Ontario Election Autism Poll

The "official" Facing Autism in New Brunswick" Ontario Election 2007 autism poll is now closed. The final results:

Who Should Ontario Autism Parents Trust On Autism Issues?

Dalton McGuinty, Liberal 11 (22%)
Howard Hampton, NDP 17 (34%)
John Tory, Conservative 18 (36%)
Frank de Jong, Green 4 (8%)

Assuming votes were cast sincerely, (obviously a big assumption), I am not sure why any one voted for the Green Party leader on Autism Issues. To my knowledge the Green Party took no position on autism issues.

Read more »

Shining A Light on Autism in Barrie, Ontario

Parents of autistic children, siblings, friends and neighbours held a sunset vigil outside the office of Barrie MPP Joe Tascona's constituency office to "remind themselves to be vigilant in the fight to equip their children to shine." The six year age limit on government funded Intensive Behavioural Intervention has been lifted in Ontario - theoretically. Practically, waiting lists for services have grown longer and more children are on the waiting lists than 4 years ago. Parents will undoubtedly have to remain vigilant to ensure that promises are kept, and waiting lists are eliminated. Bitter experience has already taught them that. The vigil is a good reminder.

Read more »

Tory Pledges $75 Million To Clear Ontario Autism Wait Lists

The National Post reports that Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory has pledged to clear Ontario's autism wait lists. He has pledged $75 million to clear the lists in 2 years stating that experts have told him it would take at least 2 years to clear the wait lists. The National Post article quotes Autism Canada President David Patchell-Evans as saying that he trusts Tory because he is a businessman. Personally, I suspect that all of the leaders will keep their autism pledges after the grief Liberal leader McGuinty suffered over his broken pledge and betrayal of autistic children and their families.

On an interesting note the National Post indicates that the Liberals lead 41% to the Tories 33% and the NDP 18%. I am not a political analyst but I understand that the Conservatives fumbled badly with the denominational schools issue and stalled any momentum that might have been building. If they have recovered and pick up steam it could suggest a minority government - with NDP holding the balance of power. In any event, with both the Conservatives and the NDP making strong autism pledges this election seems to hold promise for the future of autistic children in Ontario.

Read more »

What about the kids with autism who you fought in court, using taxpayers money?

What about the kids with autism who you fought in court, using taxpayers money?

- Conservative leader John Tory to Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty

Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty took a lot of heat during the Ontario leaders debate this evening over his record of broken promises during his first term as Premier of Ontario including the shot from Conservative John Tory above. McGuinty's broken autism promise was also featured in the Conservative leader's opening statement video which featured Tory with a mother of an autistic child who accused McGuinty of breaking his promise to help her child. Tory says : "Broken promises have consequences for families like Kathy's. I want to earn your trust."

Hopefully, autism will not be just a political attack point during the election. Hopefully, all party leaders will remember the autism issue when the next Government of Ontario is seated.

Read more »

Autism Debate Heats Up Ontario Election

Autism issues are heating up the Ontario election campaign, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Ontario Autism Coalition, which has been very well organized and effective in getting autism issues in front of political participants. Today the NDP and Liberals squared off over the issues of age cut off and school provision of ABA/IBI services for autistic children.

The Canadian Press is reporting a commitment by NDP leader Howard Hampton to provide publicly funded Intensive Behavioral Intervention in classrooms for all autistic children. The NDP has committed to providing IBI therapy for an autistic child from the day they qualify and an end to waiting lists. Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers retorts however that there simply aren't enough trained autism support workers to provide one on one treatment to every child who needs it.

In New Brunswick we have faced the same issues over the past several years. The UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program grew out of the need to train Autism Support Workers and Clinical Supervisors in the pre-school and school years. That training has been taking place over the past several years with training of another 100 Teacher Aides (Autism Support Workers) and Resource Teachers (Clinical Supervisors) scheduled to start in October. Premier Shawn Graham and Education Minister Kelly Lamrock have committed to train another 300 TA's and teachers over the next 3 years. In proportion to Ontario's population that would be roughly the equivalent of a commitment to train a further 4,000 Autism Support Workers and Clinical Supervisors to work in Ontario schools. We are very confident that New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Education Minister Kelly Lamrock will keep their promise to New Brunswick's autistic school children.

