"Becoming Autism Friendly" by R. L. Roy

How a small community (my hometown!) became the first autism-friendly town in Canada.

This piece was a pleasure to write for two reasons: 1) I grew up in Channel-Port aux Basques; 2) Roy wrote and published it independently – which, as an independent writer and artist, I respect and admire.

If you appreciate my work, please share. It helps me and the people I write about. -JRS

You can read the title of Becoming Autism Friendly in two ways – and either way, you’d be right. The book functions both as a story of how a small community became the first autism-friendly town in Canada, as well as a resource on how to become autism-friendly. 

The first part forms the bulk of the book; Roy takes the reader from the formation of a small support group, Autism Involves Me (AIM), through the town’s process of transformation. In ten chapters, we learn how the group grew and helped the community adapt, including businesses, the elementary school, stadium, hospital, and so on. Profiles and interviews offer perspective – for example, the concerns and stress of parents with autistic children. We learn how, with a little education and a few resources, individuals can adjust their thinking and businesses can adapt. For instance, Cathy Lomond, the owner of Canada’s first autism-friendly hotel, estimates that the costs involved amounted to less than $1000. Well-crafted and concise, the story is a pleasure to read, thanks to Roy’s competence as a journalist.

The book’s second section comprises a series of appendices on making an organization better suited to children on the autism spectrum. These include a kind of “Autism 101” presentation for employees, various checklists and instructions, as well as a comprehensive list of resources (suppliers, books, videos). The aim here is pragmatism, and Roy succeeds in this.

In the end, you may appreciate this book not only for the above merits, but for what it represents, i.e. an example of how a group of individuals can challenge and change a culture. As Becoming Autism Friendly makes clear, “inclusivity” and “acceptance” are not buzzwords or virtue signals; they involve the day-to-day lives of other human beings who, like you or me, deserve to live with respect and dignity. While the solutions are not always simple, they start at the same place: empathy and connection.

Indeed, one of the book’s most poignant moments comes from Roy’s profile of musician Terry Harvey, an AIM volunteer with multiple family members on the autism spectrum. In a clever move, she closes the second chapter with his words, not her own: “You have to look out for each other.” 

That we do.

Becoming Autism Friendly
R. L. Roy
149 pages. Wreckhouse Press. $28.85