Since the establishment of FEAT BC, there has been a considerable amount of attention focussed on the plight of children with autism and the struggle of their parents to receive funding for the only scientifically substantiated treatment for autism. If you would like to sample the publicity that this battle has attracted, please click below.

Newspaper and Newsmagazine articles

Newspaper and Newsmagazine Articles Published on The Struggle for Intensive Behavioral Treatment

“System frustrates father of autistic boy” National Post commentary, September 2004
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(Auton vs. BC) “And coverage for all” Globe and Mail, JUNE 2004
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(Auton vs. BC) “Fighting autism too costly, top court told court told” Globe and Mail, JUNE 2004

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(Auton vs. BC) “Parents fight to make health care Charter right” National Post, JUNE 2004
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(Auton vs. BC) “Health care on trial in Supreme Court”Montreal Gazette, JUNE 2004
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(Auton vs. BC) “Case before Supreme Court could result in end of single tier health care” Canada Dot Com JUNE 2004
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(Auton vs. BC) “Medicare case before Supreme Court” Canoe News Service, JUNE 2004
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“Premier urged to end the suffering” Kitimat Northern Sentinel, September 2000
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“Government view of autism arrogant” Victoria Times Colonist, Letters, September, 2000
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“NDP:Help the autistic” Langley Advance News, Letters, September 26, 2000
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“Help Denied” Victoria Times Colonist, Letters, September, 2000
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“Best of Vancouver 2000”, Georgia Straight editorial, September, 2000
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“Fighting for a better life” Maclean’s Newsmagazine, September 4, 2000
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Two BC Liberal MLAs, Lynn Stevens and Rich Coleman, lash out at the Dosanjh government’s decision to appeal the BC Supreme Court autsim decision;”Autism appeal outrages MLAs”, Langley Advance, September 5, 2000
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“B.C. appeals autistic kids’ court victory” Vancouver SUN, August 29, 2000
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July 2000 BC Supreme Court ruling: “Autistic Children Victims of Discrimination, judge rules” Vancouver SUN article July 2000
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“Mom tackles government for failure to help” Vancouver Province 09/01/2000.

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“Mother of autistic son launches human-rights [action against BC’s Dosanjh government]”, Coquitlam Now News, 09/13/2000.

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BC Liberals Official Position Press Release
“Liberals’ reaction to BC Supreme Court ruling on medically necessary autism treatment”, 2000
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“The Premier Dithers; Ujjal Dosanjh must realize buck stops on his desk”, Editorial, Langley Times, August 16,2000
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“Courts rule in parents’ favour”, National Post, July 28, 2000
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“Judge rules for Freeman – Autistic families will finally get the help they need.” The Langley Advance News, 2000
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“BC Supreme Court ruling on medically necessary autism treatment” – Sing Tao Daily (Chinese), 2000
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“Therapy boosts hope for autism; Parents may sue BC Government to recover treatment costs” Peach Arch News, August 19, 2000
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“Judge slaps government” Editorial, The Okanagan, July 29, 2000
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“Mom wants provincial action on autism” The Okanagan, July 29, 2000
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“Families sue BC government for effective autism treatment”,Vancouver Province, 2000
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“Class Action Suit filed against BC Government” – VancouverSun, 1998
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“Parents of autistic children sue Ontario for effective treatment”, CBC News, web edition, 1999
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“Fund Autism Therapy, BC MLA urges” – Vancouver Province
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“Michael Campbell, Sun business columnist, urges tax dollars go to help autistic children” – Vancouver Sun opinion, 2000
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“Parents with autistic children suing Ontario Government” Canoe News, November 24, 1999
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“Autistic child lost in social services shuffle” – Vancouver SUN article, 1998
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“Dealing with autism” – Vancouver SUN article
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“Government not addressing special-needs kids” – Western Advertiser, 2000
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“Lack of appropriate BC Government services for autism intervention causes near tragedy” – Vancouver Sun article, 1999
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“Parents of autistic child launch class action” – Vancouver Sun, August 1998

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“Jean Lewis wants to make Lovaas therapy available to all parents of autistic children” – Vancouver Province, August 2000

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“B.C. discriminated against autistic kids, judge rules” – Vancouver Sun, 2000

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“Liberals urged to pay for treatment for older autistic kids” – The Province, December 2001

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Video Interviews

TV News Stories on the Struggle for Intensive Behavioral Intervention

BCTV News: New lawsuit in BC to ensure that medically necessary autism treatment is not blocked at the school door (09/09/04)

BCTV NEWS interviews Jean Lewis on a story about 23 families who have filed a lawsuit in Supreme Court (relating to Landmark ‘Auton’) against the Liberal Government of British Columbia for public funding of medically necessary autism treatment.

