Mr. Adam Harris:

I probably touched on some of the challenges around funding a moment ago. I will focus on capacity building, which is particularly important. The reality for autistic people is that they must advocate on two dimensions all the time. They are all constantly engaged in battles just for own lives, services and supports. At the same time, there is the broader, more collective effort concerning shifting policy and consultation. There are many autistic young people. One of the realities is that from a young age, autistic people are not being given the tools to articulate what their needs are and to understand their needs not as a nuisance or difficulty but a need they have a right to have met. A lot of work must be done starting with very young people around giving them a positive self-identity. This in turn will lead them to feel more confident and assertive around their rights and set them up better around the engagement with DPOs. As people grow up, more needs to be done to train and support autistic people around engaging in self-advocacy. When people and DPOs are engaged in consultations, part of how we make sure it is not tokenistic is by making sure there is support there that can support and facilitate people's participation through the process.