Maddy Dever, Autistic Advocate, Director, Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA)
Maddy Dever (they/them) is an Autistic adult and parent of five children with four also on the autism spectrum, living in Carleton Place in rural Eastern Ontario. Maddy advocates with both provincial and federal governments for inclusion and acceptance of Autistic individuals and for Autistic people to have their own voice in policy decisions. Maddy has been an advocate for change in education, affordable and accessible housing, as well as moving disability supports rates out of poverty levels.
Maddy is a former member of the Ontario Autism Program Advisory Panel, and current member of the Ontario Autism Program Implementation Working Group.
Maddy is founder of Autistic Bridge, an Autistic-led self-advocacy group, and a leader in the National Disability Strategy movement to build a nation-wide coalition of disability organizations to advocate for meeting all needs of all disabilities at all ages. They are also on the Board of Directors of Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA), where they are helping with aspects of developing a National Autism Strategy as well as having spoken at the annual CASDA Summit in 2020 and 2021.
Maddy is on the Board of Directors of ConnectWell Community Health, a rural organization supporting thousands of citizens, including supports and services for Autistic children, youth, adults and their families.
Maddy has also led workshops and panels on topics surrounding autism and education. They have spoken about autism with many groups including the United Nations Human Rights Commission, ECHO Autism Ontario, which works to educate and inform health professionals on issues related to autism. They are the Autistic Advisor and member of the ECHO Autism Ontario Expert Hub Team.
Maddy is an inaugural member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity.
