courses from York University, but what won her the job was a sense that she offered "this sort of 'other' dimension to her understanding of the students," says Pat Lewis, the school's principal.
Brooks Masterson, a school psychologist, said that people with Asperger's are known for not understanding other people's views, because they lack a pragmatic language. "But as a teacher, Ms. MacDonald conveys empathy and enthusiasm. She is an advocate for them and experiences what they go through."
Social worker Barbara McFarlane, who worked with Ms. MacDonald last year, can offer some insight into why her teaching method works so well: "Us outsiders would see a child's ignoring instructions as a weakness. Carole Ann is able to get in touch with them and recognize when a child does not understand instructions."
She said that it is through Ms. MacDonald's work that "these kids have risen from the bottom of the totem pole to the top of the educational system. In some cases they are functioning at a higher level than the mainstream students."
Ms. MacDonald's mother, Pam, a Newmarket business woman, says her daughter has been so focused from a very early age.
"It was almost as if Carole Ann had an innate sense of what she needed in order to succeed, and an unstoppable determination to obtain it," says her mom. "If she was quiet, you knew she was taking something apart. She seemed to have no fear. I always thought she was just a very active child. I have subsequently learned that autistic children don't understand non-verbal cues, and need things explained very clearly; they can make inappropriate comments, and almost shut down in stressful situations."
Admittedly, Ms. MacDonald says, some educational staff might think her teaching concepts are strange, especially since previous teachers in the class spent their time preventing injury from outbursts or meltdowns.
"Some teachers told me that I should give my students the basic life skills in the hopes that one day they could be a cashier at Wal-Mart. I tell my students that they are not going to Wal-Mart. They are going to college and university," she says.
"Now we even have students in our class attending the gifted classes at the school."
Today, more than 19 families are on a waiting list to put their child in Greenbriar's autism class. One family even moved from Saskatchewan to get a placement.
"I tell the kids and parents that I have Asperger's," Ms. MacDonald says. "The parents look relieved."
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Toys 'R' Us Raises More Than $1.1 Million to Help Autism Speaks Combat The Nation's Fastest-Growing Developmental Disorder; Support From the Toys 'R' Us Children's Fund Continues with National Sponsorship of the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism Program
May 17, 2007
WAYNE, N.J., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Toys "R" Us and the Toys "R" Us Children's Fund announced that their nationwide campaign to benefit Autism Speaks raised more than $1.1 million to support crucial autism research and advocacy. For seven weeks, as part of Autism Awareness Month, all T
oys "R"
Us stores across the country, and www.Toysrus.com , collected cash donations in an effort to help solve the puzzle of autism. All money raised during the campaign will go directly to Autism Speaks to fund important autism research
programs and help provide a voice for children affected by the disorder.
"We were truly gratified by the tremendous outpouring of support we received from our customers, employees, and communities for this initiative that will further the important works of Autism Speaks," said Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys "R" Us, Inc. "The mission of the Toys "R" Us Children's Fund is to help children in need, and we are pleased that our fundraising efforts will benefit the more than 1.5 million kids and families in the United States impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorders."
In conjunction with the fundraising campaign, Toys "R" Us created the "Ten Toys That Speak to Autism," a unique resource for families, friends and caregivers of children with autism. This special list features everyday toys that promote skills that contribute to an autistic child's developmen
t. The
list also includes early warning signs of autism to provide customers with important information on the disorder. The list continues to be available at www.Toysrus.com/autismspeaks .
"We are thrilled with the results of the Toys "R" Us in-store fundraising campaign, which far exceeded our expectations," said Mark Roithmayr, President of Autism Speaks. "Toys "R" Us has been a tremendous partner and because of its dedication to this campaign we are one step closer to finding a cure for autism."
In addition to the fundraising campaign, Toys "R" Us currently serves as the national sponsor of the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism program, a series of more than 60 fundraising walk events occurring over ten months in cities from coast-to-coast. Across the country, Toys "R" Us employees are joining in the effort by forming teams in their local communities to participate in the walk events.
About Toys "R" Us, Inc.
