Patti Biwer tries to give both of her children equal love and attention, but much of her energy is focused on her daughter.
13-year-old Acacia lives with two disorders: down-syndrome and autism.
“She would be in a dance class with other kids with down-syndrome and they would all be happy and dancing and she would be looking down on the floor, not wanting to participate,” Biwer said.
Biwer worries that years of Acacia’s doctors’ visits and therapy could affect her 11-year-old son, Andrew.
“He just doesn’t get the acknowledgment or recognition that sometimes he needs, that every kid needs,” she said.
That’s where SaskFEAT plays a role. Saskatchewan Families for Effective Autism Treatment is a non-profit organization that has been operating for nearly two decades – but will shut down this fall.
President Arden Fiala said the program provides grants to siblings and parents of people with autism.
Some of the funding, provided by private donors, is used to send siblings to camp and parents to retreats and even the spa.
Andrew went to two camps, where he got to socialize, Biwer said.
Fiala said it’s important to acknowledge the whole family, because everyone is affected.
SaskFEAT is run by volunteers, most of whom are parents to kids on the spectrum – herself included, she said.
“As parents, we’re taxed, we’re frustrated, we’re tired,” she said.
The organization has spent two years looking for additional volunteers but was unsuccessful, she said.
She said she’s ready to close this chapter of her life, but she will never stop advocating for autism.
Both Fiala and Biwer said without this service, there will be a hole in autism services in Saskatchewan.
