[FEAT BC Admin]

In this topic area, discussion is about the fight to secure Government funding for your A.B.A. treatment program. It is also the place to talk about your thoughts and ideas about how to establish new Government programs specifically designed for autism treatment.

This is the place to hear input from parents who have fought for funding and won, as well as those who have fought for funding and would like to share their horror stories. There is a tendency to not share success stories once funding is secured. Please fight that tendency. By sharing our experience, we all become stronger.

 

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—-By FEAT BC (Freeman) on Saturday, January 3, 1998 – 03:16 pm:

-Hi everyone!

These are some things to think about in your dealings with government to help you to obtain support for your child’s Autism Treatment Program. These are my personal opinions and do not represent those of FEAT of BC or any other organization.

Many of these observations are based on my personal experiences (and I believe it poetic justice to help every parent avoid being systematically abused by their social worker the way I was).

Good luck to everyone! (Let’s all pull back the curtain on the Wizard of OZ).

Sabrina

 

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How To Fight for Funding for Autism Treatment and Appropriate School Placement

1. Establish a Paper Trail

Always take notes, documenting major points of all conversations with government and school officials.

This includes casual, in person conversations with social workers as well as ALL telephone conversations. All key points of discussion must be written down in your notes including the date and time of the discussion. This includes what was agreed upon, as well as what was not agreed upon.

Then the notes should be used to write a letter recapping the substance and content of the conversation. This letter must then be mailed or faxed to the person with whom you had the conversation. In addition, a copy must be kept in your file (see section on the icci game).

Why?

It is important to formalize the interaction between you and Government officials. In addition, everyone is put on notice that they must closely adhere to their responsibilities, regulations and laws., Furthermore, they must then consider the paper trail you have created. This lets everyone know that the interaction can become public and that any abuses of power and authority can be formally appealed and/or publicized.

In other words, they canit use discretion unfairly under the cloak of secrecy.

2. Submit all Requests in Writing

All your requests for your child must be submitted formally in writing with a copy included in your file and a copy, if necessary, sent to their immediate superiors.

3. Set Deadlines for Action

All formal requests for action must have a reasonable deadline set for that action. If no action or response is received by the deadline you have set (two weeks for example), then you will interpret the lack of response as a formal declination (a formal NO) of your requests.

Why Set Deadlines?

When bureaucrats do not want to do something, they will stall by ignoring you and your request. (As an aside, in the study of the bureaucracy, this is known as ithe power to do nothingi). They can string you along for years. When you have determined that the person you are interacting with is not inclined to help you or is not dealing in good faith, then you must take the initiative and formally label his/her behavior as obstructionist and de facto as a declination (a NO to your requests). This allows you to move to the next level of authority on your timetable to present your case. This takes the power to do nothing away from the bureaucrat with whom you are dealing. Simple stated, a bureaucrat who stalls and does nothing becomes irrelevant (use your invisible spray) and you move on to the next level of authority.

How to icci?

A cc. is a copy of your letter sent to someone other than the person you are writing. You put the cc. at the bottom left-hand corner of your letter followed by 2 spaces and the name of the person or people to whom you want to send a copy of the letter.

Who to icci to?

Sometimes it is best not to icci at all, especially in the early stages of the relationship (for example, your first letter to a social worker requesting assistance). This gives them the opportunity to do the right thing and does not present you as an overly combative person. When you start to run into problems, it is a good idea to send the icci to the 2 immediate superiors of the person you are having problems with. We do not recommend icciing all the way up the chain of command, since you want to give them a chance to solve the problem at the local level.

Why send a icci copy?

The reason for playing the icci game is that you want your interactions with the official to be known to his superior and possibly to other organizations so that 1) their action or inaction becomes a matter of record and 2) the individual knows he is being monitored. This helps minimize abuses of power and authority and helps encourage the official to meet their obligations and do the right thing.

What is the sequence of letters?

Find out the chain of command of the particular bureaucracy you are battling.

TOP

Minister
Deputy Minister
Children’s Ministry’s local region chain of command, all the way down to the District Supervisor
and Social Worker
Contacts can be found at the government directory: http://www.dir.gov.bc.ca/

BOTTOM

Start at the bottom and climb. At the Regional Operating Officer (ROO) level (once you have been declined) you have to decide whether to jump up to the top, threaten and then go to the media, or both. A word of wisdom: DO NOT BLUFF. If you are not willing to go all the way, they will ‘smell’ this. You must be prepared to take it right up to the Minister and beyond.

