Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Social Affairs, Science and Technology
Issue 12 - Evidence - December 6 meeting
OTTAWA, Wednesday, December 6, 2006
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology met this day at 4:13 p.m. to consider the inquiry on the issue of funding for the treatment of autism.
Senator Art Eggleton (Chairman) in the chair.
[English]
The Chairman: Today we are continuing our examination of issues with respect to autism and, in particular, the federal role and the federal funding role.
We will hear from two groups this afternoon. In the first hour we will hear from parents of autistic children and in the second hour we will hear from people who have autism.
Before we start with our first panel, I want to bring a couple of pieces of news to your attention. First, in the House of Commons yesterday, a motion was passed on this subject and the motion, by Andy Scott, is as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should create a national strategy for autism spectrum disorder that would include: (a) the development, in cooperation with provincial/territorial governments, of evidence based standards for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder; (b) the development, in cooperation with provincial governments, of innovative funding methods for the care of those with autism spectrum disorder; (c) consulting with provincial/territorial governments and other stakeholders on the requirements of implementing a national surveillance program for autism spectrum disorder; and (d) the provision of additional federal funding for health research into autism spectrum disorder.
This passed the House of Commons and I understand that all parties except the Bloc supported this yesterday. The government party did as well as the opposition. Further advances are happening. We here are considering the whole question of a national strategy and how we might want to characterize a motion that we send forward to the government.
Also for your information, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Combatting Autism Act. The bill authorized nearly $1 billion over the next five years to combat autism through research screening, early detection and early intervention.
Those are two pieces of news for you. More and more attention is being paid to this issue by various legislative bodies.
In the first panel we have four individuals. Mr. John Erb attended the psychology program at the University of Waterloo. He began working with people with mental challenges and after 10 years as a frontline residential counsellor began working for a municipal government managing a caseload of 200 individuals diagnosed with various handicaps. Many were children and young adults with autism. In 2000 he became an executive consultant to a residential facility specializing in care for autistic individuals. He continues to create treatment programs that improve the abilities of those with autism. He is currently creating a non-profit treatment centre for discovering better ways to improve the conditions of individuals with autism. Welcome, Mr. Erb.
Ms. Lisa Simmermon was for a number of years, and perhaps still is, the public relations director at the Saskatchewan Families for Effective Autism Treatment, Inc., SASKFEAT, and is also a former president of the Autism Society of Canada. In the mid-1990s her son received a diagnosis of autism at the age of seven. For more than a decade she has been a keen promoter of increasing autism research and treatment in Canada and a strong advocate of a provincial autism effective treatment program in Saskatchewan.
Dr. Sheila Laredo is the parent of three children, two of whom, at ages 10 and 8 years, have autism. She is an MD graduating from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Andrew Kavchak is an Ottawa resident and the parent of two boys, one of whom has autism. Shortly after his son's diagnosis, and while his son was on the waiting list for social service department programs, Mr. Kavchak began lobbying provincial and federal authorities for increased resources to eliminate waiting lists and age-based cut-offs from treatment along with the inclusion of autism treatments such as ABA, applied behavioural analysis, and IBI, intensive behavioural intervention, under medicare, the use of ABA in schools and the development of a national autism strategy.
Welcome to all of you.
John Erb, as an individual: I do not speak French so I will be speaking in English, unfortunately.
I have been involved in autism on the front line for the past 20 years. I have been working not only in residential group homes but also with city governments, both in residential services and in seeking supported employment for individuals with autism. Currently, I am an executive assisting with programs to improve residential services for the autistic.
I will be drawing on some interesting numbers. These numbers are from current Medicare standards in the United States, where there have been enough individuals with autism that they have actually set payment standards, residential programs and things of that nature.
The difficulty with autism is that very few of these individuals will ever hold a standard job. Even if they do get into the workforce, for many of them it will be in a supported employment situation. Some of these individuals have aggression, especially through the teenage years, and some of them continue this aggression throughout their adulthood. Specialized programs are required for them. Autism is not a standard form of mental retardation; it is one that requires even more hands-on treatment, with a higher ratio of treatment person to individual.
In the United States, Medicare currently pays providers in residential care $12.83 hourly. A program is created for each individual. Autistic individuals tend to need more hours. Generally, their programs run an average of 80 hours a week. At 52 weeks of care, the total comes to $53,000 annually. That is just residential services overnight. The day programs are currently funded at $70 for a four-hour program. That amounts to a weekly program cost of $350, and at 52 weeks, $18,000 per annum. An average autistic person in care in the United States is costing annually $71,489. If that individual is in a treatment program from the age of 20 years to 60 years, that is 40 years, a total cost, not figured for inflation, of $2,859,000.
The CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, has the number of autistics born currently at 1 in 166 births. In Canada, that would represent a child born with autism every four hours. In Canada we could have this year 2,190 children born with autism. At $2,859,000 per person, in their lifetime, these children could represent a cost to the taxpayer of $6,262,000,000. That is just this year's group of autistic children. The next year's group will represent another amount.
The CDC argues that between 1994 and 2003, the occurrence of autism has increased sixfold. If that trend continues, by 2012 we should expect the number to go from 1 in 166 births to 1 in 28. That would translate to one autistic birth every 40 minutes in Canada, or 13,000 autistic births annually in 2012. That would represent a tax burden of those individuals of $37 billion.
These numbers do not include the cost of specialized education to the age of 20, the cost of physician and hospital visits, or the cost of medication. These are serious numbers that need to be looked at, and they are factual. This is the actual cost of residential group home standard treatment facilities in the United States, and the cost is comparative here in Canada.
One of the reasons I am here today is because a report that I researched and presented to the United Nations in August was read by Dr. Jorgen Schlundt, Director of Food Safety for the World Health Organization. The report that I sent him, of which some of you have copies, goes specifically into autism on page 19. The report itself talks about the dangers of a food additive called monosodium glutamate, MSG.
The first section of the document talks about MSG being purposely used to trigger epileptic seizures in test subjects, to cause brain damage, to damage eye cells. In over 500 studies, subcutaneously injected monosodium glutamate has been used to purposely create obese and hyperinsulinaemic test subjects. It triggers, and may trigger, diabetes.
I went further to suggest that there is something happening with autism and monosodium glutamate. On the back of the "Cost of Autism" sheet in my brief there are some interesting facts. One is that autistic individuals have larger brains; abnormally accelerated rate of growth may serve as an early warning signal of risk of autism. Many of these children have heavier brain masses. When they are examined, it is found that their neurons are more densely packed and that there is a greater proliferation of cells.
In June 2006, a study published by Schlett actually proved that glutamate accelerates brain growth and causes extra neurons to be developed in the brain.
I am putting forward a theory, and trying to find more support and research for it, that states that monosodium glutamate may be accelerating the growth of the human brain, especially in utero, within the first two months of growth, when the central nervous system, brain and eyes are growing.
The other interesting thing about monosodium glutamate is that it can be found in a number of vaccines. MSG is very common. I do not know how many people have gone without eating or feeding their children any of the products I show here: cream of mushroom soup, flavoured chips, Hamburger Helper, Mr. Noodles, or MSG in its crude form, Accent, which is used in the Philippines. They usually place one to two tablespoons in a bread roll and are able to kill a dog. It causes an epileptic fit, and then they kill the dog. Unfortunately, in some areas of the Phillipines, the dog is then eaten pre-seasoned.
This is why I am presenting today the idea that monosodium glutamate has enough dangers attributed to it that it should be removed from the food supply. I believe — and some of the studies I have discovered validate this — that glutamate accelerates brain growth, and we do not need to add that to our children's food.
My third fact is that monosodium glutamate is a common additive in the fast-food and processed-food industry and it is added purposely to make us eat more of the product. This admission comes from the Glutamate Association itself, on its website, msgfacts.com.
