[Bev Sharpe]

9 years ago today, November 19, 2004 the Auton decision was rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This judgment upheld the findings of fact from the BC Supreme Court that ABA Treatment was medically-necessary. The judgement failed our children by not ordering the provinces to pay for this treatment.
The serious flaw in the Supreme Court of Canada judgement was that this court, the highest court in the land, did not wanted to force the provinces how to spend their health care dollars.

What Auton did was put a spotlight on the inhumane exclusion of our autistic children from Medicare.

What can you do?

Continue your child’s ABA treatment program – it is the single treatment with the science , data and efficacy behind it – it works.

Keep informed. Sign up for the free newsletter from Association for Science in Autism Treatment at:
http://www.asatonline.org/signuphttp://www.asatonline.org/signup

Join Medicare for Autism Now! Their website: medicareforautismnow.org
Your autistic child is a Canadian citizen who is worthy of their core treatment need for ABA and worthy of being included in Medicare.

Get active with Civil Rights Now! People living with a disability in British Columbia do not have the legal rights and protections they believe that they have. Anyone and everyone, as a result of an accident, an illness or merely by getting older can become vulnerable. And that’s why everyone needs to get involved in this campaign. Their website is: civilrightsnow.ca

Read and understand the Auton and Hewko decisions. These decisions outline critical facts which you can use to advocate for your children’s treatment both at home and in school.

Thank you to Dr. Sabrina Freeman for founding Families for Early Autism Treatment and for your tireless work on both the Auton and Hewko cases.
Thank you to each and every family who courageously carries on a treatment program for their child.

[Bev Sharpe]

9 years ago today, November 19, 2004 the Auton decision was rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This judgment upheld the findings of fact from the BC Supreme Court that ABA Treatment was medically-necessary. The judgement failed our children by not ordering the provinces to pay for this treatment.
The serious flaw in the Supreme Court of Canada judgement was that this court, the highest court in the land, did not wanted to force the provinces how to spend their health care dollars.

What Auton did was put a spotlight on the inhumane exclusion of our autistic children from Medicare.

What can you do?

Continue your child’s ABA treatment program – it is the single treatment with the science , data and efficacy behind it – it works.

Keep informed. Sign up for the free newsletter from Association for Science in Autism Treatment at:
http://www.asatonline.org/signuphttp://www.asatonline.org/signup

Join Medicare for Autism Now! Their website: medicareforautismnow.org
Your autistic child is a Canadian citizen who is worthy of their core treatment need for ABA and worthy of being included in Medicare.

Get active with Civil Rights Now! People living with a disability in British Columbia do not have the legal rights and protections they believe that they have. Anyone and everyone, as a result of an accident, an illness or merely by getting older can become vulnerable. And that’s why everyone needs to get involved in this campaign. Their website is: civilrightsnow.ca

Read and understand the Auton and Hewko decisions. These decisions outline critical facts which you can use to advocate for your children’s treatment both at home and in school.

Thank you to Dr. Sabrina Freeman for founding Families for Early Autism Treatment and for your tireless work on both the Auton and Hewko cases.
Thank you to each and every family who courageously carries on a treatment program for their child.

[Bev Sharpe]

Association for Science in Autism Treatment

ASAT is a not-for-profit organization of parents and professionals committed to improving the education, treatment, and care of people with autism. Since autism was first identified, there has been a long history of failed treatments and fads, levied on vulnerable individuals as well as on their families. From the scandal of the “refrigerator mother” theory, to the ongoing parade of “miracle cures” and “magical breakthroughs,” history has been dominated by improbable theories about causation and treatments.

Many of these treatments have been too quickly adopted by professionals, too readily sensationalized by the media, and too hastily embraced by hopeful consumers – well before supporting evidence or reasonable probability existed for their effectiveness or safety.

Since ASAT was established in 1998, it has been their goal to work toward adopting higher standards of accountability for the care, education and treatment of all individuals with autism.

Dr. Sabrina Freeman, founder of Families for Early Autism Treatment is a Board Member of this organization.

To sign up go to: http://www.asatonline.org/signup

[Bev Sharpe]

The FEAT BC Discussion Group has been designed to discuss any topic relevant to home-based A.B.A. programs (including Government funding and school issues). When we use the term A.B.A., we mean discrete-trial-based interventions, also referred to as "Applied Behaviour Analysis" or "Lovaas-type" Intensive Behavioural Treatment for autism and related disorders. This is not an appropriate forum to discuss or ask questions about the latest, unscientific 'cure of the day.'

Beverley Sharpe
Director

[Bev Sharpe]

Nasal Spray therapy and Surf Therapy –Parents Beware

T V news broadcasts in the last 2 wks. Have made mention of so-called therapies
For Autism.