Documentation from Experts:

In your arsenal to fight for your child, it is wise to get his/her pediatrician and/or psychiatrist to write a letter on your childis behalf. In addition, any other experts who know your child and are sympathetic to what you are trying to do should become involved.

When to hire a lawyer?

If money is not an issue, you can hire a lawyer when you get to the area manager level. Make sure that you have a paper trail so the lawyer has something to work with. Also, have the lawyer give F.E.A.T. of B.C. a call, and we will send him/her information that will help.

If money is an issue (as it is for most of us running autism treatment programs), you might want to hire a lawyer once you have been turned down by the Minister.

How to hire a lawyer?

The type of lawyer needed is a litigator, or trial lawyer. S/he does not need to be an expert in autism, or special needs; s/he needs to be experienced in suing governments, and enjoys being in court. Word of mouth is a good way to find a lawyer.

Topic

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
The latest word I just received is that the CBC National News with Peter Mansbridge will air the Auton and autism report tonight (Wednesday, November 17, 2004).
Cheers!
Andrew (Ottawa)

[Super Dad]

I almost forgot:

4. There are lawsuits against various school districts to provide, or at least allow, proper autism treatment in the classroom. Who is fighting that battle? When is a decision expected?

Tony
Leo's dad

[Super Dad]

I am quite confused about all the lawsuits in progress. Having stopped reading about them for a couple of months I have already forgotten all the names. I have a couple of questions:

1. Regarding the Supreme Court of Canada decision on Auton this coming Friday: my impression is that it's all about the BC government trying to reverse the previous provincial court decision to provide the $20,000 a year. If the parents win then the funding continues. Are there other implications?

2. I recall a lawsuit which may force the government to provide full funding for treatable disabilities. Even though this case is not specifically about autism, it may help us get the money required for Lovaas treatment, much more than the current $20,000. Who is fighting that battle? When is a decision expected?

3. I recall a lawsuit which may help us keep the $20,000 funding beyond age six, up to age 18. Who is fighting that battle? When is a decision expected?

Tony
Leo's dad

[Sabrina Freeman]

Hi everyone,

FYI, the Supreme Court of Canada announced today that it will be handing down its judgment in the Auton case on Friday, November 19th, 2004 at 6:45 am pacific standard time (9:45 am eastern).

Stay tuned!

Sabrina
(Miki's mom)

[Olga Guitelmakher]

Lead therapist is needed for start up ABA program. We live in Burnaby near Metrotown station. 1 Year commitment required. You will work with 5 y old autistic boy.

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
With respect to the autism petition, we have the usual vigorous expression of opposition, this time from the UK. Please see the email below that was forwarded to the person who organized the electronic petition, as well as numerous politicians. Also please see my response below. To those who care about ABA/IBI treatment availability, please write to your MPs and express support. Thank you.
Andrew

MY RESPONSE:

Hello,

Please forward this response to all the people that received the original email below from the UK.

Thank you for forwarding this email below to me. I very much regret the amount of incorrect and deceptive information out there about autism. It is a sad fact that the cause of autism is not know and neither is the cure. However, for many years there have been scientific studies done about autism treatment and the science and evidence has consistently shown one thing: the application of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Intensive Behaviour Intervention therapy is the most effective thing that the medical community has produced to date. There is no other treatment that remotely comes close to producing the kinds of results that ABA/IBI treatment do.

The original studies conducted by Dr. Ivar Lovaas at UCLA that were published as early as the 1980s showed that 47% of children who were given the treatment developed to such an extent that they were able to function normally in the school setting. The rest of the children made significant gains. The statement below that if have become "indistinguishable" that it therefore means that the other half do not benefit is not just wrong, it is terribly wrong. They do benefit. A child who is unable to say any words before the program and then develops a limited vocabulary and is able to communicate basic needs and wants, is obviously better off than a child who makes to no development at all.

It is an unfortunate fact that the people who have made the great break-throughs in this field have been subject to the most vicious and intense criticism, much of it like the falsehoods below. The history of autism is one where many people have developed all kinds of alternative remedies and treatments for which there is no evidence, science or valid studies, but mere "anecdotal" stories. These people, who often do not know what ABA/IBI is, are often engaging in intense efforts to thwart all other attempts to help autistic children, and to some extent, they do this because of their own vested interests. It is difficult for a peddler of one solution to admit after many years that they were wrong all along.

