Adults with autism need more resources, a parent-activist told CTV News on Thursday.
Audrey Burt, president and founder of S.Au.S.--a parent-run group offering support on the South Shore--said her organization is planning to open a new day-centre for adults with autism as early as next fall. It will be the first of its kind in the area.
Right now, her organization offers services geared for autistic children and teens, but Burt thought of her son, who is 16 years old and on the severe end of the autism spectrum. She's worried about his future; adults with autism receive less support.
Children with special needs go to school until age 21. After that, Burt said, they may need someone to take care of them full time.
"The parents are left with the hard decision of one of them to leave their job," she explained. "We have to come up with some solutions for these families. ... There are no services."
The government doesn't offer families much help, she added.
"The families right now that are being met in schools whose children are going to graduate in June 2020 are given options, but they are not feasible. It's not a real option."
Parents, she said, are told which centres and organizations exist that can help their now-adult child. But there are too few of them; they're overwhelmed and lack space.
So Burt took measures into her own hands. She plans to open a day centre for adults on the autism spectrum in Fall 2020, the first of its kind in the South Shore.
She said the CAQ government has been supportive of the idea, but wasn't moving fast enough.
"The government is a little slower to act than we are, so we made the decision to go ahead," she said.
S.Au.S is holding a fundraiser on Nov. 2 at the centre Romeo Patenaude, in Candiac. There will be casino games, a silent auction and dancing.
They hope to raise $50,000.
Find out more here.
