Toronto – The Toronto Star’s award-winning Autism Project serves to shed light on what has been termed a “crisis” regarding the lack of support that is currently provided for individuals with ASD throughout Ontario.
Chris Stafford was one of the young men with Aspeger’s syndrome featured in the series whose personal story resonated with audiences. Unfortuately, the update reveals that Stafford’s personal journey as an adult on the spectrum has been fraught with challenges, stress and difficulty.
In the two years since his story was featured, Stafford has been homeless and was forced to live in shelters periodically. However, the young man asserts that he felt accepted when living in the shelters. He states:
” The people I met on the street were better than school. They treated me as an equal.”
Stafford has recently been placed in a community living home however both he and his mother do not believe that it is the appropriate placement for him as most of the other residents are low-functioning.
Meanwhile in recent months, the Liberal government has pledged to infuse almost one billion dollars in funding towards improving the province’s developmental services. Hence, the hope is that in the near future Stafford and others on the spectrum will be provided with the care and support they desperately need.
The original article by Jonathan Forani on The Toronto Starwebsite can be read here
More news abut the Autism Project can be read here