Number of Ontario kids with autism waiting for therapy hits 16K

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Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath and parents of children with autism made a plea today for faster government response and more funding for children waiting for years to receive life-changing therapy.

“Today there are 16,000 kids waiting for this critical help. That’s thousands of families who worry with each passing day that their kids are missing out on the help that they need.”

Kara Onofrio of Autism’s Angels added “I called Canark and Justin was placed on a separate waiting list for IBI (Intensive Behavioural Intervention) therapy where he’s been waiting for over 3 years now. I actually just received a call 3 weeks ago to let me know that Justin is number 95 on the IBI wait list.”

“When I got excited about the fact he was getting close, she warned me it would be another 2 years or so. This means Justin will be 9. For anyone who doesn’t know, early intervention is critical, like life-changing for individuals with autism.”

“Like so many desperate families, my husband and I turned to private therapy where we spend on average $40,000 each year for only part-time hours of therapy. We spend more on his therapy than on our mortgage.”

Provincial funding for autism has been reduced from supporting individuals up until 18 years of age to the current maximum funding of two-and-a-half years. Affected families say the provincial system is broken and needs to be fixed.