Autism is a great example of children with multi-faceted needs. We know, based on several studies, that early diagnosis and earlier access to intervention can certainly lead to improved and more optimal outcomes.
There is no doubt that the pandemic has limited the rate of diagnosis across our country, and the rate of diagnosis was already slow before the pandemic. I think some of your other witnesses talked about many of the issues being there prior to the pandemic and being exacerbated because of the pandemic.
At the same time, I will say that autism is also a positive example. It is one area in our country where I have personally experienced what collaboration and unity across scientists, clinicians, stakeholders, families and also politicians and policy-makers can do. There's a backlog. There's no doubt about that. But we are in the process of working with many stakeholders across Canada on developing a national autism strategy that will use innovative, effective and efficient ways to clear the backlog in the years to come.
That's an example of both a challenge and an opportunity in terms of what collaboration across jurisdictions, across political parties and across specializations can actually achieve.