My proposal to reduce autism is to introduce a bill in the House of Commons asking for a moratorium on the use of the food additive monosodium glutamate and its related glutamate-containing additives; to require products using added glutamate to provide a warning to pregnant and/or nursing mothers; that companies choosing to continue using added glutamate could have a tax levied against them; and to require all vaccines to be free of ingredients that include glutamates. Research should be done specifically targeting the effect of glutamate on the developing child.
Research should also be done on the use of melatonin as a treatment method for individuals with autism. In some studies, it is found that dopamine is exceedingly high in the spinal fluid of individuals with autism. Dopamine's natural counter-agent is melatonin, dopamine being a very hyperactive-causing chemical, melatonin being a natural counter-agent that is found to reduce those hyperactive tendencies. In the residential treatment facilities that I supervise, I have found that melatonin actually assists people with autism to focus better and reduces their obsessive-compulsive disorder behaviours.
Lisa Simmermon, as an individual: I am the mother of a 17-year-old young man with autism who lives in a province where there is no provincial autism treatment program and where families must locate and most often pay for all the different components of a comprehensive autism treatment program.
My concern with the lack of treatment and required services provision for autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, has led to more than a decade of volunteer work on this subject seeking to have both my provincial and the federal government address this issue in a cohesive and a coordinated manner. To date, that has not been successful.
Treatment is not a single subject issue, however. Effective treatment includes but is not limited to intensive behavioural intervention, which can be delivered by more than one methodology: communication therapy, which involves combining speech therapy as well as augmentive or alternative communication therapy; occupational and/or physical therapy for the muscle imitation and sensory issues inherent in ASD; medical attention, including the many unusual differences that most people with ASD experience with their digestive, endocrine, metabolic and immune systems; and, sometimes, alternative therapies for specific concerns.
We have done our best to obtain aspects of these treatment components to the best of our financial abilities, as a family living below the Statistics Canada low-income cut-off. When he was three years old, we were told our son would never speak, learn or progress. He is now an A student with a number of friends doing grade 12 courses. He is considering options for post-secondary education, work and a career. Each treatment element we pursued had a body of published research supporting its efficacy and importance as a component part of autism treatment. Without treatment, the bleak outcome predicted by the experts that we first consulted would probably have been quite accurate. However, treatment, even though it was less than optimal, has opened a world of opportunity and friendship for our son, creating a much broader palette of life choices. Although he is still seriously challenged by his autism and needs to use many adaptations and accommodations, he is very aware of how much of a different life he has with at least some treatment. We continue to seek avenues to obtain medically necessary treatment. His wonderful skills and strengths, many of which are so much a part of his autism, now have a real chance to be used as our son continues to work to reach his potential.
Treatment for our son has also greatly improved the potential of the lives of his family. When our son was young and attending school, it became essential to have one parent available at all times to assist him, including being present at the school in case it was felt that he should leave, which was frequently. As a result, we became a family with only one primary income earner, as I could work only part-time in this situation.
Our son's symptoms were so severe that it was necessary to have a second adult with me when leaving the house with our son and especially when travelling in the car. That greatly restricted my ability to take my son out. When my husband and I both had to leave the house, such as attending rehearsals in our work as musicians, we had to hire two caregivers and arrange for those caregivers to have special training to safely be able to stay with our son.
Every day was a huge challenge. Our son's inability to sleep more than a few hours at a time meant that night certainly was not a time of rest.
Because our son has a typical IQ, until we obtained ministerial intervention through a two-year process, we could not access respite assistance. Since our little boy was not clearly suicidal, we were not allowed any access to a child psychiatrist until his seizures enabled our pediatrician to force the involvement of a psychiatrist by hospitalizing our son.
Although lab tests that are not accessible in our province and that we paid for proved that our son has a multitude of medical issues, we could not then and still cannot obtain any medical assistance with working to improve those issues. We were exhausted and frightened for the future of our son and for our future.
Then we bought our first computer and we began to explore the world of information. We discovered descriptions of our son's challenges, and we learned about autism and autism treatment. We pursued many different elements of treatment. We read voraciously, we worked with our doctors, and eventually we obtained an official diagnosis when our son was 7. We began to see a clever boy with a sense of humour and an observant eye for detail begin to blossom.
School-based education was not successful, so we turned to home-based education using ABA-based teaching methods. A year ago our son placed in the top 25 per cent of contestants participating in the Canadian mathematics competition for students his age, and testing last year placed him in the 99th percentile for written language expression, which certainly affirms he has experienced success in education.
His friendships have grown, his interests have expanded, his skills multiplied and his ability to enjoy the world around him enables my husband and me also to enjoy the world around us once again.
I have been able to spend time volunteering to seek better services and treatment for people with ASD, and our son has matured to being able to look after himself independently for a few hours at a time. This past year, I have been able to increase the work that I do as a musician. For our family, treatment is not only helping our son work toward reaching his potential, but it is also helping his parents reach their potential.
I know that you have invited me here today to talk about the perspectives of a family with autism, but I would like to share with you the perspective that our son wrote for you as a point of view. This was while I was away from the house, so I had nothing to do with him writing this. He wrote the following:
Before autism treatment, I could not do anything a normal child could do. Then as ABA was used, it gradually improved my skills, until I could actually do schoolwork at home. Schoolwork outside of home was disastrous, however, since schools are a very high stress environment for a child with autism. During the time I was in Grade 2, my academic skills actually decreased because of how stressful it was. This is why I have been taught everything by my Mom; it was necessary to be able to get me to learn anything. Were it not for autism treatment, I would be unable to do anything in today's world.
I had some other points, but I can leave them for now.
The Chairman: You might be able to get them out in questions and answers.
Dr. Sheila Laredo, as an individual: I am honoured to speak to you today. I am speaking as a parent of three children, two of whom have autism, as an advocate in my role as a litigant in a case, and as a researcher. I will focus my comments on funding for effective evidence-based interventions. That is in the purview of both my experience and expertise.
It is an important time to consider this as the provincial governments are starting to review their policies for children with autism, certainly, in Ontario, where I live. I feel that the federal government can play a role by ensuring that evidence-based consistent standards are developed and implemented across Canada.
With respect to my own experience, when my first child was diagnosed, our family was devastated. While my son was very verbal, all he could do was repeat what other people said. He could not respond. At the age of three and a half, he was in diapers, he had tantrums every day, many times a day, spent his time flicking lights on and off and spinning whatever he could get his hands on, breakable or not. Within months of his diagnosis, when his younger brother failed to start to speak, we knew we had a second son with autism as well.
After that diagnosis, I thought that my mother's hat would be best served using my scientific one so that I could find an effective intervention for him. It did not take long to see that the pop literature on the internet was full of contradictory, confusing and biased information.
Instead I went to the scientific literature. I was fortunate to be able to do that. That is where I found ABA. My bias is evident. I am a physician, and a PhD in clinical epidemiology, which means that my expertise is in research methods. Despite the heat and emotions of some of the witnesses you have heard, I can tell you there is a correct way to assess the quality of literature.
In my brief, under appendix A, I provided you research materials that demonstrate that there is consensus across the medical literature, psychological literature and educational literature and that there is a hierarchy of evidence with randomized control trials being the best evidence when it comes to looking at the effectiveness of interventions.
Expert opinion, like mine, is the lowest form of evidence. That is why I have provided you with all these documents to back up what I say.
Using that knowledge, I then reviewed many of the papers that I provided to you in appendix B, including the randomized and nonrandomized controlled clinical trials of the ABA intervention. While no study is perfect, there are no other randomized trials of any research interventions, nor large clinical trials demonstrating effectiveness as ABA does. Although some have suggested that the research is biased, it is consistent across research groups, across continents, across age groups and across settings, whether it is at schools, in centres, or in homes. Other treatments like facilitated communication and auditory integration have not held up to scientific scrutiny, and other interventions have had no research at all.
Despite these comments, I have absolutely no stake in ABA. The moment something else is found to be more effective, you can be that sure we will switch.
