Cyndi Gerlach

Logo of the National Autism Network and a larger text on green background reads "Join the Board of Directors! Help Guide Canada's National Autism Network”

The National Autism Network is electing its first Board of Directors!

Nominate yourself and help us stay true to our vision:
A Canada where Autistic people & families shape policies, systems & communities for real inclusion.

www.nan-rna.ca/participate

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign? Demand Re-evaluation of North Shore Transportation Infrastructure

chng.it/6m2ypgyvdK

Super excited to see the @autismnetworkca.bsky.social website live - together we can make shape the future for #Autistics in #Canada

Autism advocacy group hoping to highlight concerns on national level CTV’s Health Reporter Pauline Chan has more on a federal election toolkit put together by the Autism Alliance of Canada.

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/vide... @allianceautism.bsky.social

You can apply for the Lightning Rounds Presentations at #CALS2025 until Friday 28! Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to share your work!
bit.ly/CALS2025-Lig...

#Autism #Research

We are calling on the minister to raise the Canada Disability Benefit to what the government acknowledged was "the bare minimum" needed to survive: $2000 a month.

We call upon the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion & Persons w/Disabilities to prioritize being disabled w/ a dignified life by immediately instituting a Canada Disability Benefit that would allow disabled pple to live w/dignity before they have a dignified death. www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en....

Media Release: BCGEU reiterates call for CLBC’s role to return to direct government test UWU/MoveUP

Thank you @bcgeu.bsky.social www.bcgeu.ca/bcgeu_reiter...

No pay in 20 months: Why B.C. home-share provider won’t stop caring for client | Globalnews.ca A B.C. home-share provider says she won't stop providing care for her vulnerable client, despite not being paid for nearly 20 months.

Thank you @globalnews.ca.web.brid.gy for continuing to share the stories - globalnews.ca/news/1102565... #clbc

Square cut-outs on a white background, with one square featuring a family with neurodiverse individuals. Text: A National Caregiving Strategy for Canada

The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence’s National Caregiving Strategy is a clear plan to address the biggest barriers experienced by 1 in 4 Canadian caregivers. We are proud to support their effort to make caregiving a national priority. Learn more: canadiancaregiving.org/national-car...

Court Finds Disabled Adults Can’t Count on Needed Provincial Support | The Tyee CLBC’s funding and structure mean agency could fail to deliver care despite need.

Reposting this story - because it helps to explain the issues that families like mine are facing - thetyee.ca/News/2025/01... #clbc

Inquest into starvation death prompts calls for shakeup at Community Living B.C. | CBC News The B.C. Crown corporation that oversees the care of developmentally disabled people is facing a call for its board to resign and a separate call for the organization to be brought back under governme...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Both CLBC & the Minister in this article are spinning their truth & it isn't the truth of our family. Stoking fear when there isn't a need to stoke fear; spinning truths to bypass the reality; is the board is a real board or a token board that is controlled by senior staff

Agreed. The fact that the chair of the board hasn’t even made a statement is telling.

My biggest fear. First responders do not get the training they need to support our community.

Down Syndrome BC demands removal of Community Living BC board Down Syndrome BC is demanding action against an agency involved in ongoing failures in caring for developmentally disabled people.

vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/01/30/d...

It is wrong that no one lost their jobs over the death of #florencegirard, no acknowledgment ex: @davidebybc.bsky.social or @sheilamalcolmsonbc.bsky.social & what they will do to ensure that this never happens again. The board & senior staff #clbc need to be held accountable.

Thank you @tamarataggart.bsky.social for speaking up on behalf of #florencegirard and her family and for each one of our folks that is supported by #CLBC #nomoremonitoringthemonitor

I protested the creation of #CLBC & was targeted, now that I'm receiving funding for both my son's from #CLBC, I put myself at risk of loosing funding, but I can't stand by & not do anything; who is going to watch out for my boys when they don't have me to look out for them.

#CLBC needs to be dispanded, the board needs to be fired and we need to create a system that values human life.

@davidebybc.bsky.social , why is #florencegirards life not worth a statement from, why have you not asked @sheilamalcolmsonbc.bsky.social to investigage. Do not be a bystander.

Not a peep from anyone in gov't, the press release ex: #CLBC didn't acknowledge their part in the homicide of #florencegirard.

I cannot be a bystander, #florencegirard was a person, a person that needed our love & support & was starved to death.

On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko - Jan. 30, 2025: Down Syndrome B.C. calls for premier to remove board of Community Living B.C. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

It starts at the top - the board of #clbc is the one that sets policy and the budget - they and the executive team are responsible -

autismalliance.ca/resource/pod...

#autism

Congratulations @susiechant.bsky.social on your new appointment to Minister of State Senior's Services and Long Term Care @bcndpcaucus.bsky.social #seniors

I always wondered why the prevelance was much higher in males than females; then listened to a panel of women (late diagnosed) & I had something in common w/each one of them. Spent 57 yrs of my life not understanding why I kept making mistakes, now I know why & I embrace my autism. It's my power.

Yummy

The pathologizing of disability: Why academic medicine must prioritize accessibility Physicians with lived experience of navigating a career in medicine with a disability share their insights on the barriers built into medical education.

www.aamc.org/news/patholo...

Love this visual representing the window of tolerance. This is something I can share with my staff to increase their learning and awareness of being more trauma informed. 💙

Disabled people are not props you can care about when it suits your agenda and then forget we exist when it doesn't.

Unlearn ableism

#disability #solidarity #LeaveNoMarginalizedPeopleBehind
#resist

I've never understood why early intervention is so underfunded, yet we know if we start early there are better outcomes and costs go down - imagine if we provided supports to the students that needed it, less homelessness, less prisons, less, crime, less ____

I share this post with you, not to point fingers at anyone, but to reflect on the "why" we are doing this to our vulnerable folks. We want to keep people out of jail, find ways to end homelessness, help employers find employees, it starts with education.