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. save our children?   Would you be outraged if there were only one effective treatment to save your sick child's life, and the BC Government refused to cover it under Medicare? Parents of autistic children in this province don't have to imagine it. For us, it's real, it's now, and we are fighting for nothing less than the 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 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), proven by three decades of research data, and most importantly, with practical results - recovered children, leading happy, normal lives. The treatment is Lovaas-style Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), developed by Dr. Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues at the UCLA Psychology department in 1964, and carefully refined over the years since then. Research shows nearly half of autistic children given intensive Lovaas ABA treatment are indistinguishable from other children by the time they enter kindergarten. The other half may still have some of the symptoms of autism, but all benefit greatly. The key is to start treatment as early as possible. As a result, parents of autistic children who can afford it pay for Lovaas treatment themselves. Those with less money must sit quietly, as time and Government apathy steal their children's futures. The tragedy of the Government position is that while they condemn our children in the name of saving money, they end up losing out, even there: Recovered autistic children go to college, become professionals, and pay taxes; Untreated autistic adults must be cared for by the Government, 24-hours a day, for the rest of their lives, often in extremely expensive, total-care institutions. Court decisions in Alberta and in the United States have already forced Governments 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. How many doctors must prescribe Lovaas treatment before the BC Government sees fit to cover this therapy under Medicare? How many decades of research must show its effectiveness, before the N.D.P. sees the light, and helps get our children out of the dark?     - 30 -   For more information on Lovaas ABA and Families for Early Autism 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