Article content

The province’s long-awaited autism advisory panel got off to a rocky start Thursday when Twitter revelations about one of the appointees forced Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod to remind panel members to “be kind to one another.”

Her tweet appeared to be prompted by a discovery that one of the appointees, an adult autism advocate, has a history of antagonizing autism parents online. The organization Alex Echakowitz helped form, Autistics for Autistics Ontario, opposes applied behaviour analysis treatment, which many parents of children with autism rely on.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Be kind to one another:' Province appoints committee to begin further reforms of autism program Back to video

On Thursday, MacLeod tweeted that she was proud to have appointed a diverse group of advocates to the 20-person panel, which is tasked with making recommendations about how autism services should be provided.

She added: “There are many voices in this debate and they all deserve to be heard. I ask that members of the panel and throughout the community be kind to one another. We all care about these children.”