[Andrew Kavchak]

FYI everybody:

Cynical viewpoint
Globe & Mail
Nov 26, 2004
Page: A16
Section: Letter to the Editor
Edition: Metro
Byline: HEINZ WETZEL

Toronto
The response to the Supreme Court's autism ruling has not been
"cynical and misguided," as Andre Picard says (Nobody Said Drawing
The Line Is Easy — Nov. 25). Where it has been emotional, it
results from the despair of parents who see their autistic children
deprived of their only chance to get meaningful help. Does anybody
who knows the cruel facts want to argue with them?
It is Mr. Picard who is cynical: In pretending to protect the
Supreme Court from unfair criticism he goes on to insinuate
that the ABA/IBI therapy is dubious. He quotes one lukewarm
report, while an overwhelming number of specialist reports have
recognized the undoubted and decisive benefits of the
program.
Mr. Picard argues from a severely limited perspective and merely
on the basis of principle, where others have tried to make the
community and its politicians aware of the human tragedy involved,
and also of the immense cost to us all if these children must
spend their adult lives in group homes instead of becoming happy
and productive members of society.

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
One of the MPs who accepted the autism petition during the press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 23 was NDP Tony Martin. Check out this press coverage below from the Sault Ste. Marie paper.
Cheers!
Andrew

Martin joins federal fight for autism funding
Sault Star

Nov 25, 2004Page: A4
Section: News
Edition: Final
Byline: Dan Bellerose

Sault Ste. Marie's MP has waded into the national debate on expensive early childhood treatment of autism.

Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada dealt a discouraging blow to the parents of about 100,000 autistic children, including dozens in Sault Ste. Marie and area, when it ruled that provincial governments could not be forced to pay for the treatments.

"I was disappointed with the high court ruling," said Tony Martin, who attended an all-party press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday to show federal-level support of families with autistic children.

"Families are taking on serious debt, in some instances mortgaging their homes, for intensive treatment that should be covered under the Canada Health Act."

An autistic child requires an overwhelming commitment of time, energy and money.

Intensive one-on-one treatment for 20 to 40 hours a week has produced life-altering results for many children, but it carries an exorbitant $60,000 annual price tag.

The Ontario government covers the cost of the intensive treatment for qualified children aged five and under, but funding is suspended upon the child's sixth birthday.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty personally committed in writing during last year's election campaign to extend treatment coverage beyond age six, but is still reportedly reviewing implementation strategy.

"It's unfair to say that government is ignoring the families of autistic children, but support money flowing to them is modest," Martin said.

He said he believes only a handful of area families qualified for the maximum support payment.

"My personal opinion is that government has a social and ethical responsibility to cover treatment costs regardless of age."

He agrees with former provincial colleague Shelley Martel that autism intervention should be funded through OHIP — not excluded because it is not administered by a doctor or a hospital.

"All that's left for the parents is to continue lobbying government for change. . . . Ever-increasing numbers of autistic children tells me the subject is not going to go away anytime soon."

According to the Autism Society of Canada, two decades ago autism was diagnosed once in every 10,000 births — today the ratio is one in every 286 births.

Maria Esposito, a superintendent of education with the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board, whose portfolio includes special education, says the board has 29 identified autism students in its classrooms as of last month.

"The numbers are up compared to a few years ago but I cannot say whether that is because of increased incidents (of autism) or better detection methods."

Officials with Algoma District School Board were unavailable for comment on its autistic student population but ADSB has twice the student population of Huron-Superior.

The Huron-Superior students are integrated throughout the system, from kindergarten to secondary school.

"It's an exciting field . . . educational advances are being made that, if taught properly, allow for the autistic child to achieve partial independence."

The one-on-one therapy, modified for each individual, breaks tasks down into small steps and positively reinforces every step learned.

Martin is expected to table a petition in the House of Commons this week containing the names of more than 40 Sault residents requesting government intervention in the matter.

David Orazietti, the Sault's Liberal MPP, was unavailable for comment.

There is no known cause or cure for autism, a dysfunction of the central nervous system that impairs social interaction, hinders communication and whose symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Ninety per cent of untreated autistic children end up in group homes or institutions.

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,

A little more coverage about the autism petition being tabled is at:

http://www.oacrs.com/News/2004/November/Nov24.htm

Cheers!
Andrew (Ottawa)

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hello My Dear Friends,

For your information, the CTV.CA website has two video clips on it relating to the autism petition being tabled in the House of Commons yesterday.

Thank you so much for posting the pictures of yesterday's media scrum.

To all those who are sending in petitions to MPs, please consider also asking them to do the following in addition to tabling the petition:
1) table a Private Member's Bill;
2) ask their party to table a motion for action on autism;
3) refer the increasing autism prevalence rates and the crisis about funding treatment to the standing committee on Health;
4) to champion the cause in the House of Commons and rally other Parliamentarians to the cause to put pressure on Cabinet to do something;
5) to write to the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister to take meaningful action to end the discrimination;
6) and anything else that an MP can do, especially when there is a minority government.

