QuickStart Autism

This afternoon in the Canadian House of Commons, I presented my annual 60-second statement for World Autism Month. I hope you’ll take just a minute to watch and share. Here’s the text: “April is World Autism Month, and now 28 years since my son, Jaden, was diagnosed. Today, Jaden’s 30 and an enthusiastic extrovert, but back then he seemed almost completely stuck in his own world. Our instinct at the time was to try to help him by pulling him into our world. And it did help. I’ve since gravitated to a slightly different approach. These days, I spend more time in Jaden’s world – getting down close to him, looking at what he's looking at, tuning into what holds his attention in the moment. When I intentionally pause, put the phone away, and just sit still with Jaden, I experience things I normally miss – the sense of wonder gazing out a train window, the value of non-verbal communication, or the strength of connection through physical contact - a hug, a tussle, a tickle, or Jaden’s famous high-five. We too often default to defining people like Jaden by the help they need. But, in my experience, I’ve learned many of the most important things in my life from him. Jaden has helped me, I hope, to be a better person than I’d have been without him. And for that, I am truly thankful.”

This afternoon, I presented my annual World Autism Month statement in the Canadian House of Commons as Jaden looked on from the gallery. Please take a minute to watch and share. 🙂 "April is World Autism Month and now 26 years since my son Jaden was diagnosed. Since then, I've embarked on an unanticipated lifetime of learning experiences. For example, I've learned at home to always check for finger lines in the butter dish... or cupcakes... or just food, generally. I've learned that an urgent 'ba-ba-ba-ba-ba' in the car often means an iPhone left behind or a missed Google Maps turn. More importantly, I've learned that we tend to wrongly divide the world into people who give help and people who need help. In reality, as human beings, we are - at various times - helpers or helped, sometimes both at once. Deciphering what Jaden needs or wants is often incredibly hard. But what I learn in the process – waiting on him, paying attention to his non-verbal communication, and assuming he has something to say – these lessons help me in every human interaction I have. And right now, finding ways to better understand one another is something our world needs more than anything else."

"Some of my favourite moments are spent sitting beside Jaden, just being with him - looking into each other's eyes, smiles on both of our faces, content with the part of each other that remains unknown." My one-minute World Autism Awareness Day statement in the House of Commons.