Education funding changes for children with autism

The Ontario government announced on March 11 it would be allocating funds to help schools better provide assistance for students on the autism spectrum.

However, this announcement comes on the coattails of what many are calling massive budget cuts in funding for families with children on the spectrum.

In a press release, the Ontario government stated that it would fund an “ASD-specific Additional Qualifications course” for teachers. The idea, the government stated, is to fund and prepare schools to allow children with autism to be well supported in a classroom setting.

For Sarah Daley, the mother of a seven-year-old boy with autism, that doesn’t sound reasonable at all.

“It is very hard for teachers to handle kids these days with behaviour issues, and let alone with children who are even higher needs,” said Daley.

She explained that teachers tend to send kids with autism home “for their own safety.”

This announcement came following budget cuts for families with children with autism. Families Family members say they would not be able to afford different types of treatments because the allocations, dependent on the child’s age and the family’s income, would not be enough to pay for the already very expensive therapy.

Daley was one of the organizers of a Belleville protest on Feb. 15 that brought out about 70 people to Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith’s office. Protesters demanded that the programs put in place be changed.

In Daley’s case, she said they are fortunate that their son, Alex, is at the end of his one-on-one therapy session.

“The skills that they are working now on are not as conducive for one-on-one. They will pay for therapy on our own until December, once our contract is done in June,” explained Daley. This will cost around $5,000 per month.

Daley explained that these costs are far worse for kids who have not received therapy yet. She explained that just to get an assessment cost their family about $1,000 because it was so personalized. Everything is tailored to the child and treatment centres’ approach is that people will come back for therapy for some time, Daley said.

The Diagnostics and Statistics Manual, used by psychologists, defines Autism Spectrum Disorders as “Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history.” Due to the broad nature of the symptoms and severity, therapy needs to be tailored to each individual person.

“It’s definitely a good thing that they will give teachers more training. However, it doesn’t replace therapy, and kids entering as a result of these changes are not ready to be in a classroom,” said Daley.

Children will be placed in a class environment and they may not necessarily adapt very well, depending on their needs, she said. The process takes months to do, explained Daley. It also takes the school making a lot of accommodations, depending on the severity of the child’s condition.

The government’s plan should be based on the child’s needs rather than income, said Daley.

“It should be a direct funding model, eliminating duplication, allowing parents to use it for other therapies such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for sensory needs and physical skills,” said Daley.

Currently, Speech and Language therapy is very expensive and are not included in the plans offered, and these are some things that people need, over Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy. Occupational therapy is offered in treatment centres until the age of five and is offered in schools. However, Daley found out that it is a nine-month waitlist to get into the school’s occupational therapy program.

Daley explained that the same protest group would be organizing another protest on April 30, around Bell Boulevard or the downtown area. Daley added that there will definitely be a protest and walk in Brighton through the organization Adam’s Hope on April 8, and her group is considering if they want to do an explainer talk, possibly on March 30.

“I am not interested in politics. But I got involved in this because I think of all the families that are not as fortunate as us,” said Daley.

Original article in The Pioneer: https://loyalistphotojournalismblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/march14photojournalismpioneer-1.pdf