One criticism of ABA is that it has not been effective for all people. That is probably true. The fact that not all children will be cured by ABA does not preclude the fact that the majority of children will enjoy a profound and substantive benefit. My children have learned to read, write and speak without tantrums all the time and to participate in a regular class. ABA should not be held to a standard that is not expected for other interventions. When we give chemotherapy for cancer or cholesterol drugs for prevention of heart disease we strive for 100 per cent effectiveness but we do not achieve it. ABA meets and exceeds the standards we set for other treatments.
Another criticism is that ABA or IBI is unethical because it does not respect the autistic individual. I applaud those individuals that have done so well they can speak to you today despite the fact that they have not needed ABA. Unfortunately, the dismal data is that such individuals are in the tiny minority. The fortunate experience of exceptional cases should not set policy for the vast majority of individuals with autism — people like my sons.
It has been difficult for us to implement ABA. There has been little help from medical and social services agencies. We had other family members teach us how to set up and implement an ABA program. We managed, because we had many advantages. We have a highly supportive extended family. My husband and I are professionals and our colleagues have extended us many courtesies. Our children participated in the Ontario Autism Intervention Program.
With all that, we struggled. These advantages are not the case for the majority of families. Governments can help. They have started to help, but more can be done. Too little intervention will result in the majority of autism dollars being spent on providing heavily supported living or institutional living where children could have been taught to try to support themselves. It is analogous to the parable give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach him to fish, feed him forever. However, it has been argued that ABA is too expensive.
Peter Coyte is a nationally respected health economist who has published data demonstrating that the average savings over the lifetime of a child who receives ABA, even taking into account the fact that not all children are cured and not all children even receive some benefit, is over $1,000 per child. Almost no medical interventions save money. Despite that, we undertake them. For example, diabetes costs Canadians $9 billion a year. The issue is not reallocating money from health expenditures but that we look at autism expenditures in the context of important health spending, in particular when we know a striking benefit is possible.
The Chairman: Can I ask you to wrap up?
Dr. Laredo: Certainly. We need more research dollars. We need research to really look at comprehensive programs. Those comprehensive programs must be looked at in comparison to the gold standard.
Progress has been made. I would recommend that the federal government look at ensuring there is consistency across provinces with respect to diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and wait times. Federal transfer funding can be contingent on the provision of services that meet national standards.
I could speak more, but I will leave it at that.
The Chairman: Thank you very much.
Andrew Kavchak, as an individual: Thank you to all members of the committee for this opportunity to appear before you. When I moved to Ottawa, I had a research contract in 1989 and 1990 with Senator Richard Stanbury. At that time I never thought I would be appearing before the committee. I am so grateful to have this opportunity.
For the record, I would like to say that if anyone criticizes the Senate for not being as helpful perhaps as some other bodies, I profoundly disagree. In late 1990, I was writing a lot of speeches for Senator Stanbury against the GST. I became sufficiently expert in it that I got a job at Revenue Canada. I also especially want to thank Senator Munson for all of his work in getting the issue of autism on this committee's agenda.
I am here as a parent of an autistic child. In July of this year, after I heard that the motion had passed in the Senate to refer the whole matter to this committee, I compiled and submitted this brief to the committee. It is fairly extensive and summarizes my family's experience and recommendations based on that experience. As well, the brief includes a number of appendices containing documents that I believe anyone researching the situation in Canada should be aware of. It contains a number of reports and articles that are critical.
In May of this year, this committee issued a report suggesting that there was some lack of agreement about whether or not autism is really an illness or mental illness. Therefore, in the committee's report on mental illness, it decided not to address the issue at all. Parents like me are profoundly disappointed by that. I would like to state that the American Psychiatric Association considers autism to be a disorder; the World Health Organization considers it a disease. The authorities do not doubt there is a problem.
I respectfully would like to request that this committee issue a report to the government. When it does — and I gather that will be in May of next year — I hope the report includes recommendations for prompt action that would include the incorporation of autism treatment in medicare as part of a national autism strategy.
My wife and I have two little boys. The younger one is a sweet child who is, regrettably, severely affected by autism. From the time that we approached our doctor when our son was 18 months old and asked for some advice and opinion because it seemed to us his development was delayed, it took over a year before we finally were able, in our medicare system, to see a specialist who gave us a diagnosis of autism. The next day we applied to the Autism Intervention Program, which is not run by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, not covered by OHIP or the Ontario public health insurance system but run by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. They told us, "Congratulations. You qualify to be on the waiting list. How long? We do not know." They suggested to us that it was in our interest to resort to the private sector for ABA-IBI treatment. That was my family's first experience with two-tier healthcare. We were in the wrong tier.
The cause and cure of autism are not known, but since Dr. Lovaas' groundbreaking study of 1987, the medical community has known that up to 47 per cent of autistic children can develop to such an extent that they become indistinguishable from other children.
For a parent of a child with autism, who sees their child sitting in the corner, rocking, spinning, not talking or communicating and throwing tantrums, these studies provide us with hope and give us direction as to what needs to be done. To find out that it is not available is not just heart-breaking, it is absolutely devastating.
We proceeded, as I said, in the private sector to immediately try to immerse ourselves in this. In the first 11 months alone, it cost us over $40,000.
About 15 months after we applied for assistance from the Ontario Preschool Intervention Program for Children with Autism, they contacted us and offered us direct funding assistance. We were very appreciative, because we were in the process of rapidly depleting our savings. They also told us at that time, a full two and a half years after we had contacted our doctor and said that we think we have a problem, that at the age of 5 the support would be cut in half, because he would be expected to go to school half days regardless of his condition. At the age of 6, he would be entirely cut off, regardless of his condition.
I consider that to be a form of state terror. If our child does not develop sufficiently by the age of six, where do we go? What do we do? What is our future? The uncertainty is absolutely devastating. Although my son remains challenged and requires further treatment, he has improved significantly. That is due to IBI and we know we will have to pursue it for quite a while.
I would like to address two things. The first is recent developments and the second is a few key arguments that are used to constantly thwart our attempts to get help for our kids.
In early 2004, shortly after my son was diagnosed, we had reason to be hopeful. The premier of this province, Dalton McGuinty, had issued a letter during the last election in which he stated to a mother of an autistic child that the age six cut-off was discriminatory and that if he was elected premier, he would do away with it. Similarly, the Deskin-Wynberg case was then at trial level in the Ontario superior court, and a decision was expected soon precisely on the issue of the age six cut-off. Finally, the Auton case from British Columbia was on its way to the Supreme Court of Canada. We were hopeful that a decision would reaffirm the decisions of the lower courts of B.C. and have national implications.
Regrettably, the hope provided by those developments one by one was crushed. First, Premier McGuinty did not keep his election promise. In this report, in one of the appendices, I have a copy of a 2004 Auditor General's report. The situation concerning the wait lists is just as devastating today as it was back then. In addition, the Deskin-Wynberg case, as you know, was appealed and is now on the way to the Court of Appeal.
I would like to address some of the issues that are constantly raised to thwart us. The first is jurisdiction. The fact is the provinces have been negligent. In my son's case, they certainly have been. I know many other parents who feel exactly the same way. The federal government plays a huge role in healthcare in this country. It negotiates health accords, transfers funds, develops national strategies such as the national cancer strategy, even though cancer is already addressed under medicare in every province, and has ownership of the Canada Health Act. The federal government has many levers of power and influence, including the budget surplus.
I believe that where there is a will, there is a way. The problem has not been jurisdiction; it has been the lack of political will. As you heard from Jean Lewis who testified here two weeks ago, many parents across Canada are now becoming organized and will be politically active in the next federal election and will campaign in key ridings to try to elect candidates who will publicly commit to amending the Canada Health Act to include autism treatment in medicare.