By the way, below is an article in today's Ottawa Sun at page 5 – there is a nice picture of my son Steven and me too.

Cheers!
Andrew (Ottawa)

'NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE HORROR' DAD FIGHTS FOR AUTISM FUNDING
The Ottawa Sun

Nov 24, 2004

The Ottawa Sun
Edition: Final
Section: News
Page: 5
Source: BY DEREK PUDDICOMBE, OTTAWA SUN

Andrew Kavchak simply wants his three-year-old autistic son Steven to live the most productive life he can.

But until the Canada Health Act is amended, that simple desire a father has for his son won't be possible.

A Supreme Court of Canada decision last week struck down the notion that the Health Act discriminates against autism sufferers because there is no reference to it in the act.

Kavchak argues that the mere fact the legislation doesn't include any reference to the disorder is discriminatory.

Kavchak met in the House of Commons foyer yesterday morning with Scott Reid, Conservative MP for Lanark-Carleton, to hand over a petition asking the federal government to amend the Health Act.

"This decision is a massive step backwards to the Victorian times," Kavchak said about the Supreme Court decision.

"I thought this country was caring and compassionate. I was an incredibly proud Canadian.

"I'm goddamn mad."

He and hundreds of other parents of autistic children are lobbying governments to pick up the tab for the almost $50,000 yearly cost of intensive behavioural intervention therapy.

After the Kavchaks' son was diagnosed, they immediately began a demanding program that requires specialists to come into their home seven hours a day through the week and three hours each day on weekends.

COSTLY TREATMENT

It's only been since the program started that Steven has learned to say "mommy" and "daddy" and a few other words.

But his son's gains have come at a great financial cost to the Kavchaks.

"We are depleting our savings. It's economically ridiculous," said Kavchak.

Taking his fight to the government's front door, the passionate father of two has been protesting on Parliament Hill, taking every lunch hour to draw attention to the long waiting list for services for children with autism and the absence of appropriate funding under the medicare system.

"The difference between a civil society and a barbaric one is how it treats the weak and disabled," he said.

"Our country treats them in such a disgusting manner."

STILL ANGRY

Reid became involved in Kavchak's fight after they met on the steps of Parliament last summer and gave Kavchak the direction he needed to pursue his fight.

"It's a situation where a child's life can be affected by treatment," said Reid.

As of today, Kavchak will no longer walk the Hill.

He is tired and sore, but still angry that no one except him and others in a similar situation care about the future of his son.

"No one understands the horror we are going through," said Kavchak.

derek.puddicombe@ott.sunpub.com

Illustration: photo by Suzanne Bird, OTTAWA SUN

ANDREW KAVCHAK, who must pay out of his own pocket for treatment for his three-year-old autistic son Steven, is petitioning the federal government to include autism in the Canada Health Act.

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,

Good news about the tabling of the autism petition in Parliament. This morning in the foyer of the House of Commons two MPs joined me and three other parents of autistic children to discuss the tabling of the petition in a media scrum. The TV cameras were there and a number of reporters. The scrum went very well and I wore a page across my chest with "featbc.org" and asked all Canadians to go to the website and download the petition, sign it up and send it in! We have to create a flood of petitions to put the pressure on the government to take action to bring our kids within the medicare system and stop the discrimination. I forwarded some digital pictures of the media scrum and hope that they can be posted on the website somehow.
Please watch the news tonight!
Andrew (Ottawa)

[Andrew Kavchak]

Hi Folks,
Here in Ottawa I am trying to get the autism petition tabled. I have some good news. Tomorrow morning we will have a media event prior to the tabling of the first batch of petitions. Please see the Press Release from Scott Reid's office below.
Thanks for everything you folks in BC have done!
Andrew

For Immediate Release November 22, 2004

MPS FROM ALL PARTIES TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

OTTAWA – Tomorrow, November 22, 2004, Scott Reid, Conservative MP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington will table petitions relating to treatments for children with autism.

Mr. Reid became aware of the problems facing the autistic community last spring, when Andrew Kavchak, a concerned father who has been protesting on Parliament Hill on almost a daily basis since March, 2004 asked for his assistance.

Andrew Kavchak has a three year old son, Steven Kavchak, who was diagnosed with autism on December 8, 2003 at CHEO. Although Mr. Kavchak's family immediately applied to Ontario's Preschool Autism Program for the medically necessary autism treatment, he was placed on a waiting list and is still waiting. His family began a private treatment program for their son in January 2004 which costs approximately $50,000 a year.

There will be a short press conference held at 9:45 in the House of Commons Lobby before the petitions are tabled at 10:00 am.

NDP MP Tony Martin will join Mr. Reid in support of families of autistic children. Liberal MP Massimo Pacetti along with several other MPs from all parties are expected to table the same petitions later this week.

-30-

For more information please contact Scott Reid's office at 947-2277.

[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)

[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

[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)

[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]

Posts