Local Autism Advocate Wins Town Council Support

PORT HAWKESBURY - A busy 2020 for local autism advocate Taylor Linloff began with a presentation to her town council and a meeting with her Member of Parliament on developing a national autism strategy.

Before long, Taylor Linloff was making preparations to film, direct and host a documentary about autism in rural Nova Scotia, A Strong Name, and preparing to meet with more political figures such as Nova Scotia Senator Stan Kutcher. 

It might seem like a heavy workload for many, but as Linloff spoke to TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke for the show's debut episode in February, she insisted that her efforts were worth it to help normalize autism in Atlantic Canada and around North America. 

Noting that one in seven North Americans fall somewhere on the autism specturm, according to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Linloff, 25, recalled that she recognized as early as the age of three that something felt different about the way she reacted to specific situations. 

"When I first got diagnosed, I described myself as 'the loose bolt in a big machine,' but now I realize that the bolt is just shaped a little differently and it still works," Linloff recalled. 

"I kind of laugh about it, honestly. My psychiatrist looked directly at me at the time of diagnosis (in 2019) and said, 'You've probably had an inkling for the past couple of years but you didn't want to self-diagnose,' which is absolutely true."

Linloff's year kicked off with an appearance on an autism-themed episode of the CBC series You Can't Say That, and proceeded to a presentation at Port Hawkesbury Town Council's regular public meeting in February, where her suggestion to raise the autism flag outside of the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre in April was greeted with open arms.

Days later, she spoke to Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway about developing a new national autism strategy, just as Kelloway was being named to the House of Commons Standing Committees on Health and Justice. 

Asked what drives her to push for changes in public policy on autism, Linloff responded with the single word "hope."

"If we don't have hope, we can't keep going and we can't change anything," she declared.