CBC TV news, ‘Canada Now’ program: Barbara Rodrigues renews her 100+ day protest picket against the BC Government, in an unrelenting fight for son Jeremy’s constitutionally mandated right to medically required autism treatment.

CHBC TV News: Penticton’s Barbara Rodrigues — Jeremy’s mom — challenges autism *Broken Promises* at the BC Government Caucus meeting in Penticton BC.

During her protest, Barbara faces Gordon Hogg, Minister of Children and Family Development, and Rick Thorpe, Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise.

BCTV News, “That was then … this is now”: Jean Lewis — Aaron’s mom and FEAT BC Director — exposes how BC Liberals have broken promises made to children with autism, within 90 days of forming the new BC Government. BC Liberals passionately condemned the former NDP Government’s appeal of the landmark BC Supreme Court ‘Auton’ judgment — a ruling ordering that Government must fund medically necessary autism treatment — but now the new Attorney General says Liberals will press ahead with the NDP appeal because he claims the ‘Auton’ ruling sets a bad ‘health care’ legal precedent that must be overturned by a higher court.

CKVU News: Linda Cucek’s son, James, has been consistently denied medically necessary autism treatment by BC’s Government, although his parents have pleaded for many years. Now, in his late teens, James is suffering the inevitable, harmful consequences of government neglect and failure — a painful, costly, ‘revolving door’ of hospitalization and ineffective drug “therapies”. BC’s Children’s Commission reviewed the government harm being done to James and rightfully ordered that government provide behavioural autism treatment. The Commission’s ruling has been ignored, as have all government’s promises to long suffering autistic children in BC.

CBC “Canada Now”: Barbara Rodrigues resumes protest against the BC Government as her fight enters day 103 on the picket line. Barbara’s struggle is to have government renew its agreement for at least partial funding of her son’s doctor-prescribed Lovaas-type autism treatment. The funding agreement, originally mediated by the BC Children’s Commission based on its Tribunal review of NDP autism policy, has now been abandoned by the Liberal government.

CBC “NewsWorld”: FEAT BC Executive Director, Sabrina Freeman, discusses the Dosanjh Government’s appeal of a landmark BC Supreme Court ruling in favour of children afflicted with autism.

BCTV News: FEAT BC Director, Jean Lewis, discusses BC’s Dosanjh Government appeal of BC Supreme Court autism decision.

BCTV News: Landmark BC Supreme Court victory for children with autism. FEAT BC Director, Jean Lewis, discusses the ruling.

BCTV News: “Leaving BC for Health Care”; a story about the emergence of two-tiered health care in BC and about two BC families struggling to defeat autism — one is forced to leave BC for Alberta to get provincial funding for autism treatment they cannot otherwise afford privately.

CBC News: Bev Sharpe discusses the struggle to privately fund autism treatment for her daughter, Allison; FEAT BC delivers 8200 signature petition to BC legislature in Victoria while in response, NDP government Ministers point fingers at each other.

The above four videos involving Andrew Kavchak, a parent whose son has autism.  Andrew lives with his family in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, where Andrew worked as a federal civil servant.  Shortly after his son was diagnosed, Andrew began protesting on Parliament Hill in 2004 during his lunch hour to lobby politicians (as they walked by) for federal action in the autism field, that would include taking the steps necessary to ensure that autism treatment was covered by Medicare.  Andrew demonstrated in front of the Supreme Court of Canada in June 2004 when the “Auton” case was being heard, and had a chance to meet several of the families involved in that case and FEAT of BC.  Andrew met Senator Jim Munson by the Centennial Flame one day in 2004 and raised the issue with him.  Senator Munson researched the field and became an autism cause champion on the Hill, and was key in the tabling of the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs report of 2007 called “Pay Now or Pay Later, Autism Families in Crisis” which recommended, among other things, that the federal government take steps to ensure adequate funding for autism treatment.

The report may be viewed here.

The government’s response, at the time, may be viewed here.

Andrew stopped his daily protests on the Hill in 2006.  However, in 2016 he retired from the civil service and resumed his protest on the Hill. Approximately one morning a week Andrew may be found on the Hill with his sandwich board sign and petition clipboard.  During the summer of 2016 he recorded two videos about the need for a National Autism Strategy and the need for governments to move beyond “autism awareness” and undertake some “autism action”

Radio Interviews

Radio News Stories on the Struggle for Intensive Behavioral Intervention

CKNW’s Bill Good Program: Jean Lewis, FEAT-BC Director, joins Chris Hinkson Q.C., to discuss a new autism lawsuit issued in British Columbia against the provincial public education system as well as a school district. “This lawsuit is a last resort,” explains Lewis. The suit has been launched to ensure that medically necessary autism treatment is not blocked at the school door to ensure children struggling with this condition have equal access to an appropriate public education:

 

CKNW Radio’s Bill Good Program interviews Dr. Sabrina Freeman, author of ‘Science for Sale in the Autism Wars: Medically necessary autism treatment, the court battle for health insurance and why health technology academics are enemy number one.” Dr. Freeman’s book exposes, in well-documented detail, the dishonest advocacy research B.C.’s Ministry of Health commissioned for their defense in the landmark Auton case. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled that health policy academics at U.B.C. had produced “obviously biased” research for the court hearings. Ignoring the court’s troubling finding of fact, the B.C. Office of Health Technology has gone on to publish and distribute — worldwide — its negative and highly misleading report on Lovaas Treatment.

More information on this whistle-blower book is at skfbooks.com. The book is available online at Amazon

 

The Premier of British Columbia — Honourable Gordon Campbell –- is interviewed on CKNW’s Bill Good program regarding government’s persistent rejection of three autism treatment court rulings and the ongoing lack of autism health care funding in B.C. Mr. Good asks the Premier this question: “three court decisions have told your government [autism is] a health care issue, that the families need specific early intervention fully funded by government. You continue to stall; why?”

 

CKNW Radio’s Bill Good Program interviews Jean Lewis — FEAT BC Director (September, 2003): BC Government appeals yet another autism legal ruling, even after five BC judges have already ruled in favour of public funding for children in medically necessary treatment programs. The ‘Anderson’ ruling says the Auton families are de facto a ‘class’ … and stop litigating these autism cases ad infintum. The government’s response — yet more litigation to the BC Court of Appeal.

 

CKNW Radio’s Bill Good Program interviews Jean Lewis — FEAT BC Director — about the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to hear the British Columbia Government’s appeal of the landmark Auton ruling on medically necessary autism treatment.

 

CKNW Radio’s Bill Good Program interviews Jean Lewis, about the writ filed for twenty-three families in the Supreme Court lawsuit against the British Columbia Government for public funding of medically necessary autism treatment.

 

CKNW Radio “Bill Good Show”: FEAT BC Director Jean Lewis and Deborah Antifaev discuss broken election promises made by Gordon Campbell’s BC Liberal Government regarding autism treatment

 

CBC Radio “Daybreak”: government’s new, so-called “intensive,behavioural”, autism intervention project (‘EIBI’); Robin Syme, senior official from BC Children’s Ministry, (A/Director, Child, Family and Community Living) vs. Jean Lewis, FEAT BC Director

 

CKNW Vancouver, Rafe Mair Show: FEAT BC Executive Director Sabrina Freeman discusses two-tiered health care, a harsh reality of BC government neglect, and the struggle of families dealing with autism. 

 

CHQR Calgary, Dave Rutherford Show: FEAT BC Executive Director Sabrina Freeman discusses BC governments appeal of BC Supreme Court ruling in favour of publicly funded intensive behavioural treatment for autism.

 

CFAX Victoria, Terry Moore Show: FEAT BC Directors, Jean Lewis and Sabrina Freeman discuss government autism contractees, BC government bureaucrats, and the Dosanjh government’s August 25, 2000 appeal of BC Supreme Court ruling in favour of children afflicted with autism. 

 

CKNW Vancouver, Bill Good Show: FEAT BC Directors, Jean Lewis and Sabrina Freeman on the landmark July 2000 BC Supreme Court ruling declaring children with autism are victims of BC government discrimination and that intensive behavioural treatment for autism is “medically necessary” and must be publicly funded.

 

Appeal of BC Supreme Court autism ruling; Government files Notic of Appeal: Sabrina Freeman announces late-breaking news by phone on CKNW’s Bill Good Show, August 25, 2000 

 

CBC Radio “As it Happens”: BC Supreme Court autism treatment decision: Sabrina Freeman, interview on CBC’s national radio news program regarding BC Supreme Court victory for families of autistic children

 

CBC Radio “BC Almanac”: BC Supreme Court autism treatment decision: Sabrina Freeman on BC Almanac program, July 28, 2000 

 

Three Vancouver area Lovaas therapists discuss Lovaas Treatment on CKNW’s Bill Good Show, April 2000

 

Dee Dee Doyle, FEAT BC Richmond, discusses the struggle with Richmond School District to end obstructionism and obtain cooperation between school staff, the Richmond “Autism Team” and home-based Lovaas Treatment programs.

 

 

CBC Radio: Lovaas Treatment: Shannon Rodrigue, US Lovaas consultant, interviewed on CBC Radio, Early Edition, April 14, 2000; what is Lovaas therapy and what is the impact on families