Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the subject of autism. The petitioners, again largely from my riding, are calling on Parliament to recognize that families with children suffering from autism spectrum disorder are greatly affected and highly vulnerable. They talk about the alarming increase in the diagnosis and presence of autism in our population, currently at about 1 in 195 children. They draw attention to the therapy which has been made available largely through the United States, intensive behavioural intervention, IBI, and also applied behavioural analysis. These programs are taught in the United States and currently not taught in Canada. They are quite expensive. The petitioners are calling for these programs to be taught and to be available in Canada.
In the House of Commons on December 3rd, 2004. See this statement in context.