[FEAT BC Admin]

This area is for discussions in general topics.

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[Mike & Jean]

Harold Doherty who is an autism activist and dad from New Brunswick posted the following message today on his blog, "Facing Autism in New Brunswick"

"Community activist, and staunch friend of Canada's autism community, David Marley, is running as an Independent candidate for West Vancouver-Capilano MLA in the BC election May 12, 2009. He will be a guest today on CKNW's Bill Good Show immediately following the 9 am (local time) news.

David is a dedicated community activist who backs up his principles with outstanding organizational ability and formidable advocacy skills. I know nothing of the West Vancouver-Capilano riding or the other candidates but I know they are in for a real scrap with Marley running, a candidate with a strong commitment to community causes.

I met David at the FEAT BC visit to Halifax (above left) in May, 2007 and again in Toronto and Oakville (above right) for the Medicare for Autism Now campaign. David's organizational savvy and advocacy skills have helped autism advocates keep autism alive as a federal issue despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper's determination to exclude it from federal attention.

I hope the good people of of West Vancouver-Capilano don't mind this New Brunswicker offering my two cents worth. I would have "endorsed" David Marley as a candidate solely because of the assistance he has given to autism advocates in Canada. Having participated actively with David in the Ontario leg of the Medicare for Autism Now campaign I have seen first hand the outstanding skills, effort and commitment he brings to the causes and the people he supports.

I give David the highest marks I can give to a politician by saying he is a real scrapper. If the people of West Vancouver-Capilano want a scrapper in their corner I recommend they vote for David Marley."

[Mike & Jean]

Attention Everyone….again…

Regrettably Vicki Huntington is unable to attend The Bill Good Show this morning so David Marley and Vicki have been re-scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 4th.
Please listen in on Wednesday.

Jean

[Mike & Jean]

Whoops! telephone correction for David Marley:

604-970-1258

Thanks,
Jean

[Mike & Jean]

Attention Everyone: This is important!

David Marley, who is one of the founding directors of Medicare for Autism Now! and has been providing strategic advice to FEAT (pro bono) for the last 3 years will be on The Bill Good Show, tomorrow morning. He will be officially announcing his candidacy to run as and INDEPENDENT in West Vancouver-Capilano in the upcoming provincial election which will be on May 12th.

For those of you who don't know, for the last 3 years, David has worked extremely hard on behalf of all our kids to have ABA treatment universally acccessible and covered under Medicare.

Tomorrow, he will discuss his campaign platform. If elected, he will introduce legislation to amend provincial guidelines in order to have ABA treatment included under Medicare.

Speaking from experience, our cause could have NO GREATER advocate in Victoria. I have had the privilege of working with David and I can tell all of you that his passion for justice for our kids cannot be exceeded.

He will be on with Vicki Huntington who is another candidate who is running as an independent in Delta.

Please listen in at 9:00a.m. on CKNW 980 AM

If you would like to contact David you can do so at vote4marley@gmail.com or 602-970-1258.

I and others from FEAT and MFAN will be helping David in his campaign. We need everyone on board to help. Please contact me at jean.lewis@telus.net or 604-290-5737 if you would like to assist.

Thanks,
Jean

[Dubravka Skrijelj]

Come One! Come All!
To the 1st Conference of the BC Association for Applied Behaviour Analysis (BC-ABA)

March 7, 2009
University of British Columbia
Scarfe Building, 2125 Main Mall
9:00-5:00

Featuring:
Experimental/research studies, case studies, and
theoretical papers

On topics such as:
Skill assessment, Challenging/problem behaviour, Early intervention, Facilitating generalization and maintenance, Functional behavior assessment, Parent/family training or support, Policy and ethical issues, Professional preparation, Service delivery, Teaching and/or intervention in schools, and Adult issues and interventions

Update!
The keynote address for the conference will be delivered by Dr. Ilene Schwartz, BCBA, Professor in the Dept. of Special Education, University of Washington and Director of UW’s Experimental Education Unit. Dr Schwartz’s keynote will focus on the role of ABA in inclusive education and across the lifespan.

Please go to http://www.bc-aba.org/index.htm to download the Call for Papers and registration forms

[Norm Tailless]

Another Question About RDSP:

What happens if all these years of ABA pays off and a child is eventually well enough to not be considered "disabled"?

…I am sure many of us with young kids dream of that and some might have a shot.

Will this account get taxed (all in one year…the way RRSP gets taxed when a person passes away)? Does the child have to return the government contribution?

[Milburn Drysdale]

Dear Earl
Your advisor is slightly off the mark. Yes, it is important to know if the RDSP will eventually result in a clawback of disability benefits, however here in BC, the government has already exempted the proceeds of an RDSP from reducing a disability benefit.
The following link expands on the topic: http://www.rdsp.com/documents/RDSP_Provincial_Update.pdf
There may be a question of the usefulness of an RDSP for an older adult, but for a disabled child, there is no debate. The RDSP is an outstanding savings vehicle that every parent of should take advantage of.
Cheers
Milburn Drysdale
Autism Funding in BC
http://asdfunding.com

[Earl Friesen]

Hi this is about the RDSP.

