message from the president
I am proud to have been chosen to lead the Autism Canada Foundation.
Autism Canada is an important organization providing support and hope to Canadians impacted by Autism.
Eight years ago when my twin sons Michael and Kevin were diagnosed with Autism information was much more limited. I remember just like yesterday having our follow-up meeting with the team that diagnosed them in Cambridge. In the two weeks since we had received the diagnosis we read and read to get as much information as possible to help us, to help our sons. We went back into the meeting with a long list of questions. Does the Gluten free/Casein Free diet work? What is the impact of B-12, should we start it? What is IBI? Are these treatments effective? Which should we start first? The responses… We don't know, you can try it. That's kind of controversial. There's a waiting list. We don't know. Sorry. We were lost.
We have been extremely lucky to have the resources to try many of the new effective treatments which are available.
Today, Michael and Kevin are essentially recovered. Sure we still have them on a restricted diet and a wide variety of medications and supplements, but they are verbal, social, and attend school without an educational assistant. The head-hitting, hand flapping are distant memories. Unless you were in our house during a meal you wouldn't likely suspect anything was different. After school the boys are outside with their friends playing street hockey.
Autism Canada provides families just receiving the diagnosis with HOPE! It gets families on the right track and provides them with valuable information to keep them there. The recoveries will vary but progress is possible, recovery is possible!
Please join me in supporting Autism Canada as we promote effective treatments and work towards "A world in which Autism is preventable and treatable".