Regarding the argument that the Canada Health Act is sacrosanct and cannot be amended, it is only a few decades ago that homosexuality was a criminal offence under the Canadian Criminal Code. Just recently, the Parliament of Canada, in a race to be among the first jurisdictions in the world, changed a definition of marriage that was commonly accepted for thousands of years. I do not see why the Canada Health Act cannot be amended, hopefully within 1,000 years. If that cannot be done, there are other ways to achieve the same objective. Negotiations can certainly be held with the provinces. The chairman made reference to the Combating Autism Act that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today; I do not see why we cannot have a combating autism act in Canada. We certainly need one.
I will conclude with a quote from one article in Appendix D. There is an article from an Ottawa newspaper about a Somali gentleman whose son was removed from the waiting list for treatment because he had the misfortune of celebrating his sixth birthday before he got treatment. The father stated, "We get here the same treatment here as we would in Somalia and they do not have a government."
We need a national autism strategy, and we need it now.
The Chairman: Thank you very much.
We had Minister Chambers from the Ontario government here. She indicated that the age six limit had been lifted by the premier.
Senator Munson: I recognize that this is very complex. I would like to keep things as simple as we can. If there were a national training centre, who would train the trainers and who would pay the trainers? I am curious. You talk about people giving treatment. There seem to be very few.
The Chairman: Mr. Erb is apparently trying to establish such a centre.
Mr. Erb: Part of the problem is that we are approaching things with a very country-specific focus. There is a great deal of research going on in the United States as well as in other countries of the world, and we should be able to take advantage of that. Any treatment centre should draw on the specialists who are creating themselves right now. The cream of the medical crop is rising to the top. These are the people we should be calling upon and bringing together, and bringing the expertise from the United States and other countries so it is not just Canada putting money towards something while another country is putting it towards something else. We should take advantage of resources of knowledge.
Mr. Kavchak: Thank you for asking that question. I have a two-pronged answer. First, we definitely need training centres for ABA and IBI across the country. In every province, there should be some. My wife, who is a family physician, dropped her career entirely following my son's diagnosis and registered for a course on-line from Penn State, which is a well-regarded course leading to a certification of behaviour analyst with a board in the United States. We do not have any such professional body in Canada that has professional training and certification similar to that in the United States. This program, for my wife, cost $15,000 U.S. Now she has developed some expertise and can effectively manage our son's program. Obviously not every family can do that. We need more training.
Regarding Minister Chambers' suggestion that the age six cut-off has been removed, while the government immediately made that announcement following the Court of Appeal decision, it does not make sense to have adopted that policy after having fought against the family so hard in the Court of Appeal. The government has now used other ways to discharge children from the program. I know some who have been discharged either because they progressed too much or progressed too little. The government, on many occasions, dismissed children prematurely from this program. I am sure Dr. Laredo can address that as well. I have great scepticism about anything the Government of Ontario says.
Dr. Laredo: There are different levels of training. We have to look at it in a multi-pronged way. There is training for the people who will ultimately be at the master's and Ph.D. levels, psychologists who can supervise ABA programs, senior therapists and instructor therapists. They all need training.
How is that accomplished? A national strategy can be part of it. Certainly we need to have certification for the psychologists. Is there one program in Canada? I am not sure whether there is. For the instructor therapists, it has been train the trainer. There has not been larger infrastructure to do it any other way. Rather, families are building capacity in a grassroots way, because capacity has not been built from the top down.
Senator Munson: There should be one financial stream going into national training centres across this country with a national strategy. We think we still have to have that focus. If we do not, it will still be provincial, provincial, provincial.
Ms. Simmermon: I am not sure you can escape that. That is a reality we work with in this country. The other issue is that we are dealing with training with more than just talking about ABA. We are talking about training speech therapists, occupational therapists and medical doctors to have the knowledge about the medical issues our children with autism have for which they cannot get treatment within the mainstream medical system. Many different areas of treatment need the training. We cannot ignore any of them. It would not be in the best interests of the country to have a national strategy focussed on one aspect of treatment to the detriment of all the other absolutely essential components of a comprehensive treatment program.
Senator Callbeck: The chairman mentioned the motion that was passed yesterday in the House of Commons for a national strategy. It had four elements, including funding national standards, surveillance and research. Are there other components that you feel should be included in the national strategy and, if so, what? Anyone can answer that question.
Dr. Laredo: Clearly, there needs to be funding for intervention. At this point, we have a best available treatment. It might not be the best ever, but currently there is a best available treatment. There is no excuse in our medical system in this day and age for that treatment not to be available to all children. It should not be a matter of who can get there, in what province they are and how much money their parents have.
Mr. Kavchak: I would like to underscore that I fully agree with what Dr. Laredo said. Treatment is key and it is lacking. It should not be lacking. That is discrimination under medicare, as far as I am concerned, and it should stop.
The Chairman: Does everyone agree with that?
Mr. Erb: Another part of the national strategy could be a greater tax benefit for parents with autistic children, a few hundred dollars a month, when the average parent of an autistic child could be spending $10,000 to $30,000 a year. Many parents have had to sacrifice and have one parent at home. That is a huge savings to the system. If those parents up and said, "I cannot handle this 8-year-old child," we are talking about $5,000 a month for a specialized group home. We should recognize the parents and give them the financial incentive to be able to support their children as much and as long as possible.
Senator Keon: I have a quick question for Mr. Erb and then a question for the whole panel on a pointed raised by Mr. Kavchak.
Mr. Erb, I am not quite sure what your point was. You talked about a $37 billion-plus problem. You then went into biochemistry on monosodium glutamate. I would like to see the list on monosodium glutamate. Tell me what your point is about putting this bottom line in.
Mr. Erb: My point is that by 2012, if we have 14,000 children a year with autism, and this is autism serious enough for children to be in residential treatment facilities, each of those individuals in their lifetime will need $2.6 million to pay for their residential treatment from age 20 to age 60. It is a very expensive process. When I am saying $26 billion, I mean all the children that could be born in 2012 with autism will, in their lifetime, need $26 billion worth of resources to keep them in residential facilities and in treatment programs for the rest of their days. That is why I think the better way to spend money is the treatment programs that improve their chances of staying out of residential facilities.
Senator Keon: Mr. Kavchak, you raised the question again of opening up the Canada Health Act. The whole panel could respond to this, but that is an enormously complex undertaking to begin with and then the line forms to the right; everyone will be there the next day to open it up with their favourite entity that they want funded.
All that is needed, really, is a listing as an essential service. As you campaign, stick to that theme rather than talking about opening up the Canada Health Act. Once it is listed as an essential service, it is over.
Mr. Kavchak: I understand the complexities. We refer to that as a last resort. It has not been necessary for any other disease, disorder, syndrome, condition or illness. We are asking for it because none of the provinces have added it to any of the medicare-covered lists of services for any medical condition. We understand that the objective can be achieved through other means as well.
In September 2004 there was a health care accord being negotiated over four days with $40 billion on the table. The federal government, with the provinces, was itemizing wait times for specific medical items. Parents joined me in demonstrating there with a simple question on our signs: "Why is autism not on the list?" We believe negotiations can happen. If the Americans can pass their Combating Autism Act, why cannot the federal Canadian Parliament pass such an act?
Senator Cordy: We always seem to be running out of time because we are all fascinated by this subject. I am hearing more and more people talking about the issue of autism. When I was a teacher and spoke to people outside of the educational system, they did not understand what autism was. Now, however, people seem to understand it. You have been doing tremendous work and have done a great job of indicating to the Canadian public that we have a crisis situation in autism.
I would like to speak about the silos that we have heard mentioned repeatedly, where government departments are not necessarily working together. Ms. Simmermon, you spoke about home schooling your child, because there is so much stimulus within a classroom that it is not necessarily advantageous for an autistic child to be in such a setting, with fluorescent lights or colours or whatever stimulus there would be.
How closely do departments of education and health work together? We have all been talking about working under the Canada Health Act, but how would you see more than just the Department of Health working in terms of doing what is best for children, who become adults, as you said, Mr. Erb? How do we get different levels of governments and different government departments to work together?