Here is a link for information.
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/disability_issues/disability_savings/faq.shtml

In response to our inquiries to our financial advisor he has provided the following info from Manulife:

"When planning for a disabled child you have to be mindful of any
government benefits the child is entitled to and consider whether the plan
you put in place will jeopardize those benefits. There are asset and income
tests that determine whether there is any reduction in the government
benefits. A discretionary trust is often used to hold assets for a disabled
person as such a trust (sometimes referred to as a Henson Trust) is not
considered an asset of the disabled person under the Employment and
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act. There's a provincial
government website that describes the disability assistance programme in
full, including reference to the use of a discretionary trust and the
income/asset tests (follow link below):

http://www.eia.gov.bc.ca/PUBLICAT/bcea/trusts.htm

I'm not sure an annuity is the best tool to provide cash flow for the
disabled child, whether the annuity is purchased through a discretionary
trust or not. Who would be the measuring life? While the parents are alive,
presumably they can provide the funds their child will need, what the
parents may be trying to ensure is that the child will have financial
support after they're gone. One planning solution I've seen implemented
previously is where the grandparents purchase two single life policies, one
on each parent. Separate policies are used so that there will be a tax-free
death benefit payable on the death of either parent, thereby providing
funds at the death of the first parent and additional funds at the death of
the second parent. This staggered payment may be beneficial if one parent
were to die and the surviving parent was left incapacitated and unable to
provide for the disabled child. Separate policies are also required to
achieve a tax-deferred rollover on the death of the grandparents (discussed
below).

The grandparents would be the joint owners of the life insurance policies
and would pay all the premiums under the contracts. A discretionary or
"Henson" trust would be established on the first to die of either parent by
the designation of one or more trustees as recipient of the life insurance
proceeds on behalf of the disabled child, a beneficiary of the trust. On
the death of the last grandparent the interest in the life insurance
contracts would be bequeathed to each parent. As you are aware, a transfer
of a life insurance policy at death is a disposition for tax purposes.
However, where an interest in a life insurance policy is transferred to a
child of the policyholder for no consideration, and a child of the
policyholder or a child of the transferee is the life insured under the
policy, subsection 148(8) deems the proceeds of disposition to be the
policyholder’s ACB in the interest, and the transferee acquires the policy
at a cost equal to the transferor's deemed proceeds. The intergenerational
transfer of a life insurance policy is described in greater detail in a tax
topic; I'll forward that to you separately.

As the trust will be settled only on the payment of the life insurance
proceeds paid as a consequence of death of either parent the trust should
be treated as a testamentary trust which provides ongoing tax advantages
over an inter-vivos trust. Drafting of the trust document and structuring
the life insurance policies and beneficiary designations to ensure
disability benefits are not lost is complex. The clients would need to
engage a lawyer who is familiar with this type of planning to assist in the
documentation."

I am still trying to understand the Manulife response. For us, I look at the grant as $1000 contributed by the government for every $1000 we contribute is so good that any reduction in other benefits is not a concern.

Thoughts?

[Diane Slootweg]

Hello Everyone,

ASBC Mid Island Community Group Meeting

This month's meeting will be a resource and information exchange evening. Do you have ABA materials, autism reference books, games, equipment that you no longer need and would be willing to pass onto others? This is an opportunity to pass them along to another family who may be looking to purchase, exchange or is wanting more information about these items. You may also know of some awesome educational or autism related websites or chat rooms that you would love to share with other families.(I know that I have.) This is a great opportunity to network with other parents and professionals. (not to mention clean out some closets.)

Our meeting is scheduled for tonight Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 7pm.

The location for this month's and February's meetings will be The McGirr Elementary school Multipurpose Room, 6199 McGirr Road, Nanaimo BC. Please enter at the side entrance. (This is the same location as last year.)

We will begin by discussing upcoming workshops and information sessions.

Hope to see you there. Please RSVP to midisland.asbc@gmail.com if you are planning to attend in order to arrange for seating and refreshments.

Regards,

Diane Slootweg

[Norm Tailless]

Transporters – Simon Baron-Cohen's DVD from Cambridge University

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_en_mo/eu_med_autism_video

Hi All,

I've seen a few posts regarding Simon Baron-Cohen's DVD from Cambridge University. I got it a couple of years ago (through my English relatives. My son was already too old, and perhaps too advanced, and he was never into trains anyway.

So, it didn't do any magic for us. But I imagine it would be interesting and educational for the 3-5 year old kids on the spectrum.

Assuming I can find it, I can pass it on to anyone interested….and if they can be so kind, perhaps they could pass it on to one of the autism resource libraries.

Thanks!
tailatrophy@yahoo.ca

[Author]

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