My name is Elange Jean Pierre, mother of a 6 year old boy with autism. I am confronted every day with the lack of resources available to help families like mine. I knocked on the doors of several resources but unfortunately the availability or services were never adapted to my reality.

In December 2020, I asked a very important question to my child’s school principal: “Is there a childcare service for people with disabilities?” She replied that this service doesn’t yet exist, but that we should create it! It was the biggest revelation of my life!

Following this meeting, I was finally able to understand why we’ve been waiting over 3 years for a respite service on Montreal’s South Shore. The number of existing child care spaces are limited, in addition to the decreasing number of available sitters since the pandemic has decreased, this obviously creates a feeling of helplessness among families!