Families still waiting despite local MPP going to bat for children with autism

In March, the Downsview Advocate printed a story about my son with autism, Misha, and what the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) changes announced in February meant for children on the autism spectrum and their families.  The article highlighted the importance of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, an evidence-based best practice treatment for children with autism, and how the changes proposed by the Ford Government would not allow most children to access this life changing therapy.  

The OAP program changes were a ‘one size fits all’ plan that did not address the individual needs of the child.  I was devastated that other children would not get the therapy they desperately needed. As a result, along with other parents and advocates, I attended rallies, visited MPPs and organized my community demanding the government to not go through with those changes.  

I met with my local MPP, Roman Baber. At first meeting I was disheartened by his support of the OAP changes, nonetheless, I continued to meet with him.  At one meeting, I showed him a video of my son practicing for his Bar Mitzvah and explained this was only possible because of the therapy he received. Roman was intrigued and attended Misha’s Bar Mitzvah.  

The ceremony was very moving and meaningful.  All in attendance were in tears because they knew how far Misha had come.  Roman witnessed the benefits of ABA therapy firsthand.  

In April, Roman Baber was asked by Premier Ford to review the Government’s Autism plan. He continued to meet with me along with many other autism advocates and professionals.  Baber’s review of the OAP and later termed as the “Baber Report” was shared with the Government’s Autism Advisory Panel and then subsequently leaked by the Globe and Mail on June 28th.  In the Baber Report, Roman courageously criticized his own government’s plan and called for an immediate reset to the Government’s Autism plan.  

On July 29, the Ontario Government acknowledged that its proposed changes to the autism program were wrong and they reversed the course of the OAP.  Many Ontario autism advocates, including myself, praised Baber for his work and feel all the rallies along with Baber’s report set the stage for the government to change its direction and provide families with funding based on the needs of individual children.

The revised OAP announced by the government would be needs-based, sustainable, within $600 million and would treat as many children as possible.

The Ontario autism advisory panel made up of parents with lived experience, autistic adults, educators and other experts from a range of disciplines released their report on October 30^th.  This report included many excellent recommendations.  However, an implementation committee needs to be created in order to implement panel's recommendations.  Implementation of the new program is planned for April 2020.

Many children have lost valuable time not having access to therapy.  It will be well over a year from announcement of the disastrous plan back in February to the new OAP program implementation in April 2020.  Still, I extend a thank you to my MPP, Roman Baber, and all the advocates that made the government see the error of their ways.

World Health Organization calls for the elimination of trans fats in foods

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global strategy called “REPLACE” that will guide countries on how to remove artificial trans fats from their food supply by 2023. “This initiative is meant to lead countries in establishing legislation to eliminate the trans fats,” as stated by the director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the WHO, Dr. Francesco Branca. REPLACE stands for Review dietary sources, Promote use of healthier fats, Legislate, Assess changes, Create awareness and Enforce. The REPLACE plan is the first time the WHO is proposing a call-to-action on the removal of a chronic disease factor.Chronic diseases, or non-communicable diseases, are a combined result of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors such as dietary intake. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide.Artificial trans fats are made when vegetable oil hardens in a process called partial hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenated oils have been added to foods since the early twentieth century. They prolong shelf life and enhance the flavour and texture of many foods, including commercial baked goods, fried foods and snack foods, and are used in products such as vegetable shortening, stick margarine, coffee creamer and ready-to-use frostings. The intake of trans fats raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol” and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.Industry produced trans fats differ from naturally occurring trans fats found in dairy and beef. No evidence of harmful effects has been identified from these food sources.Last year, the Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced the final step to phase out the production of partially hydrogenated oils in all foods sold in Canada. The ban will come into effect September 12, 2018 to allow enough time for food manufacturers to find suitable alternatives.

