Dental Care for Autistic Savant
Donation protected
Heidi Vormer has autism and she always had very weak teeth. Since she was little she went to the dentist twice a year for check-ups, but she always had to come back to have multiple cavities filled. Heidi was extremely frightened of the dentist. The smell, sounds, and dealing with the unknown, are terrifying to her. But she always pushed herself to go because she knew that if she didn’t, it would only get worse.
Heidi was born in the Netherlands were she had a very good dental insurance. She only had to pay 20% of her dentist bill, which is still quite a lot for a person who was living off a disability benefit. Her teeth were not the only thing Heidi was struggling with. Being autistic she had many problems with language, school, work, socializing, making friends, and struggling with being abused and bullied. She always lead quite a lonely life. Heidi struggled with her self-esteem, her trauma, her place in this world. She wanted to be part of society, to be part of life and to belong somewhere. She didn’t want to live off of a disability benefit, she wanted to work. Having a very high IQ and a few special gifts, she knew that she could. But everything she tried, even an education she started when she was 31, fell through. Being the top graded student for 2 years in her school, she had to quit her education in the third year because her internship company didn’t want to give her a chance or make allowances for her autism. But Heidi was not about to give up.
In 2008 Heidi met a wonderful man who she felt really good with. After building a very strong friendship followed by a relationship, the two wanted to live together. Heidi’s North American boyfriend Edward first came to the Netherlands to live with her while she was still in the middle of her education. But after her education fell through in 2010, they decided to live in Canada where her boyfriend had already lived for many years. In 2013 Heidi immigrated to Canada. For the first time in her life she was truly happy.
Heidi still had many dental problems before she left the Netherlands -- cavities, broken fillings and molars that needed crowns. Heidi asked her dentist to fix everything that was necessary before she immigrated, because she didn’t know what her financial situation would be in Canada at first. But her dentist advised her to wait and get everything done in Canada because the dental techniques are so much better there. Not realizing that dentistry is barely covered in Canada, Heidi followed her dentist's advice.
No longer on a disability, Heidi lives in Montreal now. She’s setting up her own autism consulting services. She assists families by helping them understand how their autistic family members can be better served. Besides that she is pursuing her art. She has always been extremely gifted in making hyper photorealistic pencil drawings. But setting up your own business takes time. And in the meantime her teeth are getting worse. Many of the treatments she needs are not covered at all, and as of now she can't even afford dental insurance, so she ends up paying 100% of her dental bill which has put her in a lot of debt. More treatments are just impossible. Heidi has been writing to several dental and autism organizations to find a solution, but they all told her that there's nothing they can do. Heidi has even thought of the option of extracting all her teeth and getting dentures, but being autistic, she's extremely sensitive and knows what kind of pain and discomfort dentures will cause her. Even this least expensive option is unaffordable. So now she's left with broken teeth, broken fillings, cracked molars and a quote of around $20 000 to get everything fixed. Even though she finds it extremely difficult to ask people for help -- she always prefers to give it instead -- she knows that this is her only way out.
Heidi was born in the Netherlands were she had a very good dental insurance. She only had to pay 20% of her dentist bill, which is still quite a lot for a person who was living off a disability benefit. Her teeth were not the only thing Heidi was struggling with. Being autistic she had many problems with language, school, work, socializing, making friends, and struggling with being abused and bullied. She always lead quite a lonely life. Heidi struggled with her self-esteem, her trauma, her place in this world. She wanted to be part of society, to be part of life and to belong somewhere. She didn’t want to live off of a disability benefit, she wanted to work. Having a very high IQ and a few special gifts, she knew that she could. But everything she tried, even an education she started when she was 31, fell through. Being the top graded student for 2 years in her school, she had to quit her education in the third year because her internship company didn’t want to give her a chance or make allowances for her autism. But Heidi was not about to give up.
In 2008 Heidi met a wonderful man who she felt really good with. After building a very strong friendship followed by a relationship, the two wanted to live together. Heidi’s North American boyfriend Edward first came to the Netherlands to live with her while she was still in the middle of her education. But after her education fell through in 2010, they decided to live in Canada where her boyfriend had already lived for many years. In 2013 Heidi immigrated to Canada. For the first time in her life she was truly happy.
Heidi still had many dental problems before she left the Netherlands -- cavities, broken fillings and molars that needed crowns. Heidi asked her dentist to fix everything that was necessary before she immigrated, because she didn’t know what her financial situation would be in Canada at first. But her dentist advised her to wait and get everything done in Canada because the dental techniques are so much better there. Not realizing that dentistry is barely covered in Canada, Heidi followed her dentist's advice.
No longer on a disability, Heidi lives in Montreal now. She’s setting up her own autism consulting services. She assists families by helping them understand how their autistic family members can be better served. Besides that she is pursuing her art. She has always been extremely gifted in making hyper photorealistic pencil drawings. But setting up your own business takes time. And in the meantime her teeth are getting worse. Many of the treatments she needs are not covered at all, and as of now she can't even afford dental insurance, so she ends up paying 100% of her dental bill which has put her in a lot of debt. More treatments are just impossible. Heidi has been writing to several dental and autism organizations to find a solution, but they all told her that there's nothing they can do. Heidi has even thought of the option of extracting all her teeth and getting dentures, but being autistic, she's extremely sensitive and knows what kind of pain and discomfort dentures will cause her. Even this least expensive option is unaffordable. So now she's left with broken teeth, broken fillings, cracked molars and a quote of around $20 000 to get everything fixed. Even though she finds it extremely difficult to ask people for help -- she always prefers to give it instead -- she knows that this is her only way out.
Organiser
Remrov Casey Vormer
Organiser
Montréal, QC