Toys "R" Us is the world's leading specialty toy retailer. Currently it sells merchandise through more than 1,500 stores, including 586 stores in the U.S. and 684 international toy stores, which includes licensed and franchise stores, and through its Internet site at www.Toysrus.com
. Babies "R" Us is the largest baby product specialty store chain in the world and a leader in the juvenile industry, and sells merchandise through 254 stores in the U.S. as well as on the Internet at www.Babiesrus.com .
SOURCE Toys "R" Us, Inc.
_______________________________
How the feds help autism….(see first article about changes to federally funded program leaving autistic kids without assistants at camp).
________________________________
Autism group has no cash for camp
Halifax Chronicle Herald
May 16, 2007
Page: B3
Section: Metro
Byline: Davene Jeffrey Staff Reporter
More than 40 autistic Halifax children may be left home for the summer because of changes to a federally funded student job program.
The Autism Society of Nova Scotia found out Monday afternoon it will not receive money through Canada Summer Jobs to hire staff to run its summer day camp.
Society executive director Vicky Harvey is scrambling to try to save what she terms an "innovative and special program."
For the past five years, the society has run a summer day camp in July and August.
"These are kids who are significantly affected by autism," Ms. Harvey said.
Besides giving the children aged six to 16 a chance to attend a structured program, it also gives their caregivers a summer respite. But since last year, the federal program has had a name change - it used to be called Summer Career Placement - and has been revamped.
Funding is determined by a point system.
"A whole slew of community organizations that always receive student placements are just finding out right now that they have been shut out," says Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Mike Savage.
"It's absolutely outrageous that they would change this successful program and leave both students and really, really worthwhile community organizations in the lurch."
Changing the criteria for funding is pitting one deserving community organization against another, Mr. Savage said.
Last year the autism camp had 30 staffers. Seven of those positions were funded through Service Canada.
Children were able to attend one of two four-week sessions at a local church.
So far, Ms. Harvey's group has received 40 applications from families looking to send their children to camp this summer and she expects to receive many more.
Last year, 47 children attended the camp.
With an ever-increasing demand, Ms. Harvey had been considering offering two-week sessions this year so all the children would get an opportunity to attend camp.
Because of the children's needs, they receive one-on-one care. The summer students who work with them are paid $10 an hour.
"We just finished interviewing quite a few people," Ms. Harvey said It costs about $110,000 to run the camp. About $25,000 came from the summer job program.
Ms. Harvey said her organization is always looking for new funding and is not about to give up on the camp.
"I would be very disappointed to feel we couldn't do this, this summer."
Autism affects one in every 150 people, Ms. Harvey said.
According to its website, Canada Summer Jobs is designed to help students get jobs in areas where work is scarce, such as in high crime and/or high unemployment areas.( )
_______________________________
Three Programs to Help Students With Autism, Other Special Needs Attend College Announced Today; College Living Experience Accepting Enrollment for 2007-08 Academic Year
May 15, 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A program to help students with autism and other special needs attend college is expanding to campuses in the Chicago, northern California and Washington, D.C., areas and is accepting applications for the 2007-2008 academic year.
College Living Experience (CLE) provides intensive assistance with academic, independent living and social skills to college students with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asperger's Syndrome, non-verbal learning disorders and other learning disabilities as they attend college. CLE already operates programs in Austin, Texas, Denver and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Students from around the country can enroll at the location of their choice.
Students live in apartments near the local CLE offices and student centers while taking classes at community colleges, vocational schools or universities. CLE professional staff work closely with students to provide structured tutoring sessions, independent living skills training and social outings.
Students participating in the Chicago program may attend classes at Oakton Community College in suburban Skokie. Students at the Monterey, Calif., CLE may attend either Monterey Peninsula College or California State University at Monterey Bay, and students at the Rockville, Md., site near Washington, D.C., may attend Montgomery College. In addition, CLE will assist students who are accepted at any nearby college, university, technical or vocational school.
CLE provides intensive support in three primary areas to complement a student's higher-education goals:
-- Academics: Students attend three 50-minute tutoring sessions conducted
by professional tutors. They also attend a weekly course review and
study-hall sessions three or four times a week.
-- Independent living: CLE staff work individually with students to
introduce apartment living and provide support for the development of
life skills. Students receive assistance with establishing and
maintaining a checking account, paying monthly bills, shopping,
preparing meals, cleaning and managing other daily-living necessities.