Ms. Simmermon: Dr. Wendy Roberts made a suggestion that I thought was extremely wise. She suggested that one mechanism to working toward that issue would be to have a national meeting of all the ministries from every province and territory that are involved in all aspects in treating both children and adults with autism spectrum disorders, to have all the players at the government level around the same table. Every province organizes their ministries differently. What is dealt with in through the Ministry of Community and Social Services in Ontario is dealt with through the Ministry of Health in Saskatchewan. It is not the same across the country. This meeting would be one mechanism to begin putting together work on a national strategy.
The other thing regarding a national strategy and silos is that, because the statistics are of very great concern in the broader mental health community, questions have been raised by other witnesses about whether there should be a national autism strategy or whether there should be a national mental health strategy. I do not see that the two are exclusive of each other. I think that a national autism strategy should be the first part and that it should be a building block in the national mental health strategy, which should contain national strategies for every brain-based condition. We know from the United States' experience that if you have a larger mental health strategy you wind up not addressing the issues that actually deal with specific conditions. The Americans are now facing the reality of looking at developing strategies specifically for autism. Why do we not learn from our neighbours and build our strategy from the ground up in a way that will actually end up being constructive for everyone, including governments?
The Chairman: Does anyone want to add anything to that?
Dr. Laredo: The point about the silos is very important. If I may be blunt, I think it comes down to money. If it is within the purview of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, then there is a budget associated with it. If it is within the purview of the Ministry of Education, there is a budget. Education says it is a medical treatment and we do not do treatment in schools. Health says no, it is a psychological disorder. Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else. If we had a coordinated budget for autism and not for a ministry, we might see better coordination and cooperation between ministries.
Senator Cordy: Just get on with it, right?
Dr. Laredo: Absolutely.
Ms. Simmermon: It also depends a great deal on the personalities of the ministers and their staff. That is one thing we have learned over a decade.
The Chairman: I am sorry, but we have run out of time. We could keep going for at least another hour. I had several questions as well, but being the chair, I must allow the members of the committee to ask questions.
It has been very informative having you present. You have contributed much to our discussion and consideration of the matter. We are hearing from a number of other people, so we are obtaining a wide variety of perspectives. Thank you very much for being present this afternoon.
Our second panel of the day is comprised of individuals who have been diagnosed with autism. Mr. Kristian Hooker is from Selkirk, Manitoba. He attended Red River College to become an educational assistant. He is a member of the board of directors of Autism Society Manitoba and Autism Society Canada. He is also the chair of the advisory committee with Autism Society Canada.
Ms. Brigitte Harrisson is a social worker and a PDD consultant who does consultation work with other autistic people, families and professionals in the health and education communities. She is the Canadian vice-president of SAtedI, Spectre Autistique troubles envahissants du développement International, the first international francophone association for autistic people that covers several countries. She was also president for two years.
Mr. Jason Oldford is from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He was born in Chatham, New Brunswick. His diagnosis was received in 1974. He is a data content quality assurance analyst.
Mr. Daniel Hatton is from Hamilton, Ontario. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and a half years. He is considered to be high functioning with a normal IQ and good verbal communication abilities. He has various certificates and diplomas from his education at Sheridan College, and he went back to take horticulture at Mohawk College. He works full time in a candy factory.
We welcome all four of you. I understand Janet Hatton is also here. She is the mother of Mr. Daniel Hatton. She has provided a paper on her perspective on the matter.
Kristian Hooker, as an individual: Thank you for inviting me to this inquiry about funding treatment for autism. My mother, Lynn Hooker, is sitting beside me to assist me in interpreting words when needed.
First, there is no universal guide to autism. There are countless different degrees of autism and different kinds of autism spectrum disorders. To truly get a universal understanding of autism, you would have to talk to thousands of individuals and families.
One of my main messages to this committee is that all Canadians with autism spectrums disorders are unique individuals with different strengths, skills, abilities and needs. At least, that is my understanding. I am only one individual, and here is my story. There are many others.
At first, I seemed like a "normal" child until at about age one and a half, when I not only grew a fear of strangers and new places, which are acceptable fears for any young toddler, but also a fear of grass, telephones ringing, live singing, balloons and eggs, to name a few. I would also soon stop talking, giving eye contact, eating with anyone besides my family, playing with toys and listening. I was then diagnosed at age two and a half with ASD.
For the first few years of my life, before I went to school, I was in child development twice a week and occupational therapy once a week. Also, during my preschool years, I went to the autism program at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where I participated in group activities and one-to-one support activities. They also provided advice and support for me at home. I also participated in speech language programs prior to school. Once I started school, the child development program ended. I began receiving speech and occupational therapy services in school.
In about second grade, I started receiving occupational therapy services from the school, but this was only once per month, which was not enough. My parents arranged to hire the same occupational therapist outside of school privately once a month, so I received it twice a month. That continued for a few years, and for a few weeks in the summer I went to a summer camp that was segregated.
When I was told I had autism in my elementary school years, it answered many questions. I always figured something was different about me, but I could never quite figure out what. I understand that many people with ASD remember feeling isolated and completely alone growing up. However, I do not honestly remember feeling that way. I had a supportive group of friends to socialize with in public school, many of whom I saw away from the school in other social environments.
During my teen years I was able to meet other teens and kids with ASD through the resource department at my high school. I also did some volunteer work at the schools where my mother worked. I had the same issues that other students were dealing with, such as balancing personal time with school work and extra-curricular activities and not giving into peer pressure. I also dealt with extreme anxiety and at times with depression. Fortunately I had many friends and teachers who were very supportive when the going got tough.
Upon graduating from high school I returned for an extra year to take a career and business course, followed by an educational assistant course in college. I was always fascinated with the things I was learning, whether a lesson in a classroom or a new life skill.
One of the most important things I have learned is how to hide my weaknesses and to make the most of my talents and abilities. A good example of using my skills to the best of my abilities would be in music. I always had a good sense of timing so I made the most of that by becoming a percussionist in many high school bands and I made many friends there.
Leaving the school world and joining the adult world was quite a challenge at first. My parents played a big part in the transition, helping me enrol in Red River College and helping me find a job through our local employment centre. They have been very supportive in everything I do. I still live with my parents and do not have immediate plans to move out. There is a good chance that in a couple of years, or possibly sooner, I may move into an apartment but I would like to go back to college first and study computer animation so that I can make enough money to afford a place of my own.
Once I turned 18 years old I received a partial monthly disability allowance of $488, which included medical, dental and prescription costs. This amount was intended to cover all my expenses for food, clothing and rent. This past May I got a part-time job and as soon as I made more than $488 my disability allowance was cancelled, including the health benefits, so my options for improving my situation are quite limited.
I feel I can interact well one to one with people in social situations. I might still have self-stimulation issues like mind wandering and a hand flickering gesture, but I have been able to refrain from doing that in public and try do it in the privacy of my house. That eliminates the biggest challenge I have in the social world.
I often have a challenge understanding spoken language. I am much better at understanding words through reading. For example, when watching television I prefer to have the closed captioning on. If everyone in the world had a little closed captioning under their necks, life would be a lot easier.
A big problem with people facing ASD in society is that others often have a stereotype of how a person with ASD is supposed to look or behave. Many people with ASD could eliminate that stereotype but rarely get that opportunity, especially with a large group of people. The one thing that people should realize about people with ASD is that we are really no different from anyone else. We may have traits or abilities that seem unique or different but so does everyone else.
Lately there have been a lot of self-advocacy groups and organizations on autism coming forward and speaking about what it means to have autism. I think that is a good thing. Nothing creates self-empowerment more than standing up for what you believe in; nothing gives more hope to others than speaking for those who may not yet be able to speak for themselves.
