The next time you complain about the cold, think of Dee Gordon.
The 51-year-old Etobicoke mother of three has been walking from Toronto to Ottawa to draw attention to her campaign for a national strategy to help people with autism spectrum disorder — including her 14-year-old son, Jacob.
Since Gordon left on Jan. 15, she has endured freezing temperatures, howling winds, blisters, illness and falls during a journey that will total 500 kilometres when she completes it Thursday.
The upside, she says, is that she has heard from countless families across the province — along her route and through social media — who struggle to meet the needs of their loved ones who have autism. When Gordon and her supporters march up Parliament Hill on Thursday at 12:30 p.m., she will carry a petition that bears thousands of signatures from people who agree with her cause. Liberal Sen. Jim Munson, an ASD advocate, has invited her to join him and other senators in the chamber when she finishes the walk.
“As a mom with a child with ASD, I have had to fight every day for real help for my child,” says Gordon. “And I have watched other families fight as hard as I have. And this is simply not right. We should not have to fight for early diagnosis and treatment, among other things.”
Autism Ontario describes ADS as a life-long neurological disorder that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people and the surrounding world. It can affect behaviour, social interactions and one’s ability to communicate verbally.
Dee Gordon will have travelled 500 kilometres by the end of her journey Thursday.
The push for a “pan-Canadian” autism strategy stems from a 2007 Senate report entitled Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis. Presented by Munson to the House of Commons, the 36-page report laid out 22 recommendations covering treatment, research, awareness campaigns and family respite care.
The report has yet to be approved.
A poignant moment during Christmas 2013 prompted Gordon to launch her campaign.
She and Jason were ice fishing in the middle of a lake when his heightened auditory senses picked up the cracking sound of the ice below his mom’s feet. He yelled at her to get away because the movement was “scaring the fish.” When she respected his wish, she looked back at him sitting by himself and her heart sank.
“It’s not right. He should have friends, he should be invited to parties, he should be doing so much more. . . . I don’t want to change his journey, I want him to embrace his autism and know that this is a gift and not a disability.”
Gordon says she trained for her odyssey by walking twice a week to the Ontario legislature to demonstrate for her cause. To find the means for her journey, she had to be resourceful.
“She and Jacob went and collected scrap metal and sold it to raise money for the walk,” said her friend, Mary Beth Plumpton. “She raised $3,000.”
Each day she trudges along a highway for 10 hours, often arriving at a hotel in the early morning. Family and friends like Plumpton take turns following her in a car to ensure her safety.
She marks her start and finish points with a traffic cone, a symbol of friendship with an autistic boy on her street who has a compulsive need to collect the orange pylons. He lent her one for the campaign.
Anyone wishing to join Gordon on the last leg of her crusade can meet her at Bronson Avenue and Sparks Street at 11:40 a.m. Thursday.
She says the crux of what she is bringing to Parliament is that all levels of government need to come together to provide a continuation of services — for young autistic people who need support, and for adults who often end up in nursing homes because their families lack the means, physically or financially, to support them.
“Autism doesn’t stop, autism is for life,” says Gordon. “And we need to put children at the centre of government policy.”
See her petition at www.walktoottawa.org.