-- Social skills: All students enrolled in CLE are paired with a mentor
who takes on the role of a big brother or big sister. Students also
have the chance to participate in social-skills groups that gather
around specific activities, such as bowling or movies. CLE also offers
a variety of events each week, such as attending art openings, a local
festival or a fishing outing.
"The greatest fear of parents of exceptional children is, 'What will happen to my child when I'm gone?,'" Mark Claypool, president and CEO of ESA, said. "Many parents never consider college as an option and they worry their children will not be prepared for independent adulthood. With the support and services of CLE, exceptional students can attend college, earn degrees and achieve the academic and social skills they need to live independently."
CLE is a division of Educational Services of America, the nation's leading national provider of special, alternative and post-secondary educational programs.
"By offering daily tutoring, independent living assistance, social events and access to a staff psychologist, we make sure all the needs of our students are met," Steven Roth, Ed. D., executive director of CLE, said. "We focus on students' needs so they can focus on their dreams."
For more information on CLE, visit www.cleinc.net or contact Patricia Giner, national director of admissions, at 800-486-5058.
About Educational Services of America
Educational Services of America is the nation's leading provider of K-12 and post-secondary alternative and special education programs. Based in Nashville, Tenn., ESA owns and operates more than 120 schools and programs in numerous states throughout the country. ESA provides highly personalized
academic and behavioral services for students through the following branded areas: College Living Experience, College Living Prep, ESA Exceptional Schools, Ombudsman Educational Services and Spectrum Center Schools. For more information, visit www.esa-education.com .
SOURCE Educational Services of America
_____________________________________
University of Missouri Study on Link Between Autism and Mercury a Discredit to Sound Science, Says SafeMinds; Undisclosed industry funding, unsubstantiated conclusions on vaccines, and study sample alteration undermine credibility on controversial topic
May 16, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent press release from the University of Missouri announced the results of a study on autism and Rh immune globulin (RhIg) injections, some of which contained a mercury preservative called thimerosal. SafeMinds reviewed information about this study and found several troublesome aspects, including undisclosed industry funding, unsubstantiated conclusions on vaccines and mercury, and deviation from acceptable scientific practice.
The study was funded by Johnson & Johnson, the largest manufacturer of RhIg products and the defendant in several lawsuits alleging a link between autism and mercury in RhIg. In an earlier 2005 poster presentation, the study authors acknowledged that the research was "supported by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research," but the University of Missouri press release omits mention of this conflict of interest.
The press release headline falsely claims that the "Study Finds No Link Between Autism and Thimerosal in Vaccines." The study is about Rh immune globulin, and immune globulins are not vaccines. "The headline deceives the public," noted Mark Blaxill, director of SafeMinds. "It says an autism-mercury in vaccines link has been disproved when the research did not do so." In fact, the study failed to differentiate between mothers who received RhIg brands with mercury and those receiving the brand without mercury, rendering assessment of mercury's role in autism from RhIg indeterminate.
Changes to the research sample were made in the middle of the study. The 2005 sample contained 47 mothers with more than one child with autism, while the final 2007 study only had 16 mothers with more than one child with autism. The elimination of 31 "multiplex" families means that the original sample was altered, and not just added to, after initial results were obtained in contradiction of standard research practice meant to prevent manipulation of findings.
"An earlier analysis by SafeMinds of the poster presentation revealed numerous flaws in methods, analysis and interpretation," stated Mr. Blaxill. "We are concerned many of these flaws have not been corrected and quite possibly have been amplified in the published paper. While the poster results demonstrated an increased risk of autism in thimerosal-exposed children, the written interpretation of the data claimed the opposite."
Once SafeMinds has the opportunity to review the full paper, a full assessment will be completed. SafeMinds calls for unbiased studies on the potential link between autism and mercury exposures. More information on this study is available at http://www.safeminds.org
.
SOURCE SafeMinds
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Stamp faces brave new front Autistic son inspires McNeil to be great dad
The Calgary Sun
May 16, 2007
BY ERIC FRANCIS
The tears in Jay McNeil's eyes suggest the news hit every bit as hard as losing his father at age 11.
