Life On The Spectrum - Episode 2 | by Autism Speaks Canada | DOCUMENTARY

hi I'm Carter a proud autistic Canadian from Saskatoon Saskatchewan along with everyone at Autism Speaks Canada I'm happy to present the second episode of life on the Spectrum in this 20-minute episode we share lived experiences of autistic Canadians and their families to increase understanding and acceptance of autistic people first we start with the land acknowledgment and then visit our autistic friends and their families across Canada join us on this journey to explore life on the Spectrum episode 2. thank you I would like to begin by acknowledging I am on treaty 6 territory the traditional territory of Cree peoples and on the homeland of the metis nation our first stop is White Horse Yukon let's meet our friends Molly Brandon Daniel and Diego Molly is a swim instructor Sheila's spending time with her family and friends she is a strong Advocate and is creating a personalized path to adulthood Molly will introduce us to her friend Brandon who is also on the Spectrum Daniel and Diego are best friends Daniel loves cars Diego loves music they celebrate each other's differences I'm Molly I live in White Horse Yukon I'm a lifeguard at the local pool I am a full-time student I live with my mom I like the idea of this documentary and making autism like more awareness for it and I wanted to help and be part of that I've had support for my family my mom especially she's was my voice for me when I didn't have one and I couldn't find mine and she taught me how to find mine when she was little she had a really hard time finding her words and speaking and communicating and over the years with so much support we've had amazing therapists and I'm proud of Molly because so many kids left the school in her class and they'd go to the pool for swim lessons or they would go to soccer practice and Molly had to work really hard with her speech path and for a long time it felt like a lot of work in the getting I was really scared for her and what her life would look like and if she'd be able to overcome certain challenges but she's the most amazing person I've probably learned more about life she just keeps going I want to do a lot of traveling while I'm young I want to see the world I want to see what else is out there I want to explore different cultures different food different places I have such a big desire to see everything and I really hope I can do that after that um I want to settle down a bit go to university get my Nursing degree and one day get married and have a family I've always wanted to be a mom this is my boyfriend Brendan we've been together for almost three years he's my shoulder to cry on my rock when I really need him hello I'm Brendan I am a self-diagnosed autistic and I live in White Horse me and Molly needed to share our stories we communicate to each other whenever something's on our minds if we want to talk about something we are always open to conversation I'm really proud of what I've made this relationship that I have don't give up I know it's hard sometimes it's hard to find the light where all you see is Darkness but you gotta remember that there is always light in that darkness and there are people who care about you that will guide you to that light when you really need it [Music] foreign [Music] my name is Diego and I live in the in White Horse Yukon Diego okay so tell us a little bit like someone's never met Diego before who's Diego um I mean I'm a guy that plays a lot of instruments The Talented musician I'm a talented musician yes um I don't know I kind of like when I'm when I'm doing something like like when I try to learn something I kind of like I'm determined to learn it like when I genuinely want to learn like an instrument or something like flute or like piano like I I just like am really on it kind of or something and I just like I don't know that's just how I am kind of when I grow up I want to be a I don't know music teacher something to do with music I guess most of the genres I listen to are derived from electro house like listen to Big Room house uh big room trance uh I listened to a new genre uh drift Funk uh how would you describe Diego [Music] I would describe as a talented musician yes he is quite funny he gets the he gets the humor that I have too uh enjoying uh Small Engines class mechanics 10 power technology 10. I guess it's sort of like to fix anything that has an engine light uh I also thought about Aviation technician in NASCAR technician thought about fixing motorbikes just sort of anything with an engine and people did bully me and my friends because of my friends like Diego also have ADHD and this is my friend he's him I accept him the way is like it's because he is it's because he is like all these diagnosis and like all this stuff with him like it doesn't make him less kind of like he's still like a great person like yourself in that place but she's off in the place of what like what it would be like to be us kind of we got through this interview with the power of friendship oh my God now we will go to beautiful St John's in Newfoundland and Labrador to meet Andrew and his mom Tiffany Andrew has been on a waitlist For Her diagnosis since he was 12 months old research shows that early screening And Timely intervention can improve development and future outcomes for autistic children autism can be reliably be diagnosed by age two but according to the public health of Canada only 53 percent of children are diagnosed before the age of five hi my name is Tiffany I'm from St John's Newfoundland my oldest son Andrew he's three I'll describe Andrew in three words by using loving energetic and kind well I notice a few things um so I brought them up to my public health nurse um such as like he was walking on his tippy toes he wasn't looking at me or anyone when we said his name or try to introduce or just normally speak with him um and he was fixated on certain things that just seemed Dodge me at the time and not knowing about too much about autism I branched out to my public health nurse and decided to see what's actually happening I wanted to spread awareness um not a lot of people understand that each person is different and one person could make a difference in the world he's a smart little guy he gets into everything he wants to