At present I am a board member of Autism Society Canada and I am also the chair of the ASC's advisory committee on adults with autism spectrum disorders. Although I am speaking as an individual today, I thought you would be interested in knowing about our committee. It is comprised of six members, with Dr. Kevin Stoddart playing an important role providing guidance and advice. Our committee provides advice and perspective on ASD issues to the Autism Society Canada board. One important message our committee wants to send is that the need for appropriate treatment and services for persons with ASD does not end in childhood. We continue to require treatment and supports in our adulthood, such as psychological services, counselling, educational supports, and appropriate and safe housing, just to name a few.
I feel fortunate that I have been able to accomplish what I have accomplished in my life. However, I could not possibly have done this all by myself. If I were to name everyone who has helped me I would be naming over 150 people. Therefore I will just thank my parents and my brother for being the most supportive. They never allowed quitting as an option for me.
In conclusion, let me state that there is no universal guide to autism. There are countless different degrees of autism and different kinds of ASDs. To truly get a universal understanding of autism you would have to talk to thousands of individuals and families.
Thank you for listening and for taking ASD issues seriously in your deliberations.
The Chairman: Thank you very much. Next we have Ms. Harrisson.
[Translation]
Brigitte Harrisson, as an individual: I am going to talk to you in particular about my experience in Quebec, given that you will not have had the opportunity to hear these comments from other autistic individuals.
There is something going on right now in our province: Since April 2004, I have given 232 training sessions, workshops or conferences for over 12,000 people. I get invited everywhere because I had the misfortune of explaining how autism works. I also work with autistic people, especially at the SAtedI, which stands for "Spectre Autistique troubles envahissants du développement International." The association was given this name because it is called different things, depending on the country, and since it is an international association, we wanted to ensure that the name was all inclusive. I work with autistic people as well with professionals, be they child psychiatrists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, social workers and psychologists or neuropsychologists, and with families. I have done many home calls. I have a lot of experience. I have received invitations from Quebec's Health and Education Departments for the national network of expertise.
On my way here, I was thinking to myself that the boys would probably talk about their experience, which is very good. I will report on what I have observed over the course of the last two years and I would add to that that on top of everything I teach instrumentation for pervasive developmental disorders at university. Someone was asking earlier who does the training. We have managed with this problem and we have superimposed autistic functioning on already established bases. Finally, we have wound up with a way to intervene, a continuous intervention model. To date, we have obtained very interesting results.
One of the first observations I made is that people are very bad at reading autism. My impression since arriving here is that of being in a dream. I understand the distress of parents; I understand that autistic adults have just as much difficulty as autistic children. I have no difficulty understanding that aspect. Very poor readings are being made, and as soon as you start reading from a non-autism map, you cannot fully grasp the true needs of autistic people and separate them from the needs of the community around them. Autistic people's siblings and family clearly have needs. I go on tour for the Fédération québécoise de l'autisme. I work a lot with the families. As a matter of fact, we did one complete round on mourning, on post-diagnosis shock, and it is very interesting. I am not excluding these needs.
What I have been saying since the outset is that there is something going on. We can see that things are working very well at the intervention level. Sometimes the needs are not well targeted. This of course leads to situations where the means and methods used are ill-conceived.
In the area of treatment for children aged 0 to 5 years, first and foremost, what is required is an early stimulation model adapted to autism and not to non-autism. Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is not perfect, sorry to say. It is being used because there is nothing else available at present. Adjustments are constantly being made. There are countless little girls in ABA who call me for advice. There are systems that are not working because they are not based on our way of functioning.
That being said, it would not be complicated to make adjustments to this system if there were a national will to do so. We would probably wind up with an effective program and we are as a matter of fact encouraged in this regard in Quebec.
Things are not going very well in the school environment for those aged 5 to 18 years. It is not in the area of academic results that the situation is difficult for autistic children; that was never the problem. We do not even speak the same language as you, but we understand it very well.
It is at the social level that things are more difficult. There is an adjustment effort to be made, not a readjustment effort. A good many autistic people shift from the continuous mode to the point-to-point mode. Some of us are very deeply affected, and for them it will always be more difficult. But as far as adults are concerned, the most important thing is the standardization of laws.
I am told of situations where adults ask for a grant for a handicapped person and the grant is refused. Clearly, if one is working, one is no longer handicapped, but we also see ourselves refused automobile insurance on the grounds that we are handicapped. There are therefore deficiencies.
Many people wrongly believe that autistic people will require assistance their whole life long. Those suffering from autism need ad hoc assistance. I would say, in passing, that I still require this type of assistance. It has cost me $60,000 to get where I am, and I did not manage this alone.
That is just about all I have to say. It is important to get back to basics, because there is a deviation in the trajectory and the information available at present continues to produce its lot of frustration.
[English]
Jason Oldford, as an individual: I am honoured to address this committee. I was diagnosed with autism in 1974 when not much was known about it. I will tell you a bit about myself. I will not take long. I have quite a few things to say about funding for treatment.
I still have a few weaknesses with my autism. Eye contact is one of them. My social skills are not perfect. They are not up there with a typical person either.
On the plus side, my language developed normally. I was able to read by the age of three. I know trivial matters that other people would not dream of knowing. I tend to interpret things literally sometimes.
I have two university degrees and I attended public school with all the other children. I was not put in a special education class.
The reason I accepted the invitation to appear before this committee was to tell you what I would like to see. I would like to see severely autistic people become more like me, or more like others like me, to become more high-functioning. It can happen. I believe it.
There are about 100,000 people affected by some form of autism across Canada. When their parents received the diagnosis, immediately the research started looking for a treatment. They came across this ABA, applied behavioural analysis. It is the only evidence-based treatment that is available. The only drawback is that it is expensive. They cannot afford it. For that reason, they go to the respective provincial governments and try to get them to do it. It has not worked out the way they planned.
Autism is a life-long disorder. There is no cure. There are several treatments. Only one is evidence-based. There is no cure.
The key is early intervention, early diagnosis, and early detection. If treatment is started immediately upon diagnosis, or soon thereafter, within three or four years a child could enter school and perhaps not need ABA. He could go on, get a high school diploma, get university degrees, and be able to contribute to society.
I was pleased yesterday when I heard that the House of Commons had passed motion M-172, for a national autism strategy. I turned 36 yesterday. That news would rank up there with one of the best birthday presents I could receive.
The provinces worry about resources and having to live within their means. I understand the provinces have to live within their means. That is where the federal government comes in and helps out. If the federal and provincial governments put their heads together and work this thing out, a solution can be reached in the autism treatment situation we have in this country, in every province and territory.
There is a concern about having autism treatment funded under medicare. I am in favour of that. Ultimately, it is up to the provinces and territories. Each one has its respective medicare plan. Should any provinces decide not to fund this treatment under medicare, not only do I think they are making a mistake, I think they should find some place in their respective budgets to fund that treatment.
You also come to the issue of education. We need therapists certified in ABA. We need people in our schools trained to deliver ABA to autistic students. We need enough so that there are no waiting lists.
I have heard stories about people who have tried to get into speech and occupational therapy; some have told me were on a waiting list for months or years. Others are still on waiting lists. That is a problem that needs to be addressed and solved.
ABA is an expensive treatment. You have probably heard the figure $60,000 per year per child. It is derived from 52 weeks a year at 40 hours a week at $30 an hour.
Parents put themselves on the verge of bankruptcy when they have to pay for that treatment out of pocket. I certainly understand the situation they are in. I am amazed they can cover the treatment they need for their child and still pay the bills. How they do it, I do not know. Somehow, they get it done.
Early intervention, detection and diagnosis, can lead the way to a child's achieving his or her full potential, to become productive in society. If Ottawa and the provinces work together, we could have a solution.
As was mentioned, ABA is not perfect. According to studies, only 47 per cent of those tested were indistinguishable, but 47 per cent is a lot better than zero.
If provinces and the territories and the federal government all work together on this, it will lead to solutions. None of the world's problems was ever solved by arguing; none of the world's problems was ever solved by doing nothing; none of the world's problems was ever solved by worrying.
