On Canada’s National Autism Strategy

As a strategy consultant and autistic father to an autistic daughter, I decided to put Canada’s National Autism Strategy (NAS) under my aging microscope for a brief examination.

Key facts about NAS

• The strategy is based on a federal framework that aims to support autistic people and their families/ caregivers. It was informed by a broad and inclusive assessment process led by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2020–2021 (see next section for key CAHS report takeaways).
• The strategy will address a variety of issues, such as employment, housing, social inclusion, disability supports, and evidence-based intervention and therapies.
• The strategy will involve collaboration among federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous and stakeholder partners.
• The strategy will be guided by the principles of human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion.
• As of 2022, the Government of Canada has been working with country-wide stakeholders to formulate the national strategy.
• In 2023, the Government established the Autism Network Alliance to help implement the strategy.

Key takeaways from the CAHS report

The report was written by a panel of experts who reviewed the evidence and listened to the experiences of autistic people, their families, and other stakeholders. Below is the body of knowledge and resources used in the assessment process:

Screenshot of p. 44 of the full report (PDF)

It aims to provide recommendations for future public policy development to improve the lives of autistic people/ people with autism and their communities.

Screenshot from p. 3 of the Easy Read report (PDF)

The report covers six topics:

• Diversity: The variety among people on the spectrum and the many different needs
• Learning from how Indigenous people accept autistic individuals and supporting them for services closer to home
• Social inclusion in all areas, such as public transit, community centers, etc., including instructing neurotypical people on ways of accepting autistic people, engaging them in the community, and keeping them safe
• Diagnosis: Simplifying the process and personalizing the support through the various stages of life
• Economic inclusion, such as financial resources, education, work, and housing for both autistic individuals and their families/ caregivers
• Research: Using evidence to better support autistic individuals throughout their lifespan

The report set the stage for a national autism strategy framework and has been generally well-received. Yet, like most strategies (or policies) in Canada, things tend to move at a glacial pace.

Measuring the success of NAS

The success of Canada’s National Autism Strategy (NAS) can be measured by the following indicators:

• The degree of strategic alignment (or, shared understanding) between NAS and the needs and priorities of the autism community, as identified by the CAHS assessment process and the national conference held in 2022 while formulating the strategy. In addition, the careful alignment of Canada’s capabilities to its national autism aspirations, to leverage J.L. Gaddis’ key lesson from On Grand Strategy, is arguably the strongest success criterion when talking about alignment.
• To borrow Rumelt’s kernel of good strategy, NAS should ultimately be a guiding policy (NAS is currently at an abstract level) with a coherent set of actions (this is where the Government must work hard).
• The level of collaboration and coordination among Canada and the provincial/ territorial stakeholders in executing the strategy and addressing the issues related to autism. Here, as with any grand strategy, allowing the strategy to emerge or adapt to changing circumstances must be taken in to account. This will be arguably a hard endeavor, as collaboration in most policies can be brittle.
• The perceived and actual improvement in the health and well-being of autistic people and their families/ caregivers, as measured by outcome indicators referenced in the CAHS report, such as employment, housing, education, social inclusion, and disability supports. This will likely be the most time-consuming success criterion.
• The quality of evidence-based therapies for autistic individuals, as measured by criteria such as service availability, intervention personalization, customer satisfaction etc.
• The effectiveness of the National Autism Network — the body sponsored by the Government of Canada to support the implementation of NAS — in assisting with strategy execution and facilitating the sharing of skills, knowledge, and resources among autism organizations and partners. This ties back to the criterion of capability alignment above.

What does NAS mean for me?

It would be far from concrete at the time I’m writing this to conceive of tangible ways NAS will help me as a late-diagnosed adult with sophisticated masking mechanisms, besides recognition for my identity and, say, needs for equity in the workplace. However, I can immediately see the hope it brings for my daughter: more easily-accessible evidence-based services, all other five CAHS report domains, an environment that blends the needs of the neurodivergent alongside those of the neurotypical, etc.

One area I feel I could contribute is promoting evidence-based education, therapies, and intervention from a centrally governed source of truth, such as AIDE Canada, a reflection of what NAS could intend by stakeholder coordination.

What are your thoughts?

Feel free to connect with me: https://linktr.ee/undaautistica.