April 3, 2018, (Canada) CBC: Magazine names Channel-Port aux Basques most autism-friendly town in Canada http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/port-aux-basques-autism-award-1.4602770 … Today's Parent has declared Channel-Port aux Basques the most autism-friendly town in Canada. To mark World Autism Day on Monday, the publication released a video and web article telling the story of two women who "transformed their tiny Newfoundland community from a zero-resources town to the best place in the country to raise kids on the spectrum."… It helped a local hotel become the first autism-friendly lodging option in the country— modifying some units and creating a sensory room. Autism Involves Me approached Hotel Port Aux Basques owner Cathy Lomond about donating existing space within the facility so it could be transformed into a sensory or quiet room. … There's a mini gym set up at the town's recreation centre, where staff have received training in how to work with autistic children. "The parents have places to go now," Chaisson said. "If their child is having a sensory issue at home, they can take their child there." Autism in the province Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate of autism spectrum disorder in the country at one in 57 children between ages five and 17, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The national average is one in 66 kids. According to the Today's Parent article, 14 of the 300 children in Channel-Port aux Basques's elementary school have been diagnosed.
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