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Photo du 10e Sommet canadien du leadership en autisme : les participants et les participantes écoutent le discours d'ouverture du premier jour.

10th Summit Brings Together Canada’s Leading Autism Advocates and Experts, United in Their Call for a National Autism Strategy

Autism Alliance of Canada hosted the 10th Annual Canadian Autism Leadership Summit (CALS2024), a three-day event that welcomed Autistic persons, family members, researchers, politicians, service providers and policy makers from across the country. CALS2024 focused on informing policies that addresses the diverse needs of Autistic people and their families, implementing policies, programs, services and supports with the potential to strengthen the impact of the national autism strategy and innovating through the valuable processes, promising and emerging practices, ideas, and research that can advance our collective work.

Charting a Path to Inclusion: Realizing the Promise of Canada’s National Autism Strategy

At least one million Canadians are autistic, which is approximately the population of Winnipeg or New Brunswick. Yet, despite that significant number, autistic people in Canada face significant barriers to full participation in society; encountering discrimination, stigma, poorer health and educational outcomes, and alarmingly low employment rates compared to their non-autistic counterparts. This stark reality violates their human rights and demands urgent action.