Quinte West council to demand support from government for autistic children

By Olivia Waldriff

BELLEVILLE – Quinte West council will send a letter to the provincial government asking it to reinstate funding for treatment for autistic children.

In February 2019 the government announced it will stop funding Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy, which focuses on improving behaviours such as social skills, communication, reading and academics, as well as fine motor skills, hygiene, grooming, punctuality and job competence. 

Trenton resident Erin Rogerson of Quinte Autism Advocates, mom to an 11-year-old autistic boy, gave a presentation to council Monday night explaining how the cuts to the funding have affected children with autism.

ABA therapy is one on one and needs to be done 30 to 40 hours a week, Rogerson said. 

“We have had enough of waiting. These kids need help,” she said.

Rogerson began seeking help for her son in 2011, but he was put on the waiting list for four years before he was able to see a therapist, she said.

“Every day we struggled because my son couldn’t talk. We were isolated as a family. We couldn’t go to the park. We couldn’t go to the mall. We couldn’t go to the pool. People would stare at us or make rude comments, or he would get overwhelmed.”

In London, Ont., where her family formerly lived, her son was able to get a year and a half of ABA therapy before her husband, who’s in the military, was posted to Trenton, she said.

When the government cut ABA funding, it promised families with autistic children funding that would allow them to pay for therapy themselves. It said it would provide up to $20,000 a year for children under five and $5,000 a year for children over five.

But Rogerson said ABA therapy costs $60,000 to $80,000 a year, so that money wouldn’t even cover one month of treatment for her son. 

“It’s not acceptable. It puts the future of our children on hold,” she said. “And that’s scary.”

Meanwhile, last July, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, who is Ontario’s minister of children, community and social services, announced that the government would increase funding for services like ABA therapy as of April 2020. But in December, he said it would be postponed until 2021. 

There are 350 families in the Quinte region with a child on the austism spectrum, Rogerson said. 

“These families can’t wait this long. (The government is) making these children into less productive members of society.”

She asked council to send a statement to the government to support families with autistic children and reinstate ABA therapy immediately. 

Belleville council sent the same message after a presentation by Quinte Austism Advocates on Feb. 6.

A motion to support Rogerson’s request on Monday was put forward by Coun. David McCue and seconded by Coun. Allan DeWitt. The vote was unanimously in favour of it.

“It’s not just simply about a government that wants to save money,” said Coun. Terry Cassidy. “It’s got to be about the quality of life for people that need this. The difference that (ABA therapy) makes is unbelievable.

“We have to get involved in saying to a government that says ‘Money is the No. 1 priority’ that this has got to be a high enough priority to do it and do it now. Don’t delay it for years … this council does not agree with that and we want to see some action on the government to get it right.”

 Coun. Linda Reid told Rogerson: “I’d like to thank you for being such a good mom and for standing up for your son and for all the children in the area.”

 Coun. Sally Freeman added: “I can’t even fathom what you’re going through. I really can’t. If I were Todd Smith I would not be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing that these children are not getting what they need. This isn’t some little extra something. This is a need for these children. We want them to grow up to be productive adults someday, and how can they be if they’re being ignored now?”