If Ottawa can get together with the provinces and territories and come away with a solution — and I am confident that they can; I am confident that they can accomplish this — just think of how many children will not be in group homes or institutions. Think of how many children will be able to contribute to society if they get this treatment. With the provinces and Ottawa working together, I know that can happen.
The Chairman: Thank you. If it is not too late, happy birthday.
Daniel Hatton, as an individual: Thank you for inviting me to speak. I will speak on funding and treatment for autism for adolescents and adults.
I am 36 years old now and was diagnosed with autism at three and a half years of age. It is a long time since Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger submitted their research papers on autism spectrum disorder. Since then, funding has been focused on children rather than adults and adolescents who are high-functioning. There is not much consideration given to funding them, and that concerns me.
Although many autistic people have behavioural problems, I was quite content as a child. Since I was so quiet and seemingly well behaved, the teachers did not pick up on my problem throughout school.
Adults with IQs of 70 or more and good verbal ability receive no funding or school supports in a group situation. Teachers need to be more aware of group work.
I was a resident of Ontario and received Ontario Disability Support Program funding. Their funding must be increased.
The Chairman: Thank you very much. You have all given some interesting perspectives for us to discuss with you.
Senator Keon: I was fascinated by your presentations. It must be a tremendous encouragement to parents who are now living with autistic children to see the way the four of you have handled yourselves here today. I will come straight to the point, as many senators want to ask questions.
Mr. Oldford, you have framed the need for a fairly broad-based social program with federal-provincial sharing, but with federal government leadership. There are precedents for such programs, whether they be in health or in the broader social context. The federal government can design a strategy and fund a program with a sunset understanding with the provinces. They fund it for five or 10 years with a transitional strategy for the provinces to take over. Is that what you were suggesting?
I would invite all the witnesses to address this. We have to start thinking about what we can recommend that will be helpful.
Mr. Oldford: Yes, I was recommending federal leadership with the federal government and the provinces agreeing on something to fund evidence-based treatments. The bill that was passed yesterday talked about evidence-based standards. That is good. It talks about developing innovative funding methods, and that is good too. I read an explanation that said that that means that the provinces, territories and federal government discuss how to fund evidence-based treatment.
The only evidence-based treatment that currently exists is ABA, but there may be more to come. Judging by what I have read, I think that sooner rather than later ABA will have company in the evidence-based treatments category. If any other evidence-based treatments were to come up I would support those, too, especially if they cost less than ABA does.
The governments must agree on how to fund a treatment that is proven to be scientifically validated and evidence-based.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: I would have something to add. If the federal government truly became the leader, while still intending to transfer the program to the provinces later on, it would be worthwhile for it to set the example and to keep autistic people involved in the treatment protocols.
Allow me to repeat myself: It is really important that those autistic persons who are autonomous, who are capable of helping, do so. The need is an urgent one. This is what we are seeing. Therefore, if you are able to launch something, if you set the tone, then the provinces will obviously be able to jump on board afterwards.
[English]
Senator Munson: Mr. Oldford, you are from the province of New Brunswick. It is a great place. I just have to get that on the record. Even though I am an Ontario senator, my heart is in New Brunswick.
Does anybody know how many adults in the country with autism spectrum disorder are in group homes? If you do not know that is okay. Does anybody know what kind of care, training or intervention exists? You all have gone through the system and we have so much focus on children. It is important that you bring your message here today to tell us what kind of interventions exist across this country for individuals 18 years and beyond. I will take everybody who can answer that.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: It is as if autistic adults did not even exist. Since the emergence of treatments for children, it has been very difficult to obtain statistics. I must admit that if there were any, we would have seen them. There is nothing. We are not aware of the numbers.
The majority of adults belonging to our generation did not receive any assistance. On the basis of my clinical experience, I do not believe it is true that the majority live in institutions. That is not my impression. My impression is that the majority live outside, and that there are fewer and fewer autistic adults living in institutions.
I have worked in rehabilitation centres with adults who had been released from institutions in Quebec and who were carrying around a lot of baggage from their life experience. We were able to accomplish certain things with them, but that is not the case of the majority. We work a lot more with adolescents and adults; it is during adolescence that one's autistic identity is acquired, and this is the worst age.
It is however very rare that we get referrals for adults living in institutions. Most of the time, they have left their institution. There are some who are living in residences: these are the most difficult cases, and these are people who were never provided with adequate services and who, at the time, were treated as if they suffered from an intellectual disability.
[English]
Mr. Oldford: I agree with every word that Ms. Harrisson. I do not have any statistics on the number of adults that are autistic, that are in group homes or that are in institutions. I would say that a small number of autistic adults are in group homes or in institutions. I could be wrong, but I do not think there are that many.
When you read about autism, you read about autistic children. Autism is diagnosed during childhood. Some of the higher functioning types of autism can be diagnosed in adolescence or even adulthood.
Adults still need treatment. In the last session one of the things they discussed was age restrictions. I do not think there is any need to have them; they are discriminatory. Once a child turns five or six years old and still needs treatment, they should not be cut off. They should still get the treatment. If someone is diagnosed as an adult and needs treatment, they should get the treatment.
Getting back to housing, as I mentioned earlier, whoever works with autistic people in group homes and institutions has to have the proper training and has to know how to deal with autism. If they do not, it is not a good situation. There is also a need for proper housing for people with autism, not just in my home province of New Brunswick, but in every province across Canada.
The Chairman: Do most people with ASD live at home with parents or do many live on their own?
Mr. Oldford: I would say a good number of them live with their parents. I lived with my parents until this past July when my brother and I bought a house. I would think that most autistic people do live at home.
That brings us to another issue: employment. When they become adults, most people with autism are either unemployed or underemployed, which is the reason they live with their parents or in group homes. They do not make enough money to be self-sufficient. It is a bad situation. That should be discussed, too, when they discuss the treatment issue.
The Chairman: Mr. Hooker, did you want to say something about this?
Mr. Hooker: When I was young I had speech therapy, occupational therapy, an anxiety clinic and I went to an area at the Health Sciences Centre. Now I have enrolled in an advanced English class. That is the only therapy I get.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: A greater number of adults could probably live in their own apartment with home care services, and the more society takes care of the real problems, the more this will be possible. Today, those that we know live with their parents, or close by.
[English]
Senator Munson: There seem to be more and more diagnoses of autism; one in 166 is the new figure. With these diagnoses, we either pay now or later, and pay big later. We will have the statistics on homes like this if this keeps up this way. Do you agree?
Mr. Oldford: I would have to agree with that. I have heard people fighting for treatment telling the governments that, as you said, Senator Munson, the governments can pay now or pay later. We understand this treatment is expensive, but if you pay for it now, look at the return you will get on your investment. The people with autism will get out in the real world and get jobs, and that will stimulate the economy. Or you can pay later, which means they will go into group homes and it will cost the taxpayers a lot of money in the long run to keep them there.
Senator Cordy: This has been an excellent panel today. I thank you all for coming. Mr. Hooker, you talked about stereotypes and that could be a big problem for people with autistic spectrum disorder. Your appearance here today would change the minds of many people listening. Are there other ways to reduce stereotypes that people might have?
Mr. Hooker: Do you mean other ways for other people with autism to eliminate the stereotype? I guess the only way I could think of would be to just get a chance for public speaking, like going on TV, or radio or the newspapers, and creating awareness. Sending the message out, hey, we are not like Rain Man or like the other children with ASD that they have shown in magazines or newspapers where they are low-functioning and very aggressive and nonverbal. We can also be very social and are friendly, passionate and smart.
Senator Cordy: You have proven all those things today. Is there something we can do to help out?
Mr. Hooker: All I can think of is to spread the word.
Mr. Oldford: We do need more autism awareness. As Mr. Hooker has mentioned, many people look at us as low-functioning people because they view autism that way. They see it on television and read about it in the papers. They think, "Boy, I am glad I do not have a child like that." Even in the most severe cases, autism is not the end of the world.