Parents – do your homework. The only science-based, data-backed, bonafide TREATMENT to date for Autism, is Intensive Behavioural Treatment (IBT) based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis.

Parents you are your child’s advocate. Educate yourselves, do not waste one penny on scam therapies. Your child is worthy of “medically necessary treatment”. That treatment is Applied Behaviour Analysis.

When evaluating ANY treatment for Autism you must follow Dr. Sabrina Freeman’s
Advice. Ask the following questions:
1. Has the treatment been validated scientifically?
2. Show me the DATA.
3. Is the treatment replicable?
4. Are the Assessment Procedures specified?

[Bev Sharpe]

Nasal Spray therapy and Surf Therapy –Parents Beware

T V news broadcasts in the last 2 wks. Have made mention of so-called therapies
For Autism.

Parents – do your homework. The only science-based, data-backed, bonafide TREATMENT to date for Autism, is Intensive Behavioural Treatment (IBT) based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis.

Parents you are your child’s advocate. Educate yourselves, do not waste one penny on scam therapies. Your child is worthy of “medically necessary treatment”. That treatment is Applied Behaviour Analysis.

When evaluating ANY treatment for Autism you must follow Dr. Sabrina Freeman’s
Advice. Ask the following questions:
1. Has the treatment been validated scientifically?
2. Show me the DATA.
3. Is the treatment replicable?
4. Are the Assessment Procedures specified?

[Bev Sharpe]

July 9, 2004. 9 years ago today, I sat in the Supreme Court of Canada court room, along with several other Auton litigants.

The Auton case is the case where a small group of parents brought an action against the government for failing to provide medically-necessary Applied Behaviour Analysis treatment to their autistic children.

Both at the Supreme Court of BC and the Appeals Court of BC, it was found that the failure to provide this treatment constituted a denial of the children’s rights under the Equality provision, Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This decision was appealed by all of the provincial and the federal governments, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

On that hot, sunny day, 9 yrs. ago, I chose to skip the lunch break, and wait outside the court room, to ensure all of us getting our seats back at the front of the court room for the afternoon session. It was then, that the Sherriff informed me that it was the first time he had ever seen the Supreme Court of Canada re-arranged, to allow for a record number of intervenors against our autistic children.

Yes folks, the injustice against providing treatment to our children was pervasive across every province and territory.

In a stunning and shocking decision, the Supreme Court of Canada did not uphold the lower court decisions that ABA treatment was medically-necessary and must be provided. Rather, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the “core health needs” of our children had been provided. They meant that if our children break a leg, or get strep throat, they get treatment, but not for their Autism. The judiciary said that though they recognized ABA as “gold-standard” treatment, that they, the judiciary could not order the provinces how to spend their health care dollars.

The Auton litigation put the spotlight on the necessity of ABA for our children, essentially shaming every province to provide some funding of this treatment. This funding is discretionary. Any funding provided today can be taken away with the stroke of a pen. It is vitally important that we get ABA treatment included in Medicare.

What can parents do now?
Hire a bonafide Behaviour Consultant, and start your ABA treatment program for your child. ABA treatment is an autistic child's core health need.

Political activism with focus, clarity and persistence is the only thing that will change Medicare to include ABA treatment for Autism.

Parents educate yourselves. Read the Auton and Hewko decisions. Watch the film, “Medicare’s Orphans” at medicareforautismnow.org

Check out Civil Rights Now! at civilrightsnow.ca

Thank you Dr. Sabrina Freeman for founding FEATBC and spearheading the Auton litigation. Thank you to all the parents, families, and concerned citizens that advocate for ABA medically- necessary treatment for autism because we need Medicare for Autism now.

[Bev Sharpe]

Jean Lewis and David Marley, directors of Medicare for Autism Now! and
Civil Rights Now! will be on the Simi Sara Show – CKNW 980AM today
from 1:00 to 1:30 discussing Civil Rights Now proposed legislation.
Have a listen and call in.

[Bev Sharpe]

Jean Lewis and David Marley, directors of Medicare for Autism Now! and
Civil Rights Now! will be on the Simi Sara Show – CKNW 980AM today
from 1:00 to 1:30 discussing Civil Rights Now proposed legislation.
Have a listen and call in.

[Bev Sharpe]

REMINDER TO ALL WHO USE THIS FEATBC CHAT BOARD.

This is a 100% free, volunteer-run service.

Before you post, please review and understand the rules.

Advertising compensation, hourly rates of pay, is against the rules. This web site is not here to promote competition between families for therapists.

Please contact me personally if you want to discuss this.
bsharpe7@hotmail.com

Beverley Sharpe
Director, FEATBC

[Author]

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