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Justin Himmelright
Membertracking the hits on the online petition, roughly 135 new signatures since this morning, 35 in the past 2 hours.
Justin
MemberTracking the hits on the online petition, looks like about 100 new signatures today. Online petition link is at
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?andap1
Send it to everyone you know.Justin
MemberYeah, thanks guys. That session had a lot of ammunition in it. Promises only to use scientifically validated treatment, promises to work with parents etc. etc. Anybody willing to do a quick analysis and write up the important points? Would be nice to have that to throw back at them at the next available opportunity. The CKNW sound vault link is at
http://www.cknw.com/audiovault/audiovault.cfm
Post the points on this site.
Justin
MemberAndrew Kavchack on CTV NewsNet
Just saw Andrew on CTV NewsNet. The piece on the petition features Andrew saying "….over 2500 signatures from families from coast to coast to coast…" and pointing to featc.org on his chest.
Beautiful job!
Justin
MemberAutism in the news!!! (again!)
I would encourage everyone to pick up a copy of the Vancouver Sun today. There are two brilliant pieces in the paper. One of them from our very own Ursula Lee. Ursula, thank-you from my entire family.
Online autism petition URL makes The National Post! In letters to the editor today, The National Post comes through for us again. The email address for their Letters Editor will be in the email list that I send out. Make sure they get a copy of everything you send.
Justin
MemberFYI to all letter writers. On Saturday I too sent a Letter to the Editor, framed as an open letter to Gordon Campbell and Geoff Plant. The letter was sent to the Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, National Post, and my local rag. The local paper is picking it up (Maple Ridge Times). I also directly contacted the columnists responsible for writting articles on autism in the Globe and at the Post.
I has happy this morning to get a call back from the Post, they seem to intend to publish my letter and some of the contents of my note to the columnist (John Ivison). An important piece of information to remember in your letters is the URL address for the online petition or for FEAT of BC. Find a way to work it in.
Lets save ourselves some effort collectively. Email me (address in this post) as many email addresses for letters to the editor as you can find for local, provincial, and national papers. I will put together a mailing list and get it up on FEAT web site. Then we will all be able to send every Letter to the Editor that we write to (hopefully) hundreds of newspapers from coast to coast with the push of a button.
Here's another idea. Find a newspaper website, any one. Search the site for "autism" and track down the email addresses for the reporter(s) involved in the stories. Email those to me. Keep them seperate from the Letters to the Editor email addresses. I will build a mailing list of reporters across the country who have written on autism. As with the Letters to the Editor, all of your future notes can be sent to every one of them with the push of a button.
Keep these mailing lists (letters to the editor, reporters) handy. When you are tired and out of ideas, sit down and write 5 lines. Drag it into a mailing list and send it off. You have done your part for today.
We need a champion in Ottawa. I think Jack Layton and the NDP would like nothing better to come out collectively swinging on this issue. They have a nothing to loose and a lot to gain by being the first off the blocks. Check out the website…focus on TOmmy DOuglas, investment in kids etc. If you are with me on this one, post an email mailing list for all the NDP MP's and lets start mailing them too.
Show me the email……
MemberMy head has been spinning with possibilities over the past few days. The media spotlight is on, if you have something to say about this issue, say it now. Put your message out to any newspaper, radio or television station you can. Do not let the media fade this away over the weekend, stay on them.
My thoughts on the party line…..The Provincial Government has congratulated themselves for maintaining their accountability to taxpayers for allocation of tax dollars. Now the spotlight is really on…there is no question who is responsible for the future of thousands of children. They need to hear what taxpayers think of their priorities when it comes to government spending. State your opinion, get your friends and relatives to call and write as well.
Autism is front page news in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Vancouver Sun this weekend. Use it!
There is a wonderful national radio program on CBC called Cross Country Checkup. It plays every Sunday for 2 hours and it is a call in program where citizens from across the counry call in and sound off on the the question of the day. The sharp witted and razor tongued Rex Murphy is the moderator. I have written an email and suggested that they do a future program on the recent Supreme Court ruling on Autism treatment. A few more voices may help to convince them. Send an email to checkup@cbc.ca and make the same suggestion. If we are lucky we will get Rex to face off with Geoff Plant.
To everyone out there, take heart. My last name is rare and a quick internet search will get you my phone number. We have been getting phone calls from across the country, people offering support, people expressing their outrage….
Tomorrow is another day. There is a provincial election coming. There is a minority government Ottawa. There is more awareness than there has ever been. We have a lot of allies in the media now, not just Bill Good (bless his heart). If there was ever a time to press the issue, it is now. Start tomorrow, make your phone calls, write your letters, team up with other parents, picket your MP and MLA. Every time you feel you can't do it any more, think of your child, think of their life, think of the tireless hours spent by the Auton parents and what you owe them. Think of Geoff Plant kicking your child and stealing their lunch money….you will find more strength than you ever thought you had.
Sincerely,
Justin Himmelright
Griffen's DadMemberI am on the lookout for any insurance companies that may provide some coverage for autism treatment related expenses (psyc. assesments, ABA, etc.) in their extended medical insurance packages. Does anyone out there have any good or bad stories to pass along about getting some things covered through insurance? What companies are good, which need to be avoided etc.
Please email privately to himright@telus.net
Thanks,
JustinMemberThe bottom line here is that we want recognition of autism as a medical issue and scientifically validated treatment. The fact that ABA is the only scientifically validated treatment option is tangential to the whole issue. This case is about discrimination against people living with autism. My understanding of Michelle Dawson et. al. that they want autistic people to be recognized and treated as equals in this society, not second class citizens.
We are fighting for the same thing. Citizens in Canada receive medical treatment for their medical needs if they choose to accept it. Adult autistics should not be required to accept ABA treatment if they do not want it. Children, as minors, will have that decision made for them by their guardians. But at the very least, like every other citizen in this country, we deserve the right to have that option and make that choice.
The chat board debates, petition vandalism, and Ms. Dawson's intervention in the Auton Supreme Court hearings demonstrate to me that the bureaucrats and lawyers have been sucessful in clouding the real issue and implimenting a divide and conquer strategy. I would suggest that we all need to think about this the next time we launch a salvo against one of the factions here in the autism wars. Whose side are they really on? Save your energy for the real enemy, the governments and their barbaric hords of bureaucrats and lawyer commanders.
MemberMy understanding of the new funding arrangement is that the direct invoicing method is an option. You still have the option of receiving the funding directly and having your line therapists invoice you. I would strongly urge that folks out there reject the "direct invoicing method" choice. This option will allow the government bureaucrats to review and reject invoices. It is just another step to allow them to enforce their policies of ignoring what your child's doctor or consultant says and directly interfere with the medical treatment of your child as they seem to think they are qualified to do.
My suggestion is that you reject this option and continue to use direct funding. Write a letter or email to Cameron Keller, Director, Provincial Autism Initiatives Branch (Cameron.Keller@gems5.gov.bc.ca}), suggesting that whatever budget he has set aside for bureaucrats to process invoices is wasted money that should be directed to parents so they can spend it on treating their children.
An option that seems to have been pulled off the table is the "lump sum" option for kids over 6. The best you can hope for now is quarterly payments that are totally inadequate to run a proper ABA program. If you are like me, the lump sum option was the only option since it actually allowed us to run a proper program for a couple of months at least. Their options amount to band aids for compound fractures.
The changes in policy were brought about with no discussions or consultation with parents and families who will be impacted. Either the Victoria bureaucrats think they know what is best for us or they don't give a damn about what we really need and are looking for ways to manage their own interests. Either way, it is not good for us.
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