Mr. Speaker, before I give my speech, I want to say that I am very proud to rise in the House today to speak to the motion moved by my colleague from the riding of Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, which addresses a very important subject, autism spectrum disorder.
Since arriving in the House a year and a half ago, I have gotten to know him and how hard he works. He has shown remarkable perseverance on this file and has been doggedly determined to convince us, the caucus members, to move this motion. This is the kind of file that could have been set aside or deferred until later. However, it is important to consider the needs of the children and adults presently living with this disorder.
As I was saying, I have the immense pleasure of rising in the House to offer my support to the people and families dealing with autism spectrum disorder.
As we all know, this disorder affects many Canadians across the country. It is currently the fastest-growing neurological disorder in Canada. In fact, one in 68 children will be diagnosed with autism, which can take different forms but usually results in difficulties with communication, behaviour, and social interactions.
Despite the fact that I do not have the same expertise as the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, the sponsor of this motion and father of a child with autism, I have had the opportunity, over the course of my career, to interact with people affected by autism. I know that they face many challenges, but I have also heard many stories of caring and love.
I say that because, before becoming an MP, I was the mayor of a municipality. At that time, I was frequently approached by parents, families, and children who were seeking support through community organizations. Before that, I was a teacher and principal at elementary and secondary schools, where I interacted with children with autism on a daily basis. I could see that their parents, despite how much they loved their children, were still experiencing some level of distress over the days, weeks, and months. They were sending us a message.
I would like to tell a personal story. When I was the principal of a high school in Plessisville, there was a young boy who was being assessed and ended up being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. I believe it is similar to autism, but I am not an expert on the subject.
People's natural reflex, based on ignorance, was to send him to to a group with extra support, or a group for students with behavioural issues. A psychologist friend of mine with a PhD, who was involved in his case through a community organization in my region, asked to meet with me as a private individual. She knew the child and told me that I should not put him in a group with extra support because he was a different kind of kid with particular exceptionalities, but he did not have behavioural issues. Here was a kid who understood the rules but had his own exceptionalities.
It is funny because sometimes I wondered if maybe he was the “normal” one compared to the other children.
In class, the teacher gave a very simple instruction: you must raise your hand before you ask a question. This student simply followed the instruction given by the teacher. He saw students all around him who asked questions without raising their hands and disrupted the class. He got upset at one point and the teacher asked him to leave because he was disrupting the class. He came to my office and I tried to piece together what had happened. The professional explained to me that the student had reacted because the others did not understand the rules of the class. I thought it was rather odd that a child was being punished simply for wanting everyone to follow the rules. All that to say that perhaps he was the one who represented what was normal, and the others were the ones who had behaviour problems.
I say this a bit tongue in cheek, but still, it shows how little understanding we had of this issue at that time. A great deal of work has been done since then with our professionals so they can better understand and support these kids in class.
Stories like this one, about kids who integrate into social and group activities at school or who receive extra help in class, are often the ones we have in mind when we think of people with autism.
However, this is only part of the problem, because people still have the disorder after they finish school. We must therefore not limit our reflections to just children and teenagers when we try to come up with solutions to this health problem.
We have to understand that these young people will grow older with autism and will need other types of supports in their adult lives. That is when reality hits and the lack of resources is most dire. We can say that there is a huge gap between the services that young people receive when in school and those they receive after graduating, because most of the care and services stop once they reach the age of majority.
This transition from life as a student to life as an adult, which presents significant challenges for most Canadians, becomes suddenly very difficult for these young people with this disability, if we can call it that. They are cut off from most of their resources, which causes a great deal of stress and anxiety.
The working group that established the Canadian Autism Partnership project, which we are debating today, describes the lack of resources for adults living with autism. It says that the services and programs needed by adults living with autism generally do not exist or are not accessible in all regions of Canada, especially opportunities for jobs that are adapted to these individuals. It adds that provincial and territorial policies vary and that, no matter the location, families and individuals living with autism deplore the lack of support. Things get worse when autistic people reach retirement age. They usually do not have a pension or income because they have been unable to work over the course of their lives.
This reality is addressed in today's motion, where it refers to the challenges people with autism face over their lifespan. Let us not forget the parents, loved ones, brothers, and sisters who continue to support a loved one with this disorder, not to mention those living alone.
Although these two situations are different, with some living with their family and others living alone, the issue of housing is critical. Every person should be entitled to safe, affordable, and adapted housing whether we are talking about an existing house, a residence for persons with disabilities, or an individual apartment.
As mentioned earlier, employability is another important aspect. This might include adapting the workplace or creating adapted jobs. Ultimately, we must ensure that there are prospects for all autistic adults so that they may contribute in their own way and fully participate in their community's economic activities. That is the foundation of their physical and mental health.
This community involvement also has to include opportunities for socializing. The school system allows them to interact with other peers and friends and to develop and build relationships that are important for human development. However, once school is over, unfortunately, these opportunities for social development tend to dwindle, something that must be remedied immediately.
Like those of everyone else, the needs of people with autism change over the years, and those needs must be met. Today, we need to ask ourselves to what degree those needs are being met and take real action to address the gaps. That is what this motion does by proposing to properly fund a Canadian autism partnership. Such a partnership would give us the ability to assess what is being done across the country and ensure that people with autism and their families have what they need. I want to emphasize that it is also important to think about the families. This partnership would help us put people with autism and their families in contact with health care professionals, teachers, researchers, and decision-makers in order to facilitate the sharing of information and best practices.
These conversations between the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments are essential so that we can share innovative solutions that can help people with autism across the country. By setting up this unique partnership, we will ensure that people with autism and their families can live their lives with dignity.
In closing, I want to recognize all of those people who are living with autism and their families. I thank them for their passion and dedication. We will continue to fight for them so that they have the resources they need. We will ensure that all parliamentarians support the motion, without partisanship.