Nonetheless, the petition calls for the ABA/IBI treatment to be made available, and of course, just like cancer patients who refuse to take treatment, so too the families with autistic children should be able to exercise that right. It is clear that every autistic child is different and that certain treatments may affect some children more than others. However, until science tells us otherwise, the best treatment we have is ABA/IBI and the opponents of it are not doing autistic children any favours.
I also wish to point out that the matter has been the subject of litigation in many provinces across the country and each court, after hearing all the evidence, has come out in favour of ABA/IBI. The opponents of ABA/IBI have not been able to convince the courts that they have better evidence. That is because they don't.

As for my own child, we started an ABA/IBI program with him at the end of January of this year and his improvement is beyond question or doubt. His ability to communicate has improved, his behaviour has improved and life with him has become more enjoyable. The improvement has been slow and there have been times of regression, but we have no doubt about its efficacy and plan to pursue it without hesitation.

In conclusion, no effort to improve any problem in society goes without encountering criticism. This area is no different. Please do not use the presence of opponent of ABA/IBI as an excuse to not do anything. The rules of petitions indicate that only Canadians can sign the petition. I wish to remind you that the misguided writer below is from another country.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.
Andrew Kavchak
(613) 954-3063

—–Original Message—–
From: Steven Fletcher (Fletcher.S@parl.gc.ca)
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004
Forwarding…
————————————————–
From: Dinah [mailto:dinahmurray@beeb.net]
Sent: November 12, 2004 8:18 AM
To: disabledandproud@sympatico.ca; Prime Minister's Office; min.sd-ds@sdc-dsc.gc.ca; smartel@vianet.on.ca; Oliver, Donald H.: SEN; Julian, Peter – M.P.; Layton, Jack – M.P.; Cotler, Irwin – M.P.; Dosanjh, Ujjal – M.P.; Skelton, Carol – Assistant 1; Fletcher, Steven – M.P.
Subject: petition

Dear Mr Matthews

I am a worker, researcher and author in the area of autism, based in the UK, a tutor on autism for Birmingham University.

I read through the Canadian online petition atributed to you re ABA/IBI and autism without any surprise (at http://www.petitiononline.com/andap1/petition.html). I am aware that there are people who are convinced that the most useful thing we can do for autistic children is to render them 'indistinguishable' and I'm also aware that a proportion of children (fewer than half in most studies) will benefit, possibly considerably – especially in my view when the behaviour modification program is in the hands of sensitive and warm-hearted people (sadly not always the case in my observation). The clear implication of that is that a significant proportion (usually a majority) does not benefit from this form of treatment. Furthermore there is plentiful anecdotal evidence that some of those children who do not benefit may suffer longterm harm from the invasive and choice denying process: I have personally encountered these effects in some children. Therefore your petition if accepted is likely to cause widespread harm. Why not petition just for adequate hours of support for every child with a diagnosis, leaving the potential to address each child's needs flexibly? That does strike me as a very worthwhile goal.

Although I was not surprised by the petition or its contents, I was extremely surprised to notice that you apparently represent an organisation called "disabled and proud". What you are proposing appears to single out one particular 'disability' and say that on no account could anyone with autism be anything but ashamed of their condition; that family members should do all they can to change that little person so they can be proud of their no-longer disabled child! How can your organisation take this position, given its title? Is there any other disability in which people who are not themselves experiencing it directly are taken to fully represent the views of those who are? Are you aware that a significant proportion of people with a diagnosis of autism do _not_ have any learning disability? Are you aware of how many of them are able to communicate highly effectively given the a-social and undemanding availability of a computer? Before putting its imprimature on this petition, I think your organisation should make sure that the petition is supported by the disabled people whose interests it is supposed to represent. I see no indication that this is so.

Quote from a website which is a namesake of yours, and may more faithfully represent the proud values in its name than you do: "one of the most important problems facing the political struggle of people with disabilities is the necessity of developing a positive sense of identity" (Harlan Hahn, 1985).
You are certainly not helping with this in the case of autism!

