Maddy Dever

Background

About Maddy Dever

Maddy Dever (they/them) is a non-binary, Autistic adult and parent of four children who are also Autistic, living 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 is a former member of the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) Advisory Panel and OAP Implementation Working Group. Maddy was a board member of ConnectWell Community Health, and is active in advocating for increased disability supports to above poverty levels, affordable and accessible housing in rural communities, as well as for adequate funding for LTC and home care.Maddy has also led workshops and panels on topics surrounding autism and education, focussing on bringing a strengths based approach to the language we use regarding disabilities. They have been a speaker, panelists and moderator of sessions (2022-2024) at the Canadian Autism Leadership Summit (CALS), and Holland Bloorview Summit. They are part of the ECHO Ontario Autism Expert Hub Team, helping further the education and training on autism of doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists and educators. They are also part of CAMH ECHO Ontario Brain Health Expert Hub Team. In the US they are a member of the executive team of the Autism Care Network, has spoken last Autism Speaks Aging in Autism summit, and is supporting caregivers as the Autistic Advocate on the Family ECHO US Hub team. They have also spoken at other panels, including the FDA and the UN Human Rights Commission.Maddy is the Co-Vice Chair of the Autism Alliance of Canada (formerly CASDA), and was an inaugural member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity.(CJAE)In Maddy’s “spare time”, they enjoy being guest host on podcasts and devouring YA Fiction-Prior to 2020, Maddy had over 20 years in web & graphic design and in IT & Project management, working with many companies to improve their processes, empower their people, and enable their technology to work for them - not them for their technology. It’s always about finding the solution, not fixing the problem. This has translated well into their current life of advocacy.