Even harder than the 18-wheeler that careened into him at age 25 and should have taken his life.
"My son..." started McNeil, pausing to deliver words no parent wants to utter, "has autism."
On the eve of accepting his second-straight President's Ring as the Calgary Stampeders' most inspirational player on and off the field, McNeil chose to pay tribute to his greatest inspiration by going public for the first time with the battle being waged by his four-year-old boy, Cuyler.
"When you get the news that your kid is autistic, it's devastating," said McNeil yesterday, wiping tears from his cheeks.
"But I wouldn't change it for the world. Every day we thank God for bringing him into our lives. He's the best kid you could ever ask for. He's got the best attitude and is the gentlest kid. He doesn't ever want to hurt anybody. He just wants to have fun."
It was more than a year ago McNeil and wife Tara noticed Cuyler's affinity for counting, which led doctors to send him to a developmental pediatrician.
"We knew he liked letters and numbers but we just thought he was a smart kid," said McNeil, who wasn't told of the diagnosis until last fall.
"When they sat us down to tell us it was hard -- I teared up. But when I was driving home I called my mom to tell her and I finally broke down. Thing is, I wouldn't want him any other way. We loved him and thought he was an awesome kid beforehand and it doesn't change who he is."
Autism is a developmental disability stemming from a disorder in the central nervous system. It can affect children by delaying social interaction, language or play.
"Most people wouldn't know -- we kind of haven't really said a whole lot," said McNeil, 36, who has registered Cuyler in a regular school for next year.
"It can range from mental retardation to kids that don't talk and may never talk.
"He's high functioning so we're pretty fortunate that way.
"There are lots of e-mails going around about autism and one from a mother who said she'd give anything to hear her son say 'I love you.' Cuyler will. As far as intelligence, he's as smart a kid as you'll find at that age."
Thankful he lives in Alberta, which has the highest autism funding in Canada, the London, Ont., native says 30 hours of one-on-one work with two aids every week has helped Cuyler make huge developmental leaps since September.
A longtime spokesman for CUPS who has made regular appearances at charity functions throughout his 13-year career, McNeil says he and Tara want to get involved with Autism fundraising.
Fortunate enough to have won two Grey Cups while playing in front of a handful of the game's top quarterbacks the last 13 years, the 300-lb. Stampeders offensive-lineman also feels blessed to have escaped death after experiencing two high-impact car accidents within an hour.
"My Jeep hit black ice and rolled end over end twice and then on its side," said McNeil of the 1996 accident on a North Dakota highway.
"The cops came and we were waiting for a tow truck and an 18-wheeler slid on the same ice and crushed all three cars we were in.
"I was sure the cop next to me was dead -- he was slumped over the wheel and unconscious and I didn't have a scratch on me. I was definitely lucky to be alive."
Despite his son's battles, not a day goes by the five-time all-star doesn't realize how charmed his life has been.
McNeil is revered by teammates and a fan favourite on a model franchise that will honour him at noon tomorrow with a soldout luncheon at the Convention Centre sure to get emotional when talk turns to his family.
"Whenever things get tough I think about Cuyler," said McNeil, only the third Stamp to win consecutive President's Rings as voted by teammates (the others being Alondra Johnson and Danny Barrett).
"He's easily the most inspirational thing in my life. Everything Tara and I do we think of him first. We just want to give him every chance to succeed."
Just like his big daddy.
Illustration: photo by Darren Makowichuk, Sun Media
Stampeders o-lineman Jay McNeil and his wife, Tara, pose with their son Cuyler yesterday at their home. McNeil, who is set to receive the President's Ring from the Stamps organization tomorrow, publicly stated that Cuyler was diagnosed with autism.
_____________________
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Title: Monday, May 14, 2007 1:00 p.m.
Date: 07/05/14
The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods.
Mrs. Mather: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to
introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly two
parents of children who are autistic, Kierstin Hatt and Eleanor Mui.
I would ask that they please rise for the warm and traditional
welcome of the Assembly.