Yours sincerely

Dinah KC Murray PhD MA BA

[Isaac]

Hello everyone,

For those who haven't had a chance to read today's Globe and Mail (Nov. 12, '04), this piece is a highly recommended read –> "Ontario autism program in chaos, auditor discovers" https://featbc.org/downloads/GlobeandMail_11_12_04.pdf)

The latest Ontario autism scandal is further proof of what Justice Allan already found in her July 2000 Auton ruling — social services departments and their contracted service agencies are utterly hopeless in delivering genuine autism treatment, and there is no way to reform this systemic failure. We know through bitter experience in BC that where autism treatment is concerned, social services incompetence is rampant and programmed into the "genetic" code of the Children's Ministry. The Social Services powers still fundamentally disagree with the self-evident notion that children with autism suffer from a health issue — a need for medically necessary treatment — that is vastly different from the typical social worker “special needs support” caseload or the special education swamp of ignorance.

The underlying truth affirmed by the Ontario Auditor General's report is straightforward: shoveling more money at the Ministry of Poverty will never get the autism treatment job done. For those of us in BC, the reason is well known and obvious. Justice Allan politely stated in her landmark Auton 2000 ruling that the gang who couldn't shoot straight in Victoria (Children's Ministry bureaucrats) are "ill suited" to the task of delivering autism treatment. More bluntly, social services bureaucrats are not only useless in providing effective treatment for autism but are also manifestly harmful to children with this devastating condition. The evidence is overwhelming.

The only solution — long term — is to move the responsibility for autism treatment over to the Ministry of Health's Medicare system, where the consumer has choice in treatment provider. All government needs to do then is cut a simple cheque. This they can handle reasonably well.

The Auditor General of Ontario has taken a very close look at the social services autism intervention morass in that province and the mess found is not a pretty picture. Incompetence and apparent fraud have been uncovered to the tune of millions of dollars. Sound familiar? It should. The social services gang that still doesn't "get it" in Victoria has similarly squandered millions in their so called "EIBI" program, which of course we know is an ineffective special education sham of an experiment, with millions more spent in untendered special education contracts for UBC to study the autism program specifically designed by UBC to defeat the Auton case.

The difference between BC and Ontario is that our Auditor, when approached to investigate this sordid matter a couple years ago, turned a blind eye. Ignored was clear conflict of interest and an obvious waste of taxpayer money. Ontario's Auditor seems truly independent and useful as watchdog for taxpayers in that province. We desperately need the same in BC.

"Ontario autism program in chaos, auditor discovers" https://featbc.org/downloads/GlobeandMail_11_12_04.pdf)

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
Well, this past week the situation about Auton and autism in Canada made it into the New York Times, the National Post, and today there are two stellar articles in the Globe and Mail. Please consider forwarding these "en masse" to your MP, MPP, the Premier, Prime Minister, Health Ministers, etc….with letters demanding action. These articles are like gifts to our community but we have to keep the pressure up!
Cheers!
Andrew Kavchak (Ottawa)