One way to promote awareness is through columns in newspapers and television appearances, as Mr. Hooker said. I would add that perhaps more people with autism spectrum disorder could be invited to speak at conferences. One of the measures that the government announced last week in its autism strategy was that there would be a national autism symposium next year. At that national symposium I would like nothing better than to see people with autism being invited to speak.
Senator Fairbairn: You would be a very good choice; in fact, all of you would be good choices as speakers for the symposium.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: You should try and see over the coming weeks, months and years how many times people will talk about autism without considering the possibility of autistic people talking about it themselves. For years now, everyone has been speaking on behalf of the autistic. For a few years now, various adults have been waiting to explain the way things really are. People are having all kinds of discussions around the issue. As I stated earlier, it is quite incredible: this way of doing things will never deliver effective results.
I was explaining earlier to Senator Keon that if there is one thing you could do it would be to ensure that autistic people have a presence in the coming months and in the coming years for the follow-up. This is essential.
[English]
Mr. Hatton: The main emphasis is on school support, especially when there are difficulties with group work. Funding to educate teachers more, especially for group work, is important. Teachers need to realize that when they put an autistic student with a group, that student might or might not be listening. They need to be integrated more. For example, if the student is better prepared, then perhaps group work would be beneficial, but not all autistic students are suitable for group work, although it is a learning experience.
Senator Cochrane: I wish to follow up on what you were saying, Mr. Hatton, about needing individual help and help with the team in the school system. Can you think of any other services that are needed for people with autism?
Mr. Hatton: The other main point is that what is needed for teachers is also needed for employers — to be educated more. In my work experience, I have an uncanny ability to hide many of my unusual behaviours.
Senator Cochrane: They need to understand more about autism.
Mr. Hatton: Yes.
The Chairman: Does anyone else want to answer that question?
Mr. Oldford: Education is required for teachers and employers. However, as for team work, people with autism prefer to work alone. Sometimes when you put people with autism into a team setting they can become a bit temperamental and a bit hot under the collar. It could be because the other team members do not agree with the suggestions, or for other reasons. On the school front, there have been stories about even the most high-functioning students becoming aggressive. It is not their nature but it happens when they are frustrated at not being able to communicate their feelings appropriately. In many cases, teachers will send those students to the principal's office, put them on detention, suspend them from school or send them home for the day, which is an inconvenience these days for parents because in most families, both parents work outside the home.
Employer and teacher education is needed when it comes to autism and how to deal with it. They need to know how to deal with situations that arise that could be caused by the autism.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: I have written two school manuals in French: one for adolescents and one for children. There are needs at the school level. These manuals are being distributed all over the planet. It is not realistic to think that all autistic people are going to get one-on-one assistance. What we have seen is that those interventions used with other children are not suitable for autistic children, but that interventions aimed at autistic children are perfectly appropriate for the other children in the class. Teachers are telling us that with the instructional aids we put at their disposal, some of them have really succeeded in integrating autistic children. There are a lot of things we can show them in this regard.
In the area of education, there has been much development. You need computer programs for the autistic. Unfortunately, people do not know how to use the Teach program. People must learn how to use it. They use it as if autistic people had an intellectual disability, whereas that is not at all the case; autistic people simply have a different way of functioning. We have seen that, after three or four months, those teachers who have attempted to use the Teach program as if it were made for children with an intellectual disability start to panic, because nothing seems to be working. This is because autistic children require a computer science academic program much more than a normal academic program. Computers are very important: Just as the deaf communicate through signs, we communicate through visual tools. This is the easiest way for us to learn. As soon as people understand that, things go much better. The remedial instruction services offered in schools are insufficient; there is nothing new about that. There are staff shortages.
[English]
Mr. Hooker: When I am at work, the best way for me to understand the tasks that they want me to do for the day is when they write them on a list of instructions that I can read. I understand the tasks better when they are written down for me.
Senator Callbeck: The testimony of the witnesses has been very beneficial to us today and will help us to develop recommendations for our report.
I want to ask your opinion on the website. The minister announced in November that there will be a new section on the Health Canada website to help the public better understand autism. What kind of information do you think should be included on that website so that the public will have a better understanding?
Mr. Oldford: Basically, the things that are included on other websites: causes, symptoms, treatments, what it is.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: The site should include hyperlinks to sites involving other autistic persons or groups such as SAtedI. My only recommendation would be that this site be kept up to date. Generally speaking, autism-related sites lag way behind what is really happening. They contain a lot of obsolete information, which but adds to the confusion of parents and adults.
Adults come to us, at the association, with all kinds of explanations that simply do not hold water. This is due to the fact that the information posted on sites is not updated. The first requirement of any website on autism should be that a person be in charge of keeping it up to date.
Given the speed with which knowledge is moving forward in this day and age, this is a must. It is essential to take every precaution before disseminating information. Sources must be verified, in order to avoid having statements such as autism is a mental illness or some other qualifier such as that which I heard earlier and which I will attempt to forget.
It is important that all sources be verified. I could never repeat this often enough: It is essential to go through autistic people themselves and not just those surrounding them, observing them and basing their reactions on their fears.
Autistic people are usually much calmer than the people around them. As a matter of fact, we are less unhappy that those around us.
[English]
Senator Fairbairn: I have been listening very carefully. I do believe I have learned more from listening to you this afternoon than I have throughout the hearings that we have had.
When I hear you speaking — first of all, giving us good advice — but also how all of you, in your own way, have had such a great deal of achievement, I wonder whether it is in or out of a school setting? Ms. Harrisson is obviously in a school setting; but do you ever individually help younger children and people who are having difficulties? Obviously, you are doing a first-class job. Do you ever find yourself in a position where you can give advice and help others who are perhaps struggling a bit?
Mr. Oldford: Sometimes I do find myself in a situation of the type you mentioned. More often than not, it is advising parents of autistic children. Basically, all I give them is words of encouragement. I am in no position to tell them how to raise their children.
There is quite a large autistic population, even in a small province like New Brunswick. The only advice I give them is just do not give up the fight.
Mr. Hooker: For a while now I have visited some families that have a child with autism spectrum disorder and I socialize with them. I have been giving them advice on appropriate social behaviour and advice on looking for jobs.
I also have some experience in peer tutoring, and I have done some respite work. I also have done some work at a local community living centre, not only giving advice but just being a friend to them.
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: Could you please repeat your question in one sentence only?
[English]
Senator Fairbairn: Using your skills, do you help others, particularly younger people, to move ahead?
[Translation]
Ms. Harrisson: I have been working with young people for 23 years now. I developed a program. At present, I work with groups of adolescents. These are groups of young people aged 14 to 18 years and 9 to 12 years. I give a lot of help to young people, parents and practitioners. As a matter of fact, everyone is there to give a hand. This work is being done in one region of Quebec. We have seen very encouraging results. This work is done on a regular basis. It has even become my job for the last two and a half years.
[English]
Senator Fairbairn: That is good to hear. What about you, Mr. Hatton?
Mr. Hatton: What was the question?
Senator Fairbairn: The question was, just listening to all of you this evening, you have learned so much and I was wondering whether or not you found yourself helping others from time to time, particularly children or people younger than yourselves, to get along as you have — sort of a teacher thing.
Mr. Hatton: You mean educating other people?
Senator Fairbairn: Yes, from what you have learned yourself — passing it on to other people so that they will have a better opportunity to move ahead.
Mr. Hatton: I have had that experience.
Senator Fairbairn: Good.
Mr. Hatton: I gave a public talk to the Hamilton autism chapter many years ago. That was during the time I was still finishing my college diploma in illustration.
Senator Fairbairn: That is important. Thank you very much.
The Chairman: Thank you to all four of you. You have provided valuable information to us. This is the first time that we have had four panellists who are autistic adults. We have heard from many parents about children, but we also have wanted to talk with adults who have been diagnosed with autism. The input you have provided is extremely valuable.
The committee adjourned.