Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I'd just like to say that when it comes to addressing the federal government, Kathleen and I do it under CASDA. The other member of the leadership committee is Margaret Whelan, who is the executive director for the Geneva Centre for Autism. Outside of being here today, which I do under the umbrella of CASDA, the one thing that makes us maybe a little different is that we talk about autism as a whole-body disorder.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  We just all have to look and say, “What can I do?” At the federal level, CASDA has a position paper in French and English here. I'd like to suggest that these are things that the federal government can do. I guess everybody just has to do their part, right? I take about 20 calls a week and e-mails from families in crisis.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  On behalf of the 38 organizations that CASDA represents, we've pointed them out to be surveillance; best practices; the facilitator role, which would be having ministerial conferences, etc.; looking after the health of the aboriginal community, because you are a health care provider at the federal level; research specific to autism, increase it; financial assistance to families was the next point we made about the Income Tax Act; and lastly a national awareness campaign.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  [Inaudible--Editor]...Autism Canada Foundation has three full-time equivalents. I don't know how big your group is now, Suzanne. I know you'd like information from us, but it's very difficult. We are answering the phones, and we have our mandate. Can we put some of this back on the federal government to collect this information, whether it be the wait times or the costs?

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  It's labour-intensive.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I just wanted to make you aware that there is a global autism alliance that has been initiated from the Autism Research Institute out in California. Autism Canada is a member of that, and I would guess that there are about 20 countries around the world. One of the mandates they have is to take documents like the journal article I referred to that was published in Pediatrics about gastrointestinal disorders in individuals with ASD and translate them into other languages.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  One thing that I am familiar with, having had a child diagnosed on the autism spectrum, is that there is a federal deduction for a child with severe disabilities. I believe it's to the tune of about $9,000, $10,000. I haven't done it for about six or seven years because my child is now off the spectrum and doesn't qualify.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  The next point we'd like to make is about best practices. The governing health bodies, including federal departments, have historically set the pace in identifying and monitoring best practices and disseminating this information across the country. We have seen this in the recommendation for waiting times in hospital emergency rooms, infection prevention and control practices, and recommended vaccine schedules.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Another federal government mandate is research. A significant increase in ASD-specific research funding is urgently needed, with a focus on prevention and treatment. The Canadian Autism Intervention Research Network, which we know as CAIRN, released a report this year entitled CAIRN: A guide through difficult terrain, which shared the results of an online survey asking participants what they felt research priorities should be.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Is that okay? Or do you want us to go at the end?

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Madam Chair, we made it short so that we could present on behalf of the Canadian ASD Alliance.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Yes. It's a group of 38 organizations—and growing—across Canada. We have a website and we have a position paper, and we'd just like to run through it.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I just want to recap the situation. It's our opinion that we have a real health problem surrounding ASDs in Canada. To date, we are not doing national surveillance, but there is at least one region in Quebec and in other countries that are. I just want to share two examples. In the region of Montérégie, Quebec, data taken from 2000 to 2007 shows the prevalence.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  While I'm the executive director for Autism Canada Foundation, Autism Canada is also a proud member of the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance. I'd like to make a very short presentation from Autism Canada Foundation, and then, together with Kathleen Provost, who is also on the leadership committee of CASDA, we'll do a presentation on behalf of 38 autism organizations from coast to coast.