Autism program in chaos, auditor discovers
Globe & Mail
Nov 12, 2004
Page: A1
Section: National News
Edition: Metro
Byline: MARGARET PHILP
A special audit has uncovered an Ontario government program
for autistic children in chaos, with lax oversight, millions
of dollars in dubious spending and 1,200 children losing precious
time on a waiting list while money goes unspent.
A damning report to be tabled next week by Jim McCarter, Ontario's
acting provincial auditor, has uncovered money hemorrhaging
from the $44-million Intensive Early Intervention program without
notice of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
He found the ministry's records rife with inaccurate and erroneous
information, including at least two instances where a combined
$3-million was recorded as spent when not a penny of it
was.
While the clock is ticking for 1,200 children languishing on
a waiting list for funding that vanishes once they turn 6 —
that number is more than double the 547 children currently
being served — the auditor found that the program has spent
a total of $16.7-million less than its budget allowed over the
five years since it began.
At the same time, children who are being served under the program
are being shortchanged, on average, more than four hours a week
of therapy for which they have been funded. Under the program,
children receive an average of $79,000 a year to cover the steep
cost of intensive one-on-one therapy, regarded as the most effective
treatment for training autistic children to function more
normally.
"If I was a parent whose child turned 6 and never got a day
of service, I would be so angry and so upset and so frustrated,"
said New Democrat MPP Shelley Martel, a member of the standing
committee on public accounts that requested the special audit
last spring.
"Think of how many more kids could have gotten services with
$16.7-million if the government had been properly monitoring
and running and overseeing this program."
Dongjoon Kim might have been one of them. Nearly 6, the severely
autistic boy sat on the waiting list for two years before his
mother, Youngshin Kim, got word this week that he had been approved
for 30 hours a week of intensive behavioural therapy.
In the two years while they waited, the family sold their Toronto
house to raise the money to pay for Dongjoon's therapy. His
father, who was studying forestry at the University of Toronto,
quit his studies to earn an income to support the $80,000 they
paid to various private therapists. Even so, they ran out of
money last June and had to cut Dongjoon's therapy from 30 hours
to eight a week.
"It was painful to see him idling around at home," Mrs. Kim
said. "My husband and I are both working, but it's definitely
not enough. We only pay our bills for rent and living
costs."
It has been a huge sacrifice for the family, but the 18 months
of therapy have transformed Dongjoon from a withdrawn child
who at age 4 would tap objects incessantly and dangle strings
and babble, to a child who can play with a ball, can say, "I
want water," and can make lines on a page with a pencil.
"This is really huge," Mrs. Kim said of the funding. "I still
can't believe it."
But even when children like Dongjoon are finally plucked from
the waiting list, the auditor found, most were receiving far
fewer hours of therapy than they had been approved for and than
research suggests as the minimum for intensive therapy to be
effective. While autistic children were granted funding for
an average of 23 hours a week of therapy, at one agency they
received no more than 13.
Therapists on staff with the agencies would quit abruptly or
call in sick, but funding would still flow even if no substitute
was found. "Significant costs are being incurred for services
not delivered," the auditor writes.
While the total budget climbed from $4-million to $44-million
over the past five years, the number of children receiving funding
has barely budged. In some cases, money was spent on new computers
and furniture without the ministry's knowledge.
The auditor found that handing money directly to parents to
hire therapists was far cheaper than paying the nine government-
approved agencies scattered around the province that are providing
services to the vast majority of families under the
program.
At the three agencies it audited — the ministry was unable
to provide accurate information for all nine — the cost of
putting money straight into the hands of parents was as little
as one-sixth the cost of funding the agencies to provide the
service. It cost one agency $126 an hour to provide treatment,
while parents living in the same part of the province managed
to hire private therapists for an average of $20 an hour.
"The ministry does not yet have adequate oversight procedures
in place to ensure that external service providers are spending
funds provided to assist autistic children and their parents
in the most cost-effective manner," the auditor concludes.
Andrew Weir, a spokesman for Children's Services Minister Marie
Bountrogianni, said the ministry concurs with the auditor's
finding, but that times are changing. It has doubled the budget
for autism services to $80-million — as it was going to under
the Tories — and started to hire more therapists for preschool-
age children with autism and consultants to advise teachers
with autistic children in the classroom.
"A lot of what the auditor is talking about is consistent with
what we've been doing and the changes we've made in the program,"
he said.
The audit is another blow to the Ontario government, which has
been hauled into the courts and before a human-rights tribunal
in the past two years over its policies for funding services
for autistic children.
Twenty-nine families who joined forces against the province
in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of cutting off
funding for intensive behavioural therapy when a child reaches
6 are awaiting the court's ruling. Although the suit was launched
under the Conservatives, the McGuinty government continues to
defend it. A human-rights tribunal hearing began a few weeks
ago in the cases of more than 100 other families insisting that
the age-6 threshold for funding and the long waiting lists discriminate
against their children.
Ontario is not the only province called to account for its autism
services. The Supreme Court of Canada is deliberating in the
British Columbia government's appeal of a ruling that awarded
the parents of two dozen autistic children funding to cover
the cost of a therapy that the province deemed ineffective.

