Two staunch advocates for the neuro-divergent community are circulating a petition calling on the provincial and federal governments to boost supports for adults with cognitive disabilities.
In short, create more and better services.
Mary Barnes and Elaine Cray, both mothers to such adults, are gathering signatures -- about 1,200 to date -- that will be presented to MP Adam van Koeverden, MPP Zee Hamid and the Minister of Social Services, Michael Parsa.
Both women told MiltonToday they feel local services fall short of meeting the needs of those with neurological disabilities.
“If you don’t have a person in your family with a disability, you’re not aware of all of this. So I’m not blaming anybody. You don’t know what you don’t know,” Cray said. “You don’t realize the trials and tribulations and struggles and barriers that are put up for these people.”
“Sometimes we have a hard time getting through a conversation without our eyes welling up,” Barnes said. “It sometimes brings out the beast in us because we are fighting for our children, as any mother would.”
“We go from fierce lionesses to crying in the corner because we feel so defeated and deflated every time we take two steps forward, it’s 20 steps back,” Barnes said in speaking about what she has endured.
Among the many demands of the document are more funding for job skills training and social integration, personalized education that caters to individual needs, support for caregivers and investigations into organizations that fail to provide quality care.
Without adequate support, people with disabilities risk alienation, dependence on others and limited job prospects. Their siblings often have to care for them when their parents pass. Independence and socialization are vital.
Government aid like the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Barnes and Cray believe, is inadequate. They feel there aren't enough day programs in Milton.
“A lot of us can't work because we have to care for them. At some point when we're gone, our adult children will have to care for them. So this is going to affect multiple lives and it affects society as a whole,” Barnes explained.
“Then it will become a norm to have adults with disabilities to become part of society instead of being segregated or isolated,” Cray echoed her colleague’s remarks. “I ran a daycare for 20 years. I gave that up when I knew Madison was graduating high school. I knew there was no way I could be busy from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and not have something for her to do.”
Anyone who wants to lend their voice to Cray and Barnes’ project can sign the petition on Change.org.