Shine OnCanadians officially recognize World Autism Awareness Day for the first time
Today, communities all across Canada are commemorating World Autism Awareness Day for the first time.
At noon, Toronto City Hall raised a commemorative flag to mark the day, and the CN Tower was lit blue as part of Autism Speaks' "Light It Up Blue" campaign.
More than 300 other towns and cities in Ontario are also participating, with students taking part in fundraising activities to help children with autism.
According to the Toronto Star, an estimated one in 88 Canadians — that's as many as 100,000 in Ontario alone — has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), "a lifelong developmental disability that affects social interaction and communication skills."
"How does the system deal with that? How do we manage it? How do we help all of those people in the system?" Suzanne Jaconson, president of QuickStart, a charity that assists with earlier intervention and support for families dealing with autism, tells CFRA Ottawa.
"People with autism live full lives so we now have seniors with autism that we need to provide care for."
While treatments and therapies help symptoms of autism, there is no cure.
"If you've met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism. And that’s it," Trudy Richards of the Autism Ontario Windsor Essex County Chapter tells the Windsor Star. "Autism has many different faces. Every child has potential."
In 2007, the UN declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. In November 2012, the House of Commons passed an act that made April 2 World Autism Awareness Day in Canada, too.
Edmonton MP Mike Lake tells Canada AM that Canada still faces "significant challenges" when it comes to supporting children with autism.
"I think globally we’re doing well compared to other countries, but there are significant challenges. It depends on which province you’re in," he says.
Provinces are individually responsible for providing treatment, education and social services for autistic children.
Marg Spoelstra of Autism Ontario says these flag-raising events across the province are important in drawing attention to the issue.
"If nothing else, 300-plus communities have been engaged and are recognizing that people in their communities have autism," she tells the Toronto Star.
"It opens the door for us to then speak about the more difficult issue, which is: How do we create a more inclusive society for people with differences, particularly the difference of ASD?"
Montreal Canadiens goalie Pierre Groulx's 4-year-old son, Leo, is autistic.
Last night, the Canadiens held their first Autism Awareness Night at the Bell Centre both to raise awareness and launch a fundraising campaign for the neurological disorder.
“We want to make other parents realize that autism is not something to be scared of. It’s not curable but it’s livable. You can live with autism and function very highly with it," Groulx tells the Montreal Gazette.
"Wendy and I aren’t doing this for us," Groulx says of the initiative. "We've gotten the help we need and we’re on the right track."
"What we're doing is trying to spread the word. Leo can come into the bedroom and say, 'Hi, Mommy, hi, Daddy, I had a good night, I have to go pee now.' He didn’t do that six months ago. It’s just so amazing. It brings tears to our eyes when we get to see and hear that."
"Today, we’re very grateful that we have the opportunity to help other people," he adds.
Read Groulx's wife's blog about raising a child with autism here.
And learn more about how you can help at Autism Canada, Autism Society Canada, and Autism Speaks Canada.
