Katherine L’Etang, mother of two autistic children enrolled in the new program since last summer, explains that there is very little information on the processing of her children’s files. Her 5-year-old son received the funding under the old provincial program.
She is still waiting for a response to the request for her 3-year-old daughter. So she had to pay thousands of dollars out of her own pocket for a support program. According to her, these therapy services are very important at this age.
« We need to understand what is going on, our needs don’t seem to be taken seriously. »
Katherine L’Etang points out that if it weren’t for the private program, her daughter’s development and progress would have been severely affected.
At first, she didn’t speak, she walked around daycare by herself, and she had no friends. I don’t know how she was going to be able to live her life this way
she explains.
The portal, called AccessPOSA, launched in the spring of 2022 and was created as part of the Ontario Program for Autism Services (POSA). The latter would allow families to be matched with a coordinator to assess whether the application is eligible for funding.
April, which marks the start of Autism Awareness Month, also marks one year since the launch of the AccèsPOSA portal. Many families, still waiting for services, are concerned about the development of their children.
Expensive therapies
Depending on the needs of the child, one or more essential clinical programs may be required, including behavior analysis services, speech therapy or intensive behavioral intervention services.
« These are not services covered by insurance, if families do not receive the money, they often have to pay with their own money. »
According to Venessa MacAsGail, intensive therapies for children with autism can cost families up to $200,000 a year.
She points out that after funding for essential clinical services is approved, families receive between $40,000 and $60,000.
Even though the maximum funding is given to parents, it is not enough to pay for all the necessary services, an initial consultation can cost between 100 and 300 dollars per hour
she points out.
Mélanie Lalande, executive director of the Regroupement autisme Prescott-Russell, explains that respite services are not covered under the province’s new program.
She describes the scale of the problem as being a wheel that spins endlessly
.
So mom and dad have to work harder to cover those respite costs.
she explains.
She sees that Ontario has a lot of work to do in order to meet the needs of the community and to catch up with the other provinces.
The government claims to have reached its target
In an email, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services says the goal of 8,000 Ontario families enrolled in the program has been met.
However, Katherine L’Etang explains that registration is a first step and that there has been no progress in her application. She has not received a needs assessment date from her daughter or a call from a coordinator since June 2022.
We are lucky that we can afford these services, but they are not affordable for many families and I don’t know what these parents will do.
.