Sault Ste. Marie adopts autism strategy
The City of Sault Ste. Marie is launching a strategy it hopes will assist those caring for people with autism to find and access services. It's part of what the city calls its commitment to accessibility.
The Soo's autism strategy includes a services inventory, an autism roadmap, and design guidelines. City councillor Lisa Vezeau-Allen, who serves as chair of the autism strategy subcommittee, said the plan aims to address confusion at how to access services.
"For a lot of people, they just don't know what to do, where to go, and what the process looks like," Vezeau-Allen said. "Everything from a young child that you think might be autistic to an adult."
She said that is why the city's autism roadmap is split into two parts –one for those ages 16 and under and another for those who are older. Vezeau-Allen said her child is on the autism spectrum, giving her insight into the barriers people face.
"We all collectively knew that there needed to be that sort of one-stop-shop where you could gather information," she said. "It was really important I think, from the municipality perspective, to be behind it and to support it, because as a municipality, we don't provide services, but we can certainly provide a portal for people to get information and to know where to go."
The city worked on its strategy with several community partners, including Algoma Public Health, Community Living Algoma, and Thrive Children's Centre. Sault Ste. Marie's planning director, Don McConnell, said the strategy will evolve over time.
"This is actually the first autism strategy that I'm aware of that a municipality in Ontario has," McConnell said. "We haven't been able to find anything similar or design guidelines that are similar. So what we're hoping is that it will be adopted by other municipalities and as part of the feedback, we'll get other good ideas and improve it as time goes on."
McConnell said the design guidelines in the autism strategy will ensure things such as sensory spaces will be considered in the building of new city facilities.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.