|
|
 |
News
AUTON CASE ONE YEAR LATER - submitted: Saturday, November 19, 2005 - 21:31
|
Autism Society Canada
For immediate release
November 17, 2005 Ottawa
Early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, services and supports help people with ASDs reach their full potential as citizens, both at work and in our communities. "If our health, social service and education systems offered the necessary services to people with ASDs throughout their life, starting when they are young, indeed if we, as a society, made that early investment, we would not only be doing the right thing, we would also be opting for the most cost-effective solution," said Jo-Lynn Fenton, president of Autism Society Canada. She added: "With the appropriate supports, accommodations and interventions, many of the people diagnosed with autism would not be dependent on the state their entire lives and the estimated two million dollars spent over just one dependent individual’s lifetime would be saved thousands of times over." Health Minister Dosanjh’s recent announcement of $300 million to promote health and disease prevention overlooked autism completely. This week, as the government prepares for an election, Finance Minister Goodale unveiled $30 billion in spending and tax savings. The needs of the autism community were nowhere to be found in this spending spree.
In many parts of our country, treatment and other essential services for people with ASDs continue to be non-existent. Families are forced to relocate to another province or incur huge debt in order to obtain essential treatment. Unacceptable wait lists deprive children of scientifically validated early intervention treatment. Local, regional and national news media regularly report on individual cases that illustrate the lack of services for people with autism. It is shocking to read about a severely autistic 13-year-old boy being housed on the grounds of a provincial youth jail or a mother unable to get the hospital care she requires because there are no temporary care options for her son with autism. These are not isolated cases.
Autism Society Canada calls on the government to:
Increase funding to provinces and territories to provide critical no-cost treatment, education, professional training, required supports and accommodations for Canadians with ASDs
Mandate the Public Health Agency of Canada to make autism a national priority by initiating surveillance and reporting, and setting much-needed national standards for treatment and service delivery
Allocate significant funds targeted for ASDs research to Canadian funding organizations such as CIHR
Improve financial and other supports to people with disabilities and their families through the federal tax and labour systems
ASC is a federation of Canada-wide provincial and territorial autism societies whose collective memberships represent the largest body of individuals affected by ASDs and their families in Canada.
One year has passed since children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and their families were denied the support they were looking for at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Auton case. In this past year, there has been no action by the federal government to address the pressing and multifaceted needs of the autism community in Canada.
For more information please contact:
Louise Fleming, ASC Executive Director, Ottawa ON (613) 789-8943
Société canadienne de l’autisme
A Call for the Federal Government to Take Action on Autism Now
|
|
November 19/04 Auton Case Decision - submitted: Friday, November 19, 2004 - 22:22
|
For immediate release Supreme Court of Canada Rules Not In Support of Families in
Autism Treatment Case November 19, 2004 Regina The Auton case ruling is very specific to the legal interpretation of the B.C. Medicare Protection Act. As such, direct application of this ruling will most likely have limited application to the over 180 other legal actions involving more than 1600 families in various provinces across Canada where public funding is being sought for provision of scientifically validated autism treatment. "We are saddened by this ruling," said Lisa Simmermon, National Representative from Saskatchewan Families for Effective Autism Treatment to Autism Society Canada’s Board of Directors. "However, it does clarify that autism issues require the work of the federal government and Members of Parliament as our country’s legislators. In particular, Health Canada has a very significant role to work quickly to address treatment and other autism issues on a national basis. This, of course, needs to be accomplished with the provincial and territorial governments, and accomplished soon so that families, including Saskatchewan families, are not required to obtain effective treatment only through legal actions." The number of students in Saskatchewan has increased by at least 150% over the past six years, and there are now more than 700 students in Saskatchewan with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Currently, only 6 are provided with comprehensive treatment for their autism in Saskatoon. Families who seek to provide autism treatment for their children in the form of Applied Behavior Analysis/Intensive Behavioral Intervention have to pay for it and/or provide it themselves. This is also very often the case with treatment components speech therapy (for alternative or augmentative language system development as well as speech challenges) and occupational or physical therapy (for motor control and sensory challenges). Links to the Auton decision (available on the Supreme Court of Canada website) and a media release are available from Autism Society Canada at - 30 - Contacts: www.autismsocietycanada.ca . Lisa Simmermon, SASKFEAT National Representative, Regina (306) 545-0966, cell (306) 533-6665 Auton case families in Vancouver, BC: Jean Lewis, (604) 925-4401 Sabrina Freeman (604) 534-6956 Saskatchewan Families for Effective Autism Treatment Inc. Box 2545, Tisdale, SK. S0E1T0 Phone:(306) 862-4768 Fax:(306) 862-3899 www.saskfeat.com Many Saskatchewan families are deeply disappointed today by the news that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled today on the side of the government in the Auton case. The Court overturned decisions of the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal ordering the B.C. government to fund medically necessary treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
|
|
Summer School 2004 in Tisdale - submitted: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 22:45
|
FROM JULY 20TH TO AUGUST 6TH, 2004 IN TISDALE.
|
|
Annual General Meeting June 22/2004 - submitted: Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 23:18
|
|
|
The Second Summer Program - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:18
|
August, 2003 - the second summer program
|
|
The Second Training the Trainer Seminar - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:17
|
Easter 2003 - the second training the trainer seminar
|
|
The First Summer Program - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:16
|
July, 2002 - the first summer program
|
|
The First Training The Trainer Seminar - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:15
|
February 18 to 23, 2002 - the fist training the trainer seminar
|
|
Jan's report for training the trainer. - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:14
|
Jan's report for training the trainer.
|
|
Jan's seminar in Nipawin. - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:13
|
Jan's seminar in Nipawin.
|
|
Dr Jan Butz 1-day seminar - submitted: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:10
|
Dr Jan Butz 1-day seminar
|
|
|
 |
|