Tabling Returns and Reports
The Speaker: Hon. members, the chair is tabling with the Assembly
the report by the Ethics Commissioner into allegations involving
hon. members – and I will mention their names because that is title
of the text – Ed Stelmach, Premier; David Hancock, Minister of
Health and Wellness; and Lyle Oberg, Minister of Finance. The
report is dated May 11, 2007, and this report was distributed to all
members earlier today.
The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona.
Dr. Pannu: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to table a
letter from Kierstin Hatt and Brian Small of Camrose, Kimberly and
Brian Hockin of Wetaskiwin, Jody and Tomi Heiskanen of Red
Deer, and Eleanor and Andy Mui of Edmonton. These are parents
of children with autism. Their letter is to the Minister of Children’s
Services, presenting evidence of ministry failures to follow regulations
and existing procedures within the FSCD program, as adult
children with autism are denied treatment that they need and to
which they are entitled under the FSCD Act. This also results in
enormous additional burden to the families, to say nothing of the
waste of ministry resources . .
Support for Families with Autistic Children
Mrs. Mather: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Autism spectrum disorder
places a substantial burden on families with children affected by it.
In Alberta these families have been pushed to the breaking point by
the process in place for assessing the eligibility of autistic children
for specialized treatment. Every single year parents must travel
often far distances to prove that their children are indeed deserving
of treatment. Local multidisciplinary team processes are familycentred
and meet the requirements of the Family Support for
Children with Disabilities Act. To the Minister of Children’s
Services: will your department ensure that families can engage in the
multidisciplinary team, MDT, process with professionals in their
own communities?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Ms Tarchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The first thing I want
to say is that we understand in Children’s Services that raising a
child with a disability can be very challenging. I’m really proud to
be part of a government that believes that these families deserve our
support and our help. I’d also like to point out that the Alberta
family support for children with disabilities program is unique in
Canada, and in my short time here I’ve heard that from people right
across this country. So just to start with those comments.
With respect to the eligibility process regarding autism, I will get
back to you with more information.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mrs. Mather: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard several
complaints from families that are seeking funding for relationship
development interventions. They’re very concerned because
department regulations are not being followed, and they feel they
have been forced into unnecessary and expensive appeal processes.
To the Minister of Children’s Services: if your department has
agreed to fund RDI for one child, why is it later forcing some
parents into painful appeal processes to demonstrate that RDI meets
FSCD regulations?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Ms Tarchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding with
respect to autism is that the multidisciplinary teams provide
expertise. They try to determine a child’s needs in order to provide
the level required. So I do know that we are looking at different
delivery of services for the spectrum of autism. Once again, I will
get you more information on the eligibility process and get more
details for you.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mrs. Mather: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I emphasize
the need for local input. Two parents have made the trip to Edmonton
again today to seek a fair resolution for their particular situations.
Their children cannot go without needed treatment any
longer. These parents have brought with them substantial documentation
of instances where ministry staff have failed to follow
department regulations and procedures. To the Minister of Children’s
Services: the concerns of these parents are reflective of larger
problems with the way this department treats people and families
with autistic children. Will you agree to meet with these parents
today and to hear first-hand how abusive the MDT appeal process
can be?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Ms Tarchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I will say is if
you could please ask those individuals to forward the documentation
to me, I will take a look at it as well as follow up and get that
information I told you earlier.
________________________
Please see the important post below from the FEAT BC message board regarding some of the difference between autism treatment in Canada and the US and most recent developments.
Thank you.
_________________________________________
By Isaac (Tamir) on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 6:43 pm:
Hello Everyone,
Following up on recent commentary shared in this forum ("Canada's autism health policy amounts to all of a new website ... AND, a symposium!" http://tinyurl.com/2jhyot), we learn today, yet again, that things are quite different South of the border.
The legislature in the State of Wisconsin, has proposed a new law intended to MANDATE health insurance coverage for autism (http://tinyurl.com/32erkq). Two obvious implications of this development are that a) Wisconsin's polity clearly deems autism treatment to be a health issue (not social services or special education), and 2) they view it as a reasonable notion that health insurance companies be legally required to provide coverage for the cost of autism treatment.
