The Ottawa mother who left her severely autistic son at a government office earlier this week says she is stunned by the support she's received. Thursday afternoon, Amanda Telford got the call she had wanted for years, confirming her 19-year-old son Philippe has a safe place to stay in a group home.
Telford says she had no idea the floodgates she was opening when she made that difficult decision to leave her son Tuesday morning at the offices of Developmental Services Ontario.
Now there is a temporary solution for her but she knows the fight is just beginning for thousands of other families.
Telford spent last evening doing something most of us take for granted: watching the Senators’ playoff game and having a good nights' sleep.
"I had a beautiful night sleep,” says Telford, “and I’m so relieved that Philippe will be safe and in appropriate environment.”
Philippe is non-verbal autistic and also has diabetes. He functions at the level of a 2 year old. Telford and her husband were both at the breaking point and physically ill when she made the drastic decision last Tuesday morning to leave her son in the care of the government.
CTV Ottawa first broke her story on Tuesday. It quickly garnered national attention as viewers sympathized with her plight and others shared their stories of similar struggles.
"The system is still horribly broken,” says Al Roberts, who made a similar decision 3 years ago when he refused to bring home his autistic son Dillon, who was 17 years old at the time. Roberts agrees the system is in crisis. An estimated 12-thousand Ontario families are waiting for supported housing. Miriam Fry is with Families Matter, a group that supports families caring for children like Philippe. She says the system is in drastic need of an overhaul.
"A system that treats its most vulnerable members as non-people from the age of 18 onwards.
What kind of compassionate society are we living in,” says Fry, “because that’s what they’re saying. We will give you $900 a month and go away.”
Yesterday's Ontario budget included more money to improve housing and supports for families.
Amanda Telford hopes her story can be the catalyst for change.
“We need to keep this going,” she says.
With Philippe now in temporary care at a group home in Ottawa, she promises to be part of it.
“I do need to take care of my own health but I would also like to play a role in helping come up with better services and long term solutions for other families.”
In fact, planning is already underway for a meeting of minds early next week to capitalize on the momentum still building around this issue.
