Autism protest

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The Ontario government has said all autistic children regardless of age will receive the therapy they need. The new program is set to begin next year and while the government has said they’re working on making it a smooth transition, parents say regional care providers, like Ron Joyce Children’s Centre in Hamilton, are cutting back therapy hours for children 5 and up.

The government announced last month the age 5 cut off will no longer exist but the president of the Ontario Autism coalition says the government care providers are limiting service to older children. Christine Lovesque was one of those parents. Her son is turning 7. He was on a wait list for 4 years and now that he’s finally in therapy Christine was told he will have reduced hours by October.

The director of developmental services at the health centre says they’re waiting on the government to release the guideline of the new program that’s set to begin next year.

“I think there’s a lot of information that we just don’t now at this time.”

The president of the coalition says another issue is the cost per child of regional programs like the one at Ron Joyce he says it’s 2-3 times more than private programs with direct funding. Heather Jensen has applied for direct funding, her 5 year old son Curtis has spent the last three years on a wait list.

“They are still delaying what our children need. Still cutting back the hours for the children who are already getting the services need.”

The parents voiced their concern to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. They were told the government is looking into the issue.