Autism funding protest

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1 in 68 children in Canada have been diagnosed with autism and require intense behavioural intervention to live a fulfilling life. Today, hundreds of frustrated parents protested outside Queen’s Park as the government continues to stand behind planned changes to how autistic children will be educated by implementing an age-cap on a proven learning program.

The new Ontario autism program disqualifies nearly 2000 autistic children from a successful program, all because they’re over five years old. Only those aged 2-4 will receive intensive behavioural intervention or i-b-i however, experts say most children aren’t diagnosed until they’re four and a half, leaving a very small number of qualified candidates.

The families of children who ‘age off’ will get $8 000 to help pay for other services. IBI costs about $5 000/month.

That’s troubling for the Silva-Khan family of Hamilton. Both of their twin boys, Atticus and Darwin have autism along with a rare condition that’ll leave them blind and wheelchair bound by the time they reach 45.
“We don’t know if we need to refinance our home or to move out of province but we shouldn’t need to do that.”

Children over the age of five will be covered by the new Ontario autism program, but that doesn’t kick in until 2018 and parents say the program will be the much less effective aba learning system compared to the proven IBI therapy.

It’s a decision that has left many parents, and even MPP’s scratching their heads.