Graves’ Uncertainties

Last fall, we ran a short article about the thyroid. Just in case you still don’t have that issue on your coffee table, the thyroid gland, about one ounce, is in your throat, hugging your voice box.  Thyroid hormones control how fast you burn fat, regulate temperature, and influence the general energy level of your metabolism. Previously we discussed how producing too little thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) can affect your health; the condition is not rare and has pretty good treatment options.  Now we’ll discuss the effects of too much thyroid (hyperthyroidism). This condition, fairly rare — less than two people in 100 — results from Graves’ disease. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune process where our immune system attacks its own thyroid gland and often other tissues including the eyes. Genes play a role, but so do lifestyle and the environment.  Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include nervousness, weight loss, irregular menstruation, rapid heart beat, and more.Medical treatments include surgical procedures to remove or reduce the enlarged thyroid gland, radiation therapy to inactivate the gland, and taking medications that nobody, I guarantee, takes for fun. But are there less invasive alternatives? Quite likely but not always. If we want to reason scientifically, we must consider uncertainty. If the results are positive, we cannot guarantee how long they will stay effective. Last year, I worked with three clients who had received medical diagnoses of Graves’ disease from their family doctors or specialists.  They wanted to avoid surgery, radiation and medication. And hey have been able to: two of the clients have succeeded for more than a year.A modern naturopath will understand the enlarged thyroid as inflammation and will treat it accordingly. In these three cases, I had reasons to suspect that the inflammation was rooted in dietary sensitivities. In recent years, blood tests became available for a category of food reactions mediated by immune cells called IgA (this is different from allergies where the culprit is IgE).  These tests have proved very helpful. Unlike allergies, reactions via IgA are often “invisible to the naked eye” but have insidious, long term consequences. With data from these tests as a starting point, we were able to work out a nutritional program that included adequate supplements that calmed down the autoimmune reaction, and lifestyle changes — mainly reducing stress. When these clients returned to their specialists, the diagnosis of Graves’ disease was withdrawn. Much is uncertain in health, but we must always look to rectify it through improving our lifestyles.Comments or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.ca. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.ca.  

Improvements coming to Ward 10 this summer

There is a common refrain that there are two seasons in Toronto – winter and construction. We are in store for a busy construction season in Ward 10 and while there may be some inconveniences, the work across Ward 10 and the city in general will bring enormous improvements and benefits to our neighbourhoods. Recreation is a vital part of any liveable city. And, it is with much excitement that we are now only weeks away from the re-opening of the Earl Bales Community Centre. Work has been happening over the past several months to add a new gym, new change rooms, a public lounge area and other improvements to the existing facility. This $4.5 million project is expected to be completed in late June to early July. Torontonians love their parks but great parks need regular improvements and investments. Construction of new playgrounds at Garthdale Park and Champlain Park will be starting shortly and we expect work on Phase II in Irving Chapley Park to be under way by the end of the summer. We just received word of another exciting addition that will be coming to Earl Bales Park. An announcement will be made shortly – keep an eye on www.JamesPasternak.ca for further details. After the major rain storms of 2013 and 2014, I promised that the City of Toronto would make the necessary investments to help prevent basement flooding. This is essential to protect the value in homes and keep our neighbourhoods healthy. This year $22.3 million of basement flooding protection work is scheduled to begin in Ward 10. In total, $178 million of improvements are planned for Ward 10 over the coming years.The City of Toronto is continuing to improve roads in our neighbourhood including repaving Finch Avenue West between Bathurst and Dufferin as well as along Wilson Heights Boulevard. Just outside Ward 10, The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is completely rebuilding the aging Avenue Road- Highway 401. This is a major project that will likely go into 2019.Toronto is a great place to live, work and raise a family. But to keep it that way we must make major investments in infrastructure. It will be messy and noisy and the traffic will be slower, but these investments will provide a great return for the good people of North York and Downsview.  We thank you for your patience during the work and as always, I am available to speak at 416-392-1371 if you have any questions or concerns. You can also keep up with our progress and check back for regular updates at www.JamesPasternak.ca.