F.E.A.T. of B.C. -- autism and discrimination in British Columbia, Canada

For immediate release March 30, 1998 MALPRACTICE IN THE BC GOVERNMENT Why won't Glen Clark and the N.D.P. saveour children?   Would you be outraged if there were only one effective treatment to saveyour sick child's life, and the BC Government refused to cover it underMedicare? Parents of autistic children in this province don't have to imagineit. For us, it's real, it's now, and we are fighting for nothing less thanthe lives of our children. Our children have autism. There is no cure, yet, but there is a safe,effective treatment, pioneered 34 years ago at the prestigious Universityof California at Los Angeles (UCLA), proven by three decades of researchdata, and most importantly, with practical results - recovered children,leading happy, normal lives. The treatment is Lovaas-style Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), developedby Dr. Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues at the UCLA Psychology departmentin 1964, and carefully refined over the years since then. Research showsnearly half of autistic children given intensive Lovaas ABA treatment areindistinguishable from other children by the time they enter kindergarten.The other half may still have some of the symptoms of autism, but all benefitgreatly. The key is to start treatment as early as possible. As a result, parentsof autistic children who can afford it pay for Lovaas treatment themselves.Those with less money must sit quietly, as time and Government apathy stealtheir children's futures. The tragedy of the Government position is thatwhile they condemn our children in the name of saving money, they end uplosing out, even there: Recovered autistic children go to college, becomeprofessionals, and pay taxes; Untreated autistic adults must be cared forby the Government, 24-hours a day, for the rest of their lives, often inextremely expensive, total-care institutions. Court decisions in Alberta and in the United States have already forcedGovernments across the continent to fund this medically essential treatment.Sixty-three licensed BC psychiatrists - certified medical specialists -have endorsed Lovaas ABA as medically necessary treatment for autism. Howmany doctors must prescribe Lovaas treatment before the BC Government seesfit to cover this therapy under Medicare? How many decades of research mustshow its effectiveness, before the N.D.P. sees the light, and helps getour children out of the dark?     - 30 -   For more information on Lovaas ABA and Families for EarlyAutism Treatment of BC (FEAT BC), call Dr. Sabrina Freeman at (604) 534-6956 email: featbc@biogate.com http://www.biogate.com/featbc

F.E.A.T. of B.C.

20641 - 46 Ave., Langley, B.C., V3A 3H8 Canada
Ph. (604)534-6956 Fax (604)534-9527
e-mail:FEAT BC@biogate.com

Director: Dr. S.K. Freeman