Governments around the world have different ways of making policies and strategies to help Autistic people. They do this based on politics, culture, and other factors. Also, not all countries are at the same point in making these policies, and they might not follow the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the same way. By learning from each other, policymakers from different countries can make their policies and strategies better. This will make life better for Autistic people and their families everywhere.

This community brief is a product of Autism Alliance of Canada’s 9th Annual Canadian Autism Leadership Summit, from the panel, “The International Autism Landscape: What can Canada learn?” and from the discussion, “A Conversation with International Policy Experts: How do your autism policies help Autistic people?”

It contains information about the event, what we talked about there, and what comes next for the Alliance based on the event. Here, we talk about how we’re learning from other countries to create a national autism strategy in Canada. Participants included Autistic advocates, caregivers, policymakers, community organization representatives, practitioners, and researchers.