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Lunch
If you’re bringing a bag lunch, which was our original suggestion, please do so. If you’re not bringing a brown bag, we’d like to keep you on site, and Autism Speaks has generously agreed to cover the cost of 50 box lunches and coffee. We’ll be passing the hat to defray this cost.
Remote Connections
We’ll have a live blog at http://thebigtentmeeting.blogspot.com/
I also promised a live chat. I’ve decided to use www.meebo.com — it’s a portal to a wide range of chat services including Facebook, GoogleTalk, msn chat & Yahoo chat. I’ve set up accounts for those four only. If you chat with my account on any of those, you don’t get the whole thing, but if you get an account on Meebo you’re going to see all the individual chats combined.
On Meebo: The chat room is called “Big Tent Meeting” in the “Tech” section
On Facebook, I’m Bruce McIntosh
On msn, I’m
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
On GoogleTalk, I’m
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
On Yahoo, I’m
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
As if it wasn’t enough
Today (Friday) is my wife Laura’s 40th birthday. Oops, it’s #39—The Sequel. I’m taking her to the Blue Jays game this evening, but tomorrow night we’re having a very informal gathering here at the house. If you can drop by, you’re more than welcome…333 Glen Shields, four lights north of Dufferin and Steeles in Thornhill. If you’re at the meeting, I’ll have maps. | | No comments for this item |
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Autism advocates have been speaking out for a long time now. We’re not referring merely to the issues surrounding the IBI program. We’ve been battling for services in schools, public awareness, services for adults, respite for families, and so much more. And we have made significant progress.
Ten years ago, very few members of the public knew what autism was. Today, there is much more awareness—not only about what autism is, but also about the struggles families face in trying to access services for their child. Some members of the public even seem to be aware that children with autism grow into teens and adults with autism, and that perhaps we should think about how as a society we’re going to deal with that.
Five years ago, there was an age six cutoff for IBI. The pioneering work of the Deskin-Wynberg families in the court of law, combined with many of us fighting in the “court of public opinion,” managed to end that injustice. Today, new legal cases like the Sagharian class action and the Ceretti case are laying the groundwork for a new wave of legal activism.
Three years ago, the then Minister of Education, Sandra Pupatello, said that ABA could not be done in schools. Now, we have PPM 140, and while it’s hardly a magic bullet, it is a step in the right direction.
In more than six years of working as autism advocates, we’ve learned and re-learned, a variety of lessons. The most important one is that we are stronger when we stand together. While we may not agree on every goal or every point, but when we do, we can make progress.
We’ve been looking ahead for some time, trying to figure out what needs to happen next to improve the outlook for individuals with autism in Ontario. The benchmarks process, ever-growing waitlists, the schools crisis and funding issue all call out for action. But the tactics that we have used in the past have worn out. While many in government take this as a sign that the war of attrition is being won, they’re wrong. There’s plenty of fight left among the “veteran” autism advocates, and there is also a new generation who are just itching to get into the fight for the first time.
It’s high time we all got together for a big pow-wow. We need to get our act together.
We need to decide what goals are important to all of us. That’s to counter the line that we keep hearing about how we’re not all asking for the same thing.
Then we need to discuss how we will pursue those goals and what tactics are we prepared to use in order to achieve them—whether as individuals or as organizations, whether as “good cop” or “bad cop.”
We need to co-ordinate our efforts. We don’t need to merge all our different organizations into one—that’s not our objective here at all—but if we could find a way to approach the government from all sides pushing for the same key goals, we might just be successful.
To that end, we want to invite you to a meeting. One day—Saturday, August 8th, 2009—with some of the most experienced, energetic and outspoken autism advocates in Ontario. All you need to bring is an open mind and your ideas. Together, we’ll lay out a road map for the next wave of autism advocacy in Ontario.
I sincerely hope that you can join us on August 8th. Details about location will be available soon. If you are unable to attend, we’d still very much appreciate it if you could complete our survey, which will be posted on our website shortly. (www.ontarioautismcoalition.com)
Sincerely,
Bruce and Laura McIntosh | | No comments for this item |
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Featured guest speaker: Peter Bell, Executive Vice President of Autism Speaks.
When: Saturday, September 29, 2007
Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 noon with lunch buffet to follow
Where: Ontario Science Centre – upper level – Telus Room and Bistro
We are thrilled that Peter Bell, Executive Vice President of Autism Speaks will be joining us as our featured guest speaker. Peter is the former President and CEO of Cure Autism Now and in his new role with the merged organization oversees research, family services and government affairs for Autism Speaks. Peter will be speaking about the expanded research scope of Autism Speaks and highlighting various Family Services Initiatives that we hope to replicate for the benefit of our families here in Canada . Peter and his wife Liz are the parents of three children – their eldest son, Tyler, has autism.
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October is Autism Awareness Month!!!
Join your community for the 2nd ANNUAL CANDLELIGHT VIGIL Monday, October 01, 2007
7:00pm to 7:30pm
Proudly organized by
The Alliance for Families with Autism (AFA)
For those of us who remember last year’s event, it was cold and rainy. Yet everyone who participated in the first annual Candlelight Vigil truly felt that is was something very wonderful and worthwhile, and wanted to ensure another vigil would be organized this year. The vigil is not a political event. There will be no signs however there will be lots of candles across the province in your community. We want to honour all individuals and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), related disorders.
We want to tell the world, with our candles, that every individual with ASD has the right to "SHINE".
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Click here to download the revised agenda.
Click here to download the Big Tent registration form.
Click here to complete the pre-meeting survey—it only takes 5 to 10 minutes.