THUNDER BAY - Krista Smith, who’s son Connor was diagnosed with autism two years ago, said she felt blindsided by the provincial government’s latest announcement that the Ontario Autism Program would be pushed back by two years.
“The whole time I’ve been saying it’s not going to happen, there’s not enough time to roll out a new program in a few months, but you always hold out a little bit of hope because you need to,” she said. “And that was taken once again.”
On Tuesday, Todd Smith, Minister of Children, Community andn Social Services announced the Ontario Autism Program, which was set to roll out in April 2020, would not be implemented until 2021.
This follows changes to the Ontario Autism Program announced last February by then Minister Lisa MacLeod. The changes have resulted in reduced services and funding, especially for families living in the north.
“These families are still not getting services,” said Sharon Bak, president of the Thunder Bay Family Network. “What a lot of these families had before the announcement in February is now gone. They were waiting and hoping and relying on that program to be in by April 2020.”
Bak said learning the program would not be implemented until 2021 was heartbreaking.
“We knew that there were going to be delays,” she said. “We were waiting for the implementation committee for eight weeks. We know it’s a complicated issue and things can’t be rushed, but we had no idea this was coming.”
With services being defunded at the beginning of the year, there is a lack of trained professionals to offer care, and Bak said these challenges are felt even more in the north.
“They were flagged that there was going to be a crisis with capacity issues and it would hit in the north first and hit hardest and it has,” she said.
“I am talking to families in the Kenora area, in Manitouwadge, Dryden, Fort Frances. We know this is a huge issue for up here and even within Northwestern Ontario there are complexities in each district.”
Early intervention is key for children diagnosed with autism and Bak said between the ages of one and five-years-old is a crucial time to get children the therapy they need.
“A year might not seem like a lot to the government or other people, a year is devastating for a number of our families,” she said.
For Smith, who was fortunate to be one of 3,200 families to qualify for a childhood budget of $20,000, that money will only cover a minimum of 10 hours a week of therapy, while Connor requires between 25 and 30.
“So the $20,000 will do 10 hours a week for eight months,” she said. “After that we are left on our own. In that time he is more than likely to regress. You’ll see him succeed, you’ll see him grow as a person, and then it’s taken.”
The childhood budget provides up to $20,000 for families with a child under the age of six, while families with children six-years and older are eligible for $5,000 annually.
The Thunder Bay Family Network, along with other advocacy groups across the region, including Northern Autism Family Matters and Northern Ontario Autism Alliance, will continue to call on the government to make changes, and make them now.
“We want them to keep their promise, work harder, get this done by April 2020,” Bak said. “We are going to keep holding their feet to the fire. Don’t make promises you can’t keep because families were counting on that. When he said 2021 it was a blow to the autism community.”
Smith said the provincial government is only thinking about money and trying to save a buck on the backs of children with disabilities.
“My son is almost five. He doesn’t talk. I don’t understand how they can just rip away his future and not care,” she said. “It’s sickening and so exhausting. You have no idea just how exhausting it is.”