know how things work the wait list is quite long I wish we had the support before we got the diagnose it's been over a year now and we're just about to see the doctor [Music] um it's a long wait when you don't know how to really help I wish there was more support and services before we actually seen uh someone and give a diagnosis some of Andrew's strengths are that he's a right Problem Solver he can solve anything um he can't say it but he can certainly get things put back together he loves puzzles um he was doing a 24 piece puzzle since he was two and a half years old the challenges are um just getting what he wants known known he can't come out and say you know Mama want to drink he'll have to point to his mouth or bring me to the fridge or point to a sign that we have up because it's taking a while for him to be able to see the words he needs they don't have to be defined by it it isn't a weakness you have to make it a strength it feels wonderful that I see him doing something that I will never think that I could do um it just makes me so happy and proud and if we had support at this moment I feel like we have more time to prepare for the future there are approximately 500 000 working age adults with autism or an intellectual disability according to the public health of Canada only 33 percent of autistic Canadians report being employed compared to 79 percent of people without a disability social and economic inclusion for autistic people continues to be a priority let's meet sisters Kenza and Karima in Montreal Quebec as they share their different paths to employment success then we will meet TJ and Blake with their mothers in Nova Scotia let's learn about their employment and housing experiences as they navigate their transition to adulthood is a [Music] foreign foreign foreign [Music] foreign Under Fire I'm Dorothy from Enfield Nova Scotia and I am TJ's mom currently TJ is almost 25 which is very hard for me to believe I would like people to know that if they've seen one autistic person they've only seen one autistic person if I had to describe TJ it would be lovable funny kind TJ was actually diagnosed at 22 months old which at that time was very unusual so lucky that we did get a diagnosed that early he got into early intervention so they used to come out to the house and they worked with him before he went to school you know all of his grades going through were very good he graduated with all of his classmates that he had been with all along and then he went back to his high school for a couple more years and then he transitioned and moved into a small option home um in TJ's case his small option home has 24-hour awake staff so it doesn't matter if TJ wakes up at 2AM or if he wakes up at 5am um there's always somebody awake there's always going to be somebody you know to help him to find out why he's awake in the middle of the night he lives in a home with three other guys and during the day they have three staff and then over the night time they have two staff TJ moved into a small option home just before his 20th birthday so my husband Henry and I had always had a conversation that when TJ was unable to go to school anymore which in Nova scotia's 21. that we would aim for him to move into a small option home at that time so this would be his move from you know to move on to learn how to do more things all of those things that I would have done but now they do it and I get to just enjoy TJ the way he is he is doing amazing My Hope for TJ for the future is to continue uh to grow the way he's growing and to learn all those skills that he needs as he gets older for my case TJ moved into the small option home and like I said I get to be mom again I'm not just a caregiver I get to be mom again for Acadia news I'm Blake crittal [Music] foreign [Music] hi there I'm Blake and I live in Port Hastings Nova Scotia which is just a stone's throw away from Port Hawkesbury and I'm here with my parents and my two dogs and you'll be meeting them soon hi I'm Blake's mom Joe and I'm here with Blake in his new home well autism is different for everyone there are some that are verbal like myself and others that aren't but we all deserve to be treated with respect I think that's a really good rule to live by I am a news reporter for a radio station in the area but uh I am a very creative person I must say I in my spare time I like to write stories paint pictures I was first diagnosed at the age of six in uh senior kindergarten which exists in Ontario but before that I knew that I was different from other kids as did my parents so one of Blake's things that he did early on was to disclose to disclose to his prospective employer in his cover letter you know what I have autism yes I come with some quirks and maybe I need a few accommodations here and there but I can bring to the table a ton of strengths when I worked at the grocery store I used to have what I like to call my pocketbook which was essentially a pilot's checklist of all the stuff that I was supposed to do that's how I got into the routine of things well it started off in grade eight when my mom got me involved with a employment support program that helped people with Autism to prepare for the workforce but that really taught me about responsibility it taught me about how to deal with customers and it prepared me for the workforce I worked part-time at a local radio station so that was a stepping stone in my career to becoming a radio personality and a journalist what advice would you give somebody who relates to your story you're going to do just fine just believe in yourself and don't give up and don't be afraid to fail because you know what fail stands for first attempt in learning [Music] thank you for watching life on the Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada I hope you enjoyed meeting Molly Brandon Daniel Diego Andrew kinza Karima TJ and Blake we remain committed to sharing authentic stories of autistic Canadians Coast to Coast to Coast happens help us create an inclusive Canada where autistic people can reach their full potential meet today at autismspeaks.ca donate [Music]

Channel: Autism Speaks Canada

Views: 3,632

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Id: PlKBVnf5ywg

Length: 20min 3sec (1203 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 17 2022