Madam Speaker, I want to speak very briefly about one of the most terrible conditions that can strike a child and family. I first learned about autism at an intellectual level. From reading about Temple Grandin, who is a professor at a university in Colorado and suffers from mild autism, I learned what it might be like to experience.
She has written a book describing what it is like and how she has conducted her life. She gives a bit of a picture about the kinds of shutters, walls, doors and barriers to communication that the condition of autism places around people. It is a fascinating book. She has gone on to tremendous success and has provided the world with a view of autism that helps to expose a little bit of the mystery of why children who are so bright, lively and intelligent seem to withdraw from the rest of the world, and what it is like being inside that little cell they get trapped in, where they are unable to communicate or express feelings that nevertheless exist.
It is a fascinating way of exploring what the world of autism is like. In terms of actually experiencing what it is like for those who are family members, I had that experience working here on Parliament Hill. Leaving the Hill every day a few years ago, I used to notice that there was always a man there at lunch time. He would come up wearing a sandwich board with a motto about the importance of autism.
Those of us who work and spend a lot of time up here sometimes wind up getting to know the protestors who are here frequently. This man was a public servant who, during his lunch hours, would come and protest on Parliament Hill because his son was autistic. The experience of having a son facing autism, and the lack of funding and support for the early onset treatment that he and his wife felt was necessary were destroying them financially.
They recognized that it was destroying others financially. They wanted to draw attention to the plight of parents in their position. I had the chance to chat with this man, whose name was Andrew Kavchak, and learn about some of the terrible emotional and financial costs that can be imposed on a family that has a child suffering from this terrible disease.
I mention both of these examples because they are both examples of individuals trying to draw to our attention the importance of dealing with autism. This is what Bill S-210 attempts to do. It attempts to draw further attention to the condition of autism on the understanding that it is only when we as a society realize how severe and devastating this illness can be that we as a society will be able to focus the attention upon the condition necessary to allow us to overcome it.
We must mitigate the circumstances for those who suffer from autism, those who live in families that have been affected by autism, and those in the future who should have a reasonable expectation that we will find a way of ensuring that other children and families do not fall into the trap of autism.
Madam Speaker, I see that you are indicating to me that my time is up. In conclusion, I do think that this is a worthwhile initiative and I am glad to support it.