Meanwhile, back in Can'tada, the health insurance "companies" can rest easy, since they (the provincial governments) are both the overseer of health insurance AND the provider, all rolled up into one bloated, inefficient socialist package. Put another way, the proverbial government 'fox' is guarding the Medicare 'chicken coop', and kids with autism don't even get to visit the farm.
It's a serious problem that there is no proper, effective health insurance oversight in Canada. It is shocking to know that over 30% of the health budget is squandered. And that’s quite a big number, when one considers that fully 1/3 of the typical provincial budget goes to health.
However, Health Canada does assure us that they fully understand the urgency of the national autism epidemic and that they are "moving forward" on this important issue, with a new web site ... AND, an autism symposium!
I wonder how much mileage this kind of government dithering and cynical spin would garner over in Wisconsin?
Isaac
From CTV:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070516/mental_disorders_babies_070516/20070516?hub=Health
Doctors try to diagnose disorders in babies
Updated Wed. May. 16 2007 2:23 PM ET
Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Within days of their birth, healthy babies will look you in the eye. By four months, they will delight in others. And by nine months, they will exchange smiles.
Jacob Day did none of those things. "We used to say it was like it burned his eyes to look at you," said his mother, Tamie Day of Antelope, Calif. "It was like a physically painful thing for him. It wasn't just that he wasn't looking at us; he was purposefully looking away."
Day, who has a psychology degree, suspected her son might have autism. She enrolled him in a study, published in April, that found that babies like Jacob are indeed at high risk for autism if they do not respond to their names by 12 months of age.
At 18 months, he was formally diagnosed with autism, about a year earlier than usual. Before he turned two, Jacob began daily intensive behaviour treatment designed to help him lead a more normal life.
He is part of a growing field in psychiatry called infant mental health. Doctors and scientists are increasingly looking for early signs in babies of autism, attention deficit disorder and other mental problems that just a generation ago, scarcely anyone thought could appear in children so young.
Some scientists even believe that intensive treatment in some susceptible babies can actually prevent autism, attention deficit disorder and other problems.
An influential Institute of Medicine report in 2000 helped energize this idea. The report emphasized the plasticity of babies' brains. It also explained how interacting with babies can change their brain wiring.
"We used to say 'nature versus nurture,' but now people really think it's 'nature through nurture,' "said the University of Chicago's Dr. Lawrence Gray.
Tamie Day noticed the first ominous clue the night she and her husband, Chris, brought Jacob home after his birth.
"We walked in the door and he wouldn't stop looking at our ceiling fan," she said. "The next day, that's all he would look at."
Babies typically begin making eye contact soon after birth, and "understand at a basic, perhaps hardwired level, that eyes are special - they look more at eyes than at other parts of the face," said Sally Ozonoff, an autism specialist at the University of California at Davis' MIND Institute.
When his mother expressed her autism concerns at Jacob's six-month checkup, the doctor said "we were being a little overzealous," Day said.
Still, there was no pointing, no clapping, no shared smiles, and when Jacob would laugh, it seemed like his own private joke. So his parents sought out UC-Davis specialists, who gave them the heartbreaking diagnosis.
Jacob, now 3 1/2, has made meaningful progress thanks to treatment, his mother said, including a breakthrough moment at age two. It still makes her cry to recall it.
She was giving Jacob a bath, playing the "itsy bitsy spider" finger game, when he looked up and really gazed into her eyes. "He was smiling up at me and I realized that was the first time he had done that," she said. "He has gorgeous blue eyes, and I was like, 'My God, your eyes are so beautiful.' "
Interest in infant mental health has been boosted by awareness of the prevalence of attention deficit disorders and autism, which U.S. officials said in February affects one in 150 U.S. children and may be more common than previously thought.
In April, researchers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders presented a report emphasizing earlier diagnosis and treatment.
The report said that about 17 per cent of U.S. children have a developmental disability such as autism, mental retardation and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, but that fewer than half are diagnosed before starting school.
The authors say warning signs include failure to:
• Focus on sights and sounds by two months.
• Initiate joyful behavior with parents by four months.
• Exchange smiles and sounds with parents by eight to nine months.
• Take a parent's hand to find a toy and point to objects by 12 to 16 months.
Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that pediatricians routinely evaluate children for developmental problems such as autism starting in infancy, and begin testing at age nine months.
