Ontario NDP: McGuinty Government Cutting Children with Autism off IBI (ABA)

Number of Children Awaiting Autism Treatment Balloonslocation: Queen's Parkdate:

October 26, 2009 - 1:00pm

Ontario’s NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is citing more troubling facts concerning the McGuinty government’s approach to treating Ontario children with autism.

“The government is cutting off more children from IBI when schools are not able to provide the therapy. Instead of funding treatment, the government is allowing waiting lists to balloon and children to languish,” Horwath said in the Ontario Legislature today after revealing the government’s latest quarterly numbers for April to June, 2009.Compared to the previous quarter, 1,649 children are now waiting for IBI therapy. That’s 136 more than previously reported (1, 513) and a 9 per cent increase in just three months.

“When will parents see adequate service levels and proper funding for children’s autism treatment?” Horwath demanded of Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten. “It has been six years. These children and these families cannot wait any longer for this government to get its act together when it comes to the autism file.”The government is cutting off more children from IBI even though schools are not able to provide the therapy, Horwath said. The latest quarterly statistics from the ministry show another 114 children were abruptly cut off.

“The regular quarterly numbers don’t lie. Why are more children with autism waiting for treatment, and why are more children having their autism suddenly cut off and terminated?” Horwath said. “The McGuinty government’s autism program is not living up to the Premier’s promise of ensuring children with autism receive treatment regardless of their age.”
Horwath, the MPP for Hamilton Centre, recently brought the autism file into her portfolio as Ontario’s NDP Critic for Children and Youth Service.

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From House Hansard 10/26/09. The new Minister of Children and Youth Services has spoken:

AUTISM TREATMENT

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is to the Minister of Children and Youth Services. According to her ministry's most recent quarterly numbers, the McGuinty government's autism program is not living up to the Premier's promise of ensuring that children with autism receive treatment regardless of their age. The IBI/ABA numbers for April through June 2009 continue to be troubling. Compared to the previous quarter, 1,649 children are waiting for IBI, 136 more than previously reported, and another 114 children have been abruptly cut off.

Why are more children with autism waiting for treatment, and why are more children having their treatment suddenly cut off and terminated?

1100

Hon. Laurel C. Broten: This is a file where I'm very pleased to be able to build on the work that's been done by our government and a variety of Ministers of Children and Youth Services since we took office in 2003. We've made a lot of progress. Kids are getting the help they need, we've expanded those services, and we're working to make sure that families also have the support they need. We're working to maintain that progress and push ahead, working with parents and experts. Over the last couple of years, we've been examining how we can do better for our kids in Ontario.

I had the opportunity last week to visit Surrey Place and speak directly with the experts and find out how they think we can best help kids in Ontario. There is more work to do-there is always more work to do. We continue to build on the efforts that we've put in place to make sure that Ontario kids get everything they need from our education system and that envelope of services around them.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It's been six years. These children and these families cannot wait any longer for this government to get its act together when it comes to the autism file.

The regular quarterly numbers don't lie. The government is cutting off more children from IBI when schools are not able to provide the therapy. Instead of funding treatment, the government is allowing waiting lists to balloon and children to languish. When will parents see adequate service levels and proper funding for children's autism treatment?

Hon. Laurel C. Broten: I want to put some key facts on the table. We removed the previous government's age 6 cut-off and more than tripled autism spending, from $44 million to $165 million. We've more than doubled the number of kids getting IBI treatment-more than 1,300 now, up from just over 500 four years ago. We've introduced respite programs that serve almost 7,000 kids. The growing waiting list is not acceptable. That's why we've put more resources into the system.

But I would say that the numbers being brought forward by the leader of the opposition are consistent with numbers that we've seen in the past: 114 kids have completed the services for IBI, and we now have 1,262 kids receiving that service.

We need to get service to more kids. We need to broaden that continuum of support. That's why we're working with world-renowned experts like Peter Szatmari and Nancy Freeman and why we've brought that group of expertise to the table to make sure that kids in our schools get the treatment.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. New question

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Is Ontario's Autism Shame Contagious?

Ontario NDP health critic France Gelinas has blasted Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government, in an article in the Sudbury Star, for its shameful, on-again, off-again commitment to providing treatment to autistic children, leaving many of them languishing on waiting lists where some never actually graduate to receive treatment.


Ms Gelinas accuses the McGuinty government of closing the door on autistic children in Northern Ontario and leaves no doubt where she, and the Ontario NDP, stand on the issue:

Families have actually left Ontario altogether for Alberta where programs are fully funded. That western province and its comprehensive funding for autism attracted a world autism expert from Ontario. More could follow.

We have a choice to create the kind of Ontario we want. In my Ontario, autism treatment would be fully funded and the children's needs addressed. Along with my MPP colleague, Ontario's NDP Critic for Autism, Andrea Horwath, I believe there should be an immediate increase to the funding of autism services so regional centres can respond to the needs of these children.

To hold back on funding while children and families continue to suffer and struggle is inexcusable.

Each day children with autism languish on waiting lists and are denied access to services is another day that their potential for progress and success is thwarted by the McGuinty government's inaction. We can -- and must -- do better.

Hopefully, the lack of concern for autistic children exhibited by the Ontario government is not contagious. Here in New Brunswick a praiseworthy autism service delivery model for children has been built. But we are hearing rumblings that the next budget will see funding for autism services cut. Hopefully the rumours are wrong and Premier Shawn Graham will continue to back up his expressed concern for autistic children by providing the required funding as he has during the first two years of his term.






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Autistic Children "Rotting On The Vine" In Ontario - Why Not Consider "the New Brunswick Autism Model"?

In Wait list for autism therapy growing, critics charge the Star.com reports that "the wait list of autistic children who are eligible to receive intensive behavioural intervention therapy, or IBI, reached 1,148 on March 31, up from 985 last year." NDP critics argue that the government is moving at a slow, even glacial, pace resulting in many children "rotting on the vine" in the words of NDP critic Andrea Horwath who was also quoting parents she had met at a town hall meeting. The article describes spending increases by the McGuinty government but does not really describe a plan for getting children off the autism wait lists.

When I was in Ontario last week, as part of the Medicare for Autism NOW! campaign, I had the privilege of meeting some Ontario parents and discussing autism realities in Ontario. I heard of autistic children facing bureaucratic obstacles, waiting on lists for treatment only to "age out" before receiving treatment; or after just getting started. I mentioned the New Brunswick autism model as one that Ontario might want to consider.

In New Brunswick autism services are far from perfect but we have come far with the effort of determined parents, a sympathetic public and ... responsive political leaders. We have also been fortunate that political leaders of both major political parties in New Brunswick, aside from some exceptions, have tended to be genuine in their desire to help autistic children. So what is "the New Brunswick autism service model" and why is it working? (Yes, there are problems and the need to continually improve but generally we are much better off than Ontario.)

The key to "the New Brunswick autism model" is the University of New Brunswick Autism Intervention Training program offered through UNB's College of Extended Learning. The program provides training for autism support workers and clinical supervisors to provide evidence based interventions to children with autism during the pre-school years. Those interventions are provided by agencies which must be approved by the Department of Social Development and must be accountable for the quality of the services provided. The UNB-CEL AIT has also begun providing similar training to teacher/education aides and resource teachers. We are no longer debating whether ABA can be provided in New Brunswick schools as they are in Ontario. Here it has been happening. My son, Conor, has received ABA based instruction for the past 4 years. The teacher aides providing the instruction in school have been trained at UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program. While Discrete Trial Training is used for academic instruction, more general ABA principles are also employed in settings such as the school gym.

The UNB-CEL AIT program began as a response to a call for tenders by the Department of Family and Community Services (now the Department of Social Development) to provide pre-school autism intervention services in New Brunswick. It began, literally, at a meeting of the proposed UNB Autism Centre committee of which I was a member. Asked whether the College of Extended Learning could be of assistance Anne Higgins director of professional development at UNB-CEL listed the administrative milestones that would have to be met. Then, like few people I have ever seen, she and her team at UNB-CEL got the things done to meet those targets. The curriculum and instruction quality were overseen and assured by Clinical Psychologist and Professor Emeritus (Psychology) Paul McDonnell. With other Autism Society and parent reps on the committee we saw the program established from the outset and have complete confidence in the quality and integrity of the program. The program is continually evolving with input from the Departments of Social Development and Education and from the autism community.

A couple of years ago I was offered employment in the Toronto area with a labour organization whose leadership I had already worked with. It was really a dream job but I turned it down. In part because I grew up attending as many as three schools in one year as an "army brat" and my two sons had both had the opportunity to attend the same grade school and middle school without moving from place to place. But the biggest reason for not wanting to move was the fact that Conor was receiving ABA based school instruction from an aide trained at UNB-CEL using programs designed and overseen by a teacher who had received the Clinical Supervisor training at UNB-CEL. He has now had almost 4 years of such education and I am glad, for his sake, I decided to stay in New Brunswick.

I don't know if the Ontario bureaucrats would consider developing the New Brunswick model in Ontario for pre-school and school age children. Nor do I know if parents would want that. In Ontario they seem hung up on the IBI versus ABA labels a distinction without a real difference. But if autistic children are "rotting on the vine" in Ontario they might want to at least take a look at what we have done right here in New Brunswick.

If the people in Ontario are interested in what has happened in New Brunswick they might want to consider the CAUCE 2008 sessions, session five, on May 30 at the University of Western Ontario. Anne Higgins and Sheila Burt from UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training will be participating and speaking about the pivotal role of UNB-CEL in providing multi-partnered, systematized autism intervention services.

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