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Support Staff Strike in Durham Region
This attached article appeared in today's Toronto Star regarding the impact of the Support Workers Strike in Durham Region Schools. The full article can be read on- line at http://www.thestar.com/News/article/196746  but the photo isn't included on the webpage. It was in colour in the paper. The Star reporter and photographer got a first hand look at life at the McPhail household and learned quite a bit about autism in that hour long visit. And that photo is priceless.

The other reason I'm sending this to you is to tell you a bit about how these things come to be. There are strong connections to Autism Ontario. The Toronto Star reporter was referred to Bonnie McPhail by our Durham Chapter President, Lisa Wilson. Our Durham Chapter has a press release about the strike on their section of our website: http://www.autismontario.com/client/aso/ao.nsf/Durham/DDSB+Support+Staff+Strike+Info?OpenDocument 

Autism Ontario - Durham Region deserves huge credit for their proactive response to provide strike information for the public through their website and linking people quickly.
Marg

The Alliance for Families with Autism

We live next door, down the street, we are members of your community, we are families with autism. 

Autism is affecting you, your spouse, your loved ones and friends, and your community at large.  Our group is committed to advocacy, public awareness and sharing of factual information to our autism community, supporters and policy makers.

We believe in working with all political parties, organizations and communities to be true advocates for autism.  Autism prevalence is drastically escalating.  The rates continue to climb!

We believe that accountability and open communication are essential.  We are families that achieved over the past few years a proven track record of accomplishment.  Very recently we had a preliminary meeting with Minister Chambers from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and Marg Spoelstra, Executive Director of Autism Ontario.  Next month we will be meeting with Minister Wynne from the Ministry of Education.  We are also requesting meeting with Mr. John Tory, Leader of the P.C. party and Howard Hampton, Leader of the NDP.  These meetings are yet to be confirmed.

We strongly believe in a non-partisan approach and that autism deserves the attention and support of all political parties at all levels.  We look forward to active alliances with all families, autism supporters and organizations.

We are presently developing our email list.  If you wish to have more information about our group or would like to join our free email list, please contact us at autism_yassine@rogers.com 

The autism community needs us all working together for their future!

Sincerely,

Cindy DeCarlo                                   Andrew Kavchak

Trish Kitching                                   Pat La Londe

John McVicar                                     Lisa Prasuhn

Sam Yassine

Please contact us “AFA” at

autism_yassine@rogers.com

The Autism Acceptance Project

Tapping Into Human Potential and Dignity

For more information please visit: www.taaproject.com 

Contact:

Estee Klar-Wolfond

Founder and Executive Director

(416) 487-3600

The Autism Acceptance Project

Estee@taaproject.com

Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation’s Open Mind Workshop

A new addition has been made to the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation’s Open Mind Workshop in Peel Region scheduled for Wednesday April 25, 2007 at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga:

Dr. Kevin Stoddart will be hosting a morning workshop on Autism and Mental Health – With a special focus on Aspergers, this workshop will provide an overview of the Autism Spectrum Disorders and examine the incidence and impact of mental health disorders such as social anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorders and learning disabilities on youth.

Geared towards mental health professionals, educators and youth service providers, this day also offers a choice of educational workshops that bring together current research findings, evidenced based best practices and community resources to help better serve youth facing mental illness.  

Other workshop options for the day include:   

·      Self-harm,

·      Youth violence,

·      First episode psychosis,

·      Culture and Mental Health,

·      Youth gangs and

·      Youth depression and suicide (this workshop is full), 

If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks very much and we hope to see you in April.

Best regards, Jean

Jean Milligan
Youth Project Manager
Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation
133 Richmond St. W. Suite 200
Toronto, ON   M5H 2L3
(416) 351-7757 ext. 24
Fax: 416-351-7765
email: jmilligan@cprf.ca
web: www.cprf.ca