"Waiting until a young child misses a major milestone such as walking or talking may result in late rather than early recognition . . . depriving the child and family of the benefits of early identification and intervention," the academy said.
Some critics worry that the trend will trigger needless diagnoses in children with normal variations in behaviour.
Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick, a London physician, said that while early recognition and treatment of true disorders are important, "the extension of these categories to include 20 to 30 per cent of all children reflects a social trend of pathologizing and medicalizing children's lives, which seems to reflect difficulties of parents and teachers in dealing with familiar problems of childhood development."
Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatry professor at George Washington University who co-authored the CDC-Interdisciplinary group report, said the idea is not to slap a label on babies and give them medication. Greenspan said the goal is to raise awareness about early warning signs and to encourage treatment to increase the chances that children can develop normally.
Research on identifying early clues and testing treatments is booming. For example:
• Dr. Fred Volkmar at Yale University is studying potential ways to diagnose autism in the first months of life, including whether looking at objects rather than people is a sign. "I think we're on the verge of being able to do a much better job" of diagnosing autism in infancy, Volkmar said.
• Researcher Stephen Porges at the University of Illinois at Chicago is starting a five-year study of whether excessive crying past 6 months of age might be an early sign of autism, attention deficit or other behavior problems.
• Greenspan is launching a multimillion-dollar study involving parents and babies at risk for autism or attention deficit disorder. One group will receive intensive behavior training, the other will not; both will be compared through age five.
While rigorous scientific evidence is needed to prove that early intervention succeeds, Greenspan said his work with patients has shown promise.
Jacob didn't say his first word, "more," until he was in treatment and almost two - about a year later than normal. He didn't say "mama" until he was three.
He gets 33 hours of weekly home treatment with trained college students, including six hours most days. The tab is US$70,000 yearly, paid for by California, one of the few states that pay, through state and federal funds, for early intensive autism treatment.
The London Free Press
Consistency is golden for children with autism
Nasmith, Cecilia
Local News - Wednesday, May 16, 2007 @ 09:00
While the Bates family of Cobourg tries to maintain a consistent household schedule for the sake of their six-year-old son Ryan, father Doug will be travelling to Toronto June 3 to participate in the third annual Ontario Walk Now For Autism.
In fact, he'll be doing it for Ryan, and all the other children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder - one in 150 by some estimates, so it's something society will have to address sooner or later.
Or, as the title of a March report by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology put it, Pay Now Or Pay Later.
"There are not enough funds to take care of all these kids," Mr. Bates said. "They slip through the cracks."
What is really needed is a national strategy, as opposed to the patchwork of support now in place. While parents in Alberta benefit from generous government support, parents in Nova Scotia can count on none. Meanwhile, parents are faced with laying out significant amounts of money for the treatment, therapeutic programming and other things that might help their children.
Mr. Bates has heard of families forced to give up their homes. In his own case, he and his wife have sacrificed careers (his own at CIBC, wife Mary's at Hallmark Cards) to devote themselves to nurturing and advocating for young Ryan.
While Mr. Bates collects pledges, however, he will also be working to educate the community on autism, a complex neurobiological disorder with no known cause or cure. The current research tends to favour genetics, but Mr. Bates doubts it's that simple. Many parents, like him and his wife, may have one autistic child out of a family of three, he pointed out - obviously more research is needed. Mr. Bates is always glad to share his story so that other parents can get an idea what to look out for in their own children. In Ryan's case, he began showing differences in development before the age of two, such as intolerance of noise. His second birthday party was a torture for him because of the noise, his father recalls.
"Then he went into a regression where he sort of shut down. He would sit in front of the TV and just rock," he said.
Ryan made great strides in his speech, thanks to the Blairview-McMillan Rehabilitation Centre and Geneva Centre for Autism. A very slow progress ensued to bring him to where he is today.
"We want to let parents know there is hope," Mr. Bates said. "There's a lot of sacrifice we've made in terms of career decisions, money decisions, but we're very pleased that both our parents have been extremely supportive and our friends have been extremely supportive."
Every autistic child manifests the disorder in his or her own way, so every family with an autistic child has its own unique challenges.
