NEPEAN -- Parents of children with autism gathered outside the constituency office of Conservative MPP Jeremy Roberts on Sunday.
It’s the second rally in less than two weeks over the Ford government’s changes to autism services.
“Jeremy Roberts, whose office is right here, is working on the autism file. We’re here to say the timeline they’re presenting to children with autism is just not acceptable,” protestor Kate Logue said.
In January, the province announced a cap on the amount families would receive for autism services.
In addition, a program known as needs-based therapy – that was promised for the spring – was recently pushed to 2021.
Patrick Monaghan, a father of two, said he’s depleted his personal savings to support his children. His six-year-old son, Jack, has severe autism.
“Hundreds of thousands of dollars… that’s not an exaggeration,” he said, when trying to calculate how much money he’s spent out-of-pocket to support his kids.
The annual childhood budget his family received that went towards autism therapy ran out after six months, Monaghan said.
“We’d seen the benefits of what this therapy can do we’re like okay we’ll do it again and we’ve had to borrow from family we’ve emptied our savings we don’t have anything left.”
He and other parents at the rally are advocating for an interim plan until needs-based therapy is available.
Monaghan suggested renewable payments as one solution.
Last month, Todd Smith, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, defended the province’s progress and said it is taking the time to get things “right” and create a program that will work for years to come.
He has said a one-time funding cheque will help to hold families over until the new program is up-and-running.
“We’ll continue to stand here until every child in Ontario has the therapy that they need,” Kerry Monaghan said.