The McGuinty government should quit making excuses for why they can't address the needs of Ontario's autistic children, stop breaking promises, stop fighting parents in court and buckle down and get to work helping autistic children. Maybe Ontario parents will decide to Get Orange and vote for the NDP.

As the Ontario Autism Coalition has said so succinctly - No More Excuses!

Read more »

Autism Mom Nancy Morrison Gets Political

Nancy Morrison is the NDP candidate for York-Simcoe in the Ontario Election 2007. She is also the mother of two children, including eight year old son Sean who is autistic. Nancy is the "autism mom" who wrote to then Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty during the last Ontario provincial election campaign asking for help for her autistic son. Mr McGuinty promised to help. You know the rest of the story. Promise broken. Court fights to prevent families from obaining services for their autistic children. Court costs pursued against the families of autistic children that Mr McGuinty had promised to help.

Nancy is not taking the Promise Breaker's betrayal lying down. She is getting political in a big way, running as the NDP candidate for York-Simcoe in the Ontario Election. She has herself gone out on a limb and stated that she has full confidence in Howard Hampton and the NDP autism platform:

"I have been in discussion with him about what they will be doing, and I want the party to be able to release their stuff when they choose to release it," Morrison said.

Asked how other parents with autistic children can trust the party when they don't know what's planned, Morrison replied: "They will know what the party plans to do in the next two days ... I am very reassured. I have no worries at all about what the platform will be with the NDP."

Good luck on October 10th Nancy!

Read more »

No Autism Proposals, So Far, In Ontario Election

Autism, not surprisingly, has become a hot issue in the Ontario election with both opposition parties slamming Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty's notorious about face on autism as reported in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. But so far there has been little indication of autism plans or proposals put forth by any of the parties. That could change in the next few days though, according to the report in the Toronto Star , which noted that NDP leader Howard Hampton, after slamming McGuinty, still wasn't ready to announce his party's autism plans:

Hampton had no problem putting his $7.50 in Gabison's bowl but he wasn't willing to say exactly what his party would do for autistic children if elected.

Parents will have to wait "a couple of days" to hear his plans, he said.

...

Nancy Morrison - who received the promise letter from McGuinty in the last election — is now the NDP candidate in York Simcoe.

Parents will like what they hear from Hampton on autism, she said.

Read more »

Autism Promise Breaker - Can He Be Trusted?

Autism Promise Breaker, Ontario Liberal leader, and current Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, is being ripped for his infamous broken autism pledge by his opponent, Conservative Leader John Tory, in the press release which follows this comment. McGuinty did not just break his autism pledge, he fought tooth and nail the very parents of autistic children he had pledged to help. Can Dalton McGuinty be trusted - by anyone? Ontario voters will answer that question in Ontario Election 2007.








Photo - CBC



JOHN TORY 2007 CAMPAIGN:

Dalton McGuinty's Record on Autism

    TORONTO, Sept. 7 /CNW/ - For a politician who claims he wants to run on
his record and who claims that he's "being straight with people," Dalton
McGuinty sure has a funny way of showing it.

 <<>>

 Now, on the eve of an election, Dalton McGuinty is making yet another
promise to children with autism. And if, as he's so fond of saying, the best
predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, then why should the parents
of autistic children trust Dalton McGuinty?

 Leadership Matters.

For further information: Mike Van Soelen, (647) 722-1760

Read more »

Ontario Autism Coalition Ask Letter

The Ontario Autism Coalition is determined to get the political parties on the record in the Ontario Election 2007 with clear, specific answers to important autism questions. Ontario autism families were burned the last time out by the Promise Breaker, Ontario Liberal Leader and current Premier, Dalton McGuinty. The OAC will not be fooled in this election and is working hard at forging a political-social-moral contract with each party with respect to autism issues in Ontario. The precedent set by the OAC could be helpful in other elections across Canada, including the federal election expected, by some, to take place in the next year.