But the cornerstone of it all is - here comes that word again - the consistency any autistic child needs.
People need to be aware, too, of behavioural tics some of these children manifest. Ryan tends to flap his hands repeatedly and to be very affectionate.
But while his little sister Katie (age four) and little brother Matthew (age one and a half) also have tics, they will presumably be absorbing the social graces that our culture has deemed to be normal. For example, if Ryan receives a birthday present he doesn't like, he will come right out and say so.
"You never have to worry about where you stand with Ryan," Mr. Bates admitted with a chuckle. But underneath the mannerisms is a wonderful little boy.
"Anybody who knows him falls in love with him right away," he said fondly.
"He is very smart, especially in some areas. He loves snakes so, if all goes well, we hope he can go into biology.
"He's extremely intuitive, and he remembers things so well that I don't need a calendar anymore. It's impressive - almost scary - what a memory he has."
But he has difficulty with change. Any break in routine - which Katie would take in stride - brings Ryan to tears. He can't understand why things have to change.
Right now, the Bates family is wrestling with Ryan's transition to Grade 1 next year at Notre Dame Elementary School. They're hoping he can have the same educational assistant that he's had in Senior Kindergarten, to whom he has responded so positively.
Mr. Bates has arranged to be at a display at Northumberland Mall May 20 and at Wal-Mart May 27. He has also distributed educational bookmarks which a number of locations are giving out, like McDonald's and Reid's Dairy.
The June 3 walk in which he will participate is a larger forum for encouraging improved national policy and sponsoring badly needed research. To learn more, visit canada.autismwalk.org
Or look for Mr. Bates when you shop over the next couple of weekends. cnasmith@northumberlandtoday.com
The Edmonton Sun
Dogs help autistic kids
New canine training school comes to Edmonton
By NICKI THOMAS, Special to Sun Media
Aidan Papadatos, 5, who has autism, poses for a photo with his new guide dog Leia outside his McLeod neighbourhood home Wednesday afternoon. David Bloom/SUN MEDIA
A six-year-old city boy with autism is the first local to be paired with a service dog from a new canine training school that has branched out to Edmonton.
“It will give us a chance to get out in the community like a normal family,” mother Karyn Papadatos told Sun Media Wednesday.
Aidan, who loves to run, has had several close calls involving traffic and water.
“Aidan should have died at least three times,” said his mom, adding he loves to memorize car licence plates and will often dart onto the street.
“And he will bolt toward any body of water, whether it’s a puddle or Niagara falls.”
Now when the family is in public, Aidan will be tethered to Leia, a black lab trained to listen to Papadatos’s commands.
“It will be nice to be able to go out in public and not have to hold on to my son,” she said, adding that Aidan has sensory issues and can’t hold hands.
Aidan has begun to develop a relationship with Leia despite the fact that children with Autism often don’t show emotion and find it difficult to bond.
A dog makes a difference
Since Leia has started sleeping in his room, Aidan, who suffers from nighttime euphoria, has slept through the night for the first time.
Having a canine companion will also help socialize Aidan, who, unlike some Autistic children, is verbal.
“People will come up and talk to him, he needs that exposure,” said his mother.
Papadatos travelled to Cambridge, Ont., recently for a intensive five-day training program run by the National Service Dogs (NSD), a non-profit charity that breeds and trains dogs for children with Autism and other special needs.
Chris Fowler, program director for NSD, is in town this week working with Leia and the Papadatoses, the first family in Edmonton to receive one of these dogs.
“There is a huge demand in Alberta. It’s the second largest province on the wait list,” said Fowler.
To meet the demand in Alberta, the foundation will be opening an office in Calgary.
Currently, the wait list for a dog is two and a half years.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/05/16/4186393.html
End of May 17th Mailing
email autism articles to: ktchmeifucan2002@yahoo.ca I will endeavour to post in a timely fashion Trish Kitching, Alliance for Families with Autism
REALLY GOOD Autism Related Stuff from Families!
- http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080320/WFIVE_CarlysStory_080320/20080322?hub=WFive
- http://www.portalonline.org/PORTAL_2008/campbell/index.html
- http://www.ont-autism.uoguelph.ca/OAARSN-news-20080323.html
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