Inclusion Calgary

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Indigo Alert Canada: Official Website, Petition, and the Growing Support Behind It

Yes, there's a dedicated website tracking this campaign: indigoalertcanada.com

This is the hub for the push to create a new emergency alert category for vulnerable missing persons, including people with autism, dementia, or other conditions who may wander without any sign of abduction. Right now Canada has Amber Alerts for abductions, but there's no dedicated alert built for these situations.

This is gaining real momentum, and it matters that people see it:

📝 MP Corey Hogan (Calgary Confederation) has sent a formal letter of support for the Indigo Alert Canada campaign specifically.

📝 Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and MP Mike Lake wrote directly to the federal Minister of Emergency Management calling for a Canada-wide framework so alerts can go out for vulnerable missing people even without suspected abduction, exactly the gap this campaign is fighting to close.

📝 Alberta's Premier has publicly said changes to the alert system are coming this fall.

This kind of cross party attention on an issue is rare, and it's happening because of Parker and because people are speaking up. That is exactly the kind of traction that turns advocacy into real policy change.

Since alert authority sits with each province, this campaign is being built province by province, and there are simple ways anyone can help move it forward. No formal involvement needed:

✉️ Email your local MLA, MPP, or MNA. The site has contact directories by province, and a short personal note goes a long way.
📣 Share the site with your own network, local community groups, or anyone who's supported a vulnerable person who's gone missing.
📌 Follow for updates. Bookmark the site to stay current on legislative progress.
💬 Talk about it. Awareness alone helps build the cross party support this needs.

You don't need to join a team or commit to anything ongoing. Even one shared post or one email to a representative adds momentum.

🔗 indigoalertcanada.com

Please share and pin this so it stays easy to find. This is for Parker, and for every family that has lived this fear. 💙

People receiving AISH and ADAP deserve clear information and a chance to have their questions answered.

Join Marie Renaud, Colton Stevenson and me for a people-focused conversation about Alberta Disability Income Assistance.

📅 August 27 at 7:00 p.m. MT
📍 YouTube Live
🤟 ASL interpretation provided

Sign up ⬇️

https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/events/events-calendar/post/a-conversation-about-alberta-disability-income-assistance

It’s time to move beyond the “functions” of a behavior.

The traditional four functions: attention, escape, tangible, and sensory, offer a surface-level view of a child’s behavior. They identify what a behavior accomplishes in the moment but often miss the deeper context. Each child’s experience, state of regulation and personal history shape behavior, and these antiquated, broad categories can overlook individual needs. In fact, by reducing behavior to categories like “attention-seeking,” we risk ignoring the emotional, sensory, or cognitive realities that drive behavior. This over-simplification can lead to generic behavior management or behavior modification rather than providing meaningful support to the child.

Modern neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and research on interoception have taught us that behavior is a signal, a clue that a child is either dysregulated, unable to solve a problem, or lacking a skill. That’s why a shift to the PENS lens is necessary and honors all that we’ve learned about the brain since the original four “functions” were considered generally acceptable.

This re-frame guides us to understand the problem a child can’t solve, an emotion they can’t handle, a need that’s not being met, or the skill not yet developed. With this new lens, the PENS lens, we don’t just label or simplify behaviors, we use them as entry points to offer individualized support. While the original four functions ‘blame’ the child for the observable behavior, each component of the PENS lens offers an opportunity to HELP the child: HELP them solve a problem, HELP them manage an emotion, HELP them meet a need or HELP them learn a skill.

So grab your pen and write this down next time someone analyzes or assesses behavior. With the re-frame of the PENS lens, we’re not just identifying a function of a behavior, we’re offering the right support so that every problem, emotion, need or skill finds the care it deserves.

Please share this so that we can better support kids who are having difficulty meeting expectations and communicating this difficulty through their behavior, as kids often do.

This Article is Part 2 of a Series, Read Part 1 here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cpn5mfnF8/

Hundreds of families responded to the CBC’s Elise Stolte’s survey sharing their experience with Alberta’s Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program.

When a family can access supports, it is life changing. But most sit on waitlist for years, losing precious early time where supports can matter the most.

Speech and behaviour regressing, parents losing their jobs, parental relationship breakdown, grandparents maxxing their credit cards to pay for a much needed break with respite. These are some of the stories of the estimated 20,000 families sitting on a waitlist for FSCD support in Alberta.

Read part 2 of the CBC's coverage on FSCD waitlists here on the curated news page of our website: https://inclusionalberta.org/curated-news-content

IN THE NEWS: An estimated 20,000 Alberta kids face waiting years to get therapy for disabilities

"Many parents of children already in the program said they see real improvements in the way their children cope with life. Some even shared how kids were now able to attend regular school programs because of the help they got early on.

But parents on the waiting list expressed despair. Many said that as they wait, their kids are getting kicked out of daycare and schools. They’re losing their jobs, taking on debt to pay for therapy, and sometimes seeing kids regress when they run out of money.”

For real life examples of how long waits for Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) are affecting Albertan families, check out the full CBC article on the curated news page of our website here: https://inclusionalberta.org/curated-news-content/

When Everything Lives in Your Head: A Caregiver’s Path to a Real Disability Support System | Empowering Ability Caregivers of loved ones with developmental disabilities hold critical “invisible knowledge.” Learn how to turn it into a shared disability support planning system.

Image created by Leann VanKeipema

CBC is investigating the experience of families on waitlists for the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program as well as families benefiting from FSCD supports here in Alberta.

This is an important opportunity to help build a clearer picture of how access to supports and barriers to access are affecting families, and to ensure these experiences are better understood.

If you are interested in sharing your experience with the CBC, we would encourage you to fill out the CBC's short survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmMs0MBp0c2YLv2hnF-qhFIZ48RmCbYDLFh98z1lYkDYZSMg/viewform?usp=header