Provinces slowly starting to provide services for autistic children
Globe & Mail
Nov 12, 2004
Page: A10
Section: National News
Edition: Metro
Byline: Margaret Philp
As autism rates have soared and parents have launched court battles for public funding to pay therapists' fees, most provinces have grudgingly started to provide services for autistic children.
Ontario ranks among the most generous, with a budget of $80-
million for autism services that includes funding for therapy,
consultants in the schools, and workers to ease the transition
to school for autistic children.
Still, 1,200 children age 6 and under who fall at the severe
end of the autism spectrum are waiting for funding to cover
the expensive behavioural therapy developed in California that
breaks down language and physical tasks into components that
are repeated until the child masters them. Thousands more whose
condition is less severe or have passed their sixth birthday
fail to qualify for funding at all.
An investigation by the Provincial Auditor into Ontario's $44-
million Intensive Early Intervention program explored services
in other provinces.
In Manitoba, the province provides funding for the behavioural
therapy through a parents' group called Manitoba Families for
Effective Autism Treatment. Fifty-eight children receive an
average of $55,000 a year for therapy. There is no waiting
list.
In Alberta, intensive behavioural therapies have been funded
for almost a decade. The province's education and children's
services ministries pay school authorities to provide support
to severely disabled children between the ages of 2 1/2 and
6 for up to three years. For autistic children, the funding
often goes to cover the therapy known as intensive behaviour
intervention.
A few months ago, the province passed the Family Support for
Children with Disabilities Act, which provides funding to cover
the cost of services such as counselling and respite to families
with a disabled child, even if there is no formal diagnosis,
and funding for children with a diagnosis such as autism to
cover the cost of specialized services like personal aides.
In British Columbia, children five years old and under with
a diagnosis of autism may be eligible for services. Intensive
behavioural therapies are being provided to 75 children in eight
communities, at an average cost of about $50,000 a year for
each child.
Families can also receive up to $20,000 in funding directly
to hire a private therapist for preschoolers, a system that
the Ontario auditor's report found to cost a fraction of the
cost of providing services through agencies. The province recently
started a program that will provide up to $6,000 in funding
to families with school-age autistic children to cover the cost
of intensive behavioural therapies outside of school hours.
Unlike Ontario, where the auditor noted that there was no tracking
of children's outcomes to evaluate the early-intervention program,
B.C. has started a process of evaluating its programs.

Ontario autism program in chaos, millions misspent, audit finds
Publication: CPW
All CanWest Publications
Nov 12, 2004
TORONTO (CP) _ A special audit shows an Ontario government program for autistic children is in chaos, with millions of dollars in dubious spending and 1,200 children on a waiting list while money goes unspent, the Globe and Mail reported Friday.
A damning report to be tabled next week by Jim McCarter, Ontario's acting provincial auditor, has uncovered money hemorrhaging from the $44 million Intensive Early Intervention program.
The audit found records at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services _ which is responsible for the program _ were inaccurate, including at least two instances where $3 million was incorrectly recorded as spent.
While 1,200 children are stuck on a waiting list for funding _ that vanishes once they turn six years old _ the investigation found that a total of $16.7 million wasn't spent over the past five years.
At the same time, the 547 children who are getting therapy are being shortchanged on the number of hours of treatment they should receive, by, on average, by four hours a week.
Under the program, children receive an average of $79,000 a year to cover the steep cost of intensive one-on-one therapy, regarded as the most effective treatment for training autistic children to function more normally.
While autistic children were granted funding for an average of 23 hours a week of therapy, at one agency they received no more than 13.
Therapists at agencies would quit abruptly or call in sick, but funding would still flow even if no substitute was found.
While the total budget climbed to $44 million from $4 million over the past five years, the number of children receiving funding has barely budged.
In some cases, money was spent on new computers and furniture without the ministry's knowledge.
The auditor also found that handing money directly to parents to hire therapists was far cheaper than paying the nine government-approved agencies providing the treatment.
It cost one agency it cost $126 an hour to provide treatment, while parents managed to hire private therapists for an average of $20 an hour.
Andrew Weir, a spokesman for Children's Services Minister Marie Bountrogianni, said the ministry concurs with the auditor's finding.
It has doubled the budget for autism services to $80 million and started to hire more therapists.
“A lot of what the auditor is talking about is consistent with what we've been doing and the changes we've made in the program,'' he said.
The Ontario government has been hauled into the courts and before a human-rights tribunal in the past two years over its policies for funding services for autistic children.
(Globe and Mail)

[Isaac]

Autism in the news … National Post, November 10, 2004
Byline: "It's time for the health-care system to help autistic
kids"

Notable in the piece is this: "When Paul Martin called the general election at the end of May, he stood in the sunshine on the steps of Rideau Hall and contrasted Canada with the United States. "You cannot have a health-care system like Canada's, you can't have social programs like Canada's, with taxation levels like those of the United States …" The Prime Minister may want to re-read those words in advance of an impending Supreme Court ruling on the provision of treatment for children with autism. While Martin played on the old myth of Canadians as unarmed Americans with a health plan, in reality, autistic kids would be better off in the United States."

Profound commentary indeed. The rest of the National Post column is here:

https://featbc.org/downloads/National_Post_11_10_04.pdf

Isaac (Miki's Dad)

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
Please check out the article about the Auton case and autism in Canada by John Ivison in today's National Post (November 10, 2004)!
Cheers!
Andrew

[Author]

Replies