Advocacy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

I have no vote in today's British Columbia election. I do not pretend to know the area, other than what I have heard from my BC friends. I am certain though that if I had a vote today I would vote for fiscally responsible community activist and autism advocate David O. Marley who is running as an independent in West Vancouver- Capilano . (Photo left: David Marley in Oakville , Ontario campaigning for Medicare for Autism NOW!) David's official bio and agenda are on the internet at Vote4Marley . If you read the material at that site you will learn that David Marley has ... Read Full Story

Restigouche Regional Hospital, Campbellton New Brunswick Centracare Long Term Mental Health Services Center, Saint John New Brunswick As the father of a severely autistic boy I am repulsed by attempts to redefine autism from being a medical concept, a neurological disorder to a social model based on variations in personality and modes of thinking. At its most benign the social models of autism are inherently self contradictory. People who have received a medical diagnosis of autism wish to be thought of as autistic, they are proud of their autism, BUT they do not want "their" autism to be known as a medical condition. Autism, ... Read Full Story

On Friday long time autism champion and Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy questioned federal Conservative Health Minister, Leona Aglukkaq, below left, on the Harper government's failure to honor its commitment to convene a meeting of the provincial health ministers with the objective of developing a national strategy on the treatment and support of Canadians with autism. Instead of directly answering the question Health Minister Aglukkaq dissembled and did not acknowledge either the commitment to convene a meeting of Canada's health ministers to develop a national autism strategy or the Harper government's failure to honor that commitment. It is time that politicians like Stephen Harper and ... Read Full Story

How often do you see studies or reports about low functioning autism? It appears that research about "autism" is skewed towards research of high functioning autism and Aspergers as in the above notice requesting research participants for an Ontario autism study . If research is focused exclusively, or almost exclusively, on participants with high functioning autism or Aspergers how much do we really know about Autistic Disorder which, by definition, includes those with low functioning autism? I entered the words "functioning autism" into the Google Scholar search bar. The first 3 pages, the first 30 entries, all referred to high functioning autism. 2 out ... Read Full Story

The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers , a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web. Facing Autism in New Brunswick received a Dardos Award nomination from Chrissy who authors the Spectrum Hope blog. At Spectrum Hope, a blog which I follow, Chrissy shares her autism experiences as the mother of an autistic child. I am pleased to accept a Premio Dardos Award from Chrissy. A condition of accepting ... Read Full Story