Ontario Autism Coalition Member Update September 05, 2007

Please distribute to all lists.

Formal Presentation of OAC "Ask" to All Political Parties in Ontario The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) is a grassroots organization with over 600 active members throughout the Province of Ontario. Our members are connected to thousands of families and supporters affected by autism. The OAC is determined to ensure the delivery of services and supports to families and individuals with Autism in the Province of Ontario. As political parties in the Province of Ontario prepare for a Provincial election this fall, the OAC seeks commitment from all Provincial parties and has therefore sent the following letter to the leaders of each party (Liberal, PC, NDP, Green Party) and has asked for their response in writing by September 14, 2007. The OAC will then communicate their responses with the entire autism community and the media.

From: Laura Kirby-McIntosh To: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; gsmitherman.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; michael.bryant@jus.gov.on.ca; john.toryco@pc.ola.org; christine.elliott@pc.ola.org; frank_klees@ontla.ola.org; lisa.macleod@pc.ola.org Cc: ndpmail@ndp.on.ca; nancymorrison@ontariondp.com; cheridinovo@ontariondp.com; francegelinas@ontariondp.com; vserda@bmts.com; gpoadmin@magma.ca; lhelferty@sympatico.ca

Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2007 10:08:52 PM
Subject: Ontario Autism Coalition: REQUEST FOR POLICY INFORMATION

Dear Candidate(s):

As we near the official start of the provincial election campaign, I am writing to you on behalf of the Ontario Autism Coalition (the "OAC") to ask for information on your party's autism policy.

The OAC is a grassroots advocacy group made up of concerned parents, relatives and friends of children with autism. The group formed in 2005 and has since grown into an Ontario-wide organization with over 600 members. We receive no government funding, and we are not a charity. We are focused on direct political action to bring about positive changes for our children. Between 2005 and 2007, the OAC organized over 20 rallies to draw public attention to the need for publicly funded programs that effectively meet the needs of individuals in the Autism community. The OAC has also met with numerous government policy advisors, senior provincial Cabinet Ministers and M.P.P.’s from each of Ontario’s three major political parties.

The OAC is committed to placing autism issues front and centre in the upcoming provincial election campaign. We will be hosting events, issuing press releases and organizing parents throughout the upcoming weeks to ensure that all candidates—as well as our fellow citizens—are aware of our concerns.

The OAC is asking for a written response from you and your party to the following three points:

1) We want the next provincial government to allow Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) instructor therapists currently working within the Autism Intervention Program (AIP) entry into the school system so that scientifically valid, supervised Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) can be implemented. Children receiving intensive ABA through the AIP and students attending school should receive the same quality of ABA services.

2) We want the next provincial government to eliminate the wait list in the AIP and fully fund services for all children with Autism—from the mild to severe end of the Autism Spectrum.

3) We want the next provincial government to develop a formal credentialing system and a proper training and recruitment system for the implementation of ABA to ensure accountability and capacity within the system.

We are sending this request not only to you, but to all parties—Liberal, Progressive Conservative, New Democrat and Green. We would appreciate receiving an official response from you no later than Friday, September 14, 2007. Your leaders and/or local candidates are also welcome to respond by attending our Autism Day of Action the following day. On Saturday, September 15th, we’ll be holding events in several different cities—you can get more details by visiting our website at http://www.ontarioautismcoalition.com.

While we are happy to receive any feedback you may wish to share, we encourage you to respond specifically to the three points we’ve mentioned above. We will post your responses on our website and share them with our members and with the public over the course of the campaign. If you have any documents, links or video messages you would like us to place on our website, we would be happy to receive them as well.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in meeting in person, please feel free to contact me. Enjoy the campaign!

Sincerely,

Laura Kirby-McIntosh
Co-founder, Ontario Autism Coalition
Phone: 905-761-5226
E-mail: mailto:tosh555@hotmail.com

Read more »