So yesterday, February 24, Montreal held its first (what appears to be an annual event from now on) autism fair, where over 34 exhibitors – from therapists (speech therapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists and behaviour therapists), government agencies, organizations, writers and parents – came together to meet, greet, and inform attendees interested in finding out more about autism and what to do.
However...
The Little Shop of Horrors must have swallowed the media because NO ONE was present to document, snap pictures, or interview any of the professionals. Mind you, this was no surprise to many of us because it seems where autism is concerned, the media likes to vanish and play the Invisible Man role.
It’s a shame, really, because it was a jam-packed day of people coming and going from 12p.m. until 9p.m. But kudos go out to the Suburban for helping announce and get the word out in their paper:
When Litsa and I first began researching for our book, Autism Epidemic: Shaking the System (and yes, we were present to also meet and greet attendees) the statistics were 1 out of 150 had autism. Those stats have now been updated to 1 out of 110 children—another reason one would think the media would hop on this and interview the professionals and garner some answers.
The Intellecual Disability and Autism Fair was held at the Marriott Fairfield Inn in Dorval, and information (flyers, booklets, giveaways, books, etc.), organized by Franca Kesic representing WIAIH, a major presence in the West Island offering services to parents.
Anyone who knows of someone having a child with autism understands the overwhelming task parents goes through. Compound this now with the stress factor while waiting for a diagnosis and then more waiting while the child is placed in the queue for therapy. Many parents just don’t know where to turn to and this is why such an event was so important because it gathered almost everyone together in one room to offer their services and know-how to them. The best part was that the fair was free to all to enter, and big kudos go out to WIAIH’s Franca Kesic for organizing it: www.wiaih.qu.ca
Before I end I’d like to post a few of the professionals present because they deserve recognition for their time and effort to educate and help parents:
YMCA offering information for their summer day camps and 12 – 17 diversion groups
reKINExion teaches how to take the stress out of reading by using Brain Gym to effectively support students in the development of their reading and writing
Rebecca Maftoul—Orthophoniste
West Island Readaptation Centre www.ger-ergo.com
Avatil www.avatil.org
CCIFA www.ccifa-ted.com
Home program and integration consultant Anna-Maria Macone www.becoming-butterflies.com
West Island Community Resource Centre www.crcinfo.ca
Nathalie Saindon www.espace-temps.ca psychologist
ATEDM autisme-montreal.com
Donne La Patte—animal assisted therapy
Syndrome d’Asperger support group
Psychologist Dr. Marie-Helene Prud’homme www.ccifa-ted.com
Big Blue Hug—Jason Goldsmith—Picture TALKING www.thebigbluehug.com
Brittany Fellner—recreational therapist (play theray/zoo therapy)
Miriam Foundation
Jon Pehleman clinical manager www.cocosplace.ca
Helene McGregor—West Island Citizen Advocacy www.westislandcitizenadvocacy.com
And more, including us, Litsa Kamateros and Lea Schizas, authors of Autism Epidemic: Shaking the System.
There was also Diana Crawford from the Lester B. Pearson School Board representing their Light a Dream program.
Representatives of the Montreal Off-Island school board were on hand to answer questions from parents what schools offer for their children but it would have been nice to see more people from one of the largest school boards who do have programs for these children meeting and greeting parents and answering their queries.
Way to go! I'm glad someone is taking about the issues, and I wouldn't worry too much about the media. They'll come around. The walk for cancer and gay pride started out very small too. Look at it now! You guys can do it!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear it was a huge success.Good on both of you!No media huh?They were probably to busy taking pictures and interviewing Justin Beiber,how sad.
ReplyDeleteNext year,i personally promise to make sure the media is there...i've got a few ideas to catch their attention.:)Again, congrats to all of you!!!!
How sad that such an important event did not warrant the attendance of media. Lindsay Lohan gets massive attention because she is having an emotional meltdown because no one bothered to say "no" to her. But a world-wide population that effect ALL of us, not just the bottom line of certain paparazzi and rag mags gets ignored.
ReplyDeleteAs a former Special Ed teacher I commend you Lea and Litsa and all those who attended for seking answers and being willing to give of your valuable time to help find the answers.
Kudos to all who participated. I know how difficult it is to find answers for condtions that are fomented inside the human brain.
Congratulations on your event on Feb. 24th. I found out about the First Montreal Autism Event from your local Examiner.com representative - Carol Roach. Ms Roach lets the community and the world know what's happening there in Canada
ReplyDeletewww.examiner.com/mental-health-in-montreal/first-ever-montreal-autism-and-intellectual-disabilities-fair?CID=examiner_alerts_article
Blessings to you,
Ms. "V"
www.victoriapoller.com
Wow, this sounded like a fantastic event. Boos to the media who couldn't be bothered to attend. Thanks for taking the time to post about this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie. It would seem the media would want to attend such a huge event. An author friend of mine received a Newbery a few years ago for Rules, which is about a girl grappling with her brother's autism. Cynthia Lord has a child who has autism. But the attention placed on her and her book didn't open the eyes of the media. It's wonderful that at least one newspaper came and documented this fair. All you can do is continue to publicize your book so the public will be educated.
ReplyDeleteWell done to you Lea for all your hard work. Its sad to see the lack of media attention but it would seem, the support of a celebrity is needed to generate interest and support for a cause. Anone got Gaga's phone number?
ReplyDeleteViv