Thread by @ottawa_asd_mum

1/My son is autistic. He’s 9.5. Amazing. Solid. Unfettered strength that can take both his parents down. Non-conversational. Developmental age of under 3. No regard for danger. Hyperactive with a low attention span and rarely sits still for longer than a minute. He uses movement

2/to self-regulate. Lives his best life, every day like it’s his last. No time for anything that isn’t in his Top 5 of awesome things to do. He goes to school for half days in the mornings, and attends a therapy program in the afternoons. His schedule was built this way

3/because he fails to be productive after 3 hours and is always ready for a change of scenery.
He has a dedicated 1:1 EA that is by his side for every second that his feet are on school grounds (or hovering above school grounds when darting or frolicking from one end of the yard

4/to the other). I can guarantee that his EA is getting her steps in. And she has to be quick. She always has to be “on”. There is no ‘down-time’ when with my son.
If you’re a parent—think back to the days immediately following your tot’s 2nd birthday—the level of energy,

5/movement, joy, upset, need for assistance in every day-to-day task. Now add 80lbs and the desired autonomy of a child nearing 10.

Keeping my son safe, clean, fed and where he is supposed to be is a full time job on its own. As his mother, I am still hoping to learn

6/the secret of actually teaching him—effectively!—on a daily basis. EAs arent just vital. They are basically heroes, magicians & Olympic athletes as well.

A special needs parent’s need for these people alongside our kids isn’t always a life and death, dramatic, pull-at-your-

7/heart-strings tale. We need not only their dedication to the job, but their stamina—both physical and mental—and their *expertise*. As much as they are willing to learn about your child from you; they have learned skills in spades. Not everyone is cut out for this type of

work, and these folks certainly aren’t doing it for the money.

8/I would challenge @fordnation and @Sflecce for their next photo op production in a public school to stay for longer than the 10 prescribed minutes of scripted interest & feigned smiles while you stack blocks with

9/A half dozen kids who don’t know who the hell you are. Instead, head to the table in the back and commit to a half day, or even just 30 minutes—and offer to cover an EA’s snack and bathroom break, (actually, scratch that, as I wouldn’t trust you with my child as far as I could

10/throw you). Maybe just watch. Grab a pen and take notes on how to be one of the most valuable humans in the lives of specials needs families.
And @fordnation, @Sflecce— I’d suggest you come prepared with some track pants and sensible shoes. You may want to stretch first.

11/If you can come out of that and STILL not think that an average salary of $39k is criminal—then you’re more removed from reality than I had thought.

These people need to be applauded, respected & compensated for the demands of their work and value of their craft. Not

12/Vilified by a couple of privileged men keen on giving themselves raises for endlessly repeating talking points with the fervour of an automated answering machine recording.

At the very least, I’ll be applauding these folks while standing with them at the picket line. You may

13/not know the value of their work, but I certainly do.

#IStandWithCUPE
#39kIsNotEnough
#ontedsolidarity
#onpoli #onted
@CUPEOntario @osbcucscso @fordnation @Sflecce @ChandraPasma