(Canada) Ont: Tens of thousands of kids with ASD waiting for core services, but no real increase
What to know
Thousands of children in Ontario are still waiting for autism services, even as the
province invests nearly $1 billion [$722M US] annually into the Ontario Autism Program.
Service providers say demand remains high, with wait-lists across programs and some families waiting over a year for intensive supports. . . .
Many families are left paying out of pocket or going without care, while others only receive support once situations reach a crisis point.
As April marks National Autism Awareness Month, experts and service providers are continuing to raise concerns about how children with autism are being supported in Ontario.
These concerns come as the province says it is investing nearly $1 billion annually into the Ontario Autism Program through its 2026 budget, A Plan to Protect Ontario. But even with that funding, tens of thousands of children with autism are still waiting for core services.
This has resulted in frustration among thousands of families across the province, many of whom are left waiting sometimes for years for support.
To better understand how Ontario got here, and what the delay means, Now Toronto spoke with Marga Vicedo Castello, a professor at the University of Toronto in the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Terri Hewitt, CEO of service provider and non-profit organization Surrey Place, and Todd Cunningham, a professor at University of Toronto at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a clinical psychologist.
How autism has been understood and changed over time
For Marga Vicedo Castello, part of understanding today’s crisis means looking at the history of autism itself.
“What we think about autism has changed tremendously over the years, because in many different ways, I mean, from the way we use the word to how we conceive of the condition,” she said. . . .
“If it is classified as an illness, as a mental disease, then the access is medical access. If it is classified as a neurodevelopmental condition, in the U.S., for example, children get many more supports because then it’s part of the school system and it is more responsible for providing the support that the child might need to develop well.”
She also said growing diagnosis rates should not automatically be read as proof that autism itself is suddenly more common. Instead, she says the category has widened, stigma has decreased, and recognition has steadily improved.
“The diagnosis has increased because we’ve opened the category,” she said. “Because we’ve made the category wider, and also because we are sort of seeing more people. There is less stigma.”
Vicedo Castello said awareness alone is not enough.
“We need to move just from knowing that autism exists to making sure we know that racism existed for a long while and sexism existed. That’s not enough. We just have to end racism and sexism, and we need to end also the discrimination of people, you know, who are also different, neurodiverse.”
She said moving toward a more equitable approach to autism means not only understanding its history, but making sure support systems actually reflect that same understanding. . . .
“There’s a lot of children who are diagnosed, and so that wait list was really long to start with,” she said. “It’s not like the wait list is getting smaller.”
She added that part of that increase also comes from a growing public understanding of what autism can look like. . . .
“So early intervention is always the best thing.” . . .
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