(Canada) Ontario: 60K KIDS on waitlist for autism services; 5 to 7 yr waitlist for help

October 16, 2023, Toronto City News: Parents call for change as waitlist for autism services grows to 60,000 in Ontario https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2023/10/16/parents-call-for-change-as-waitlist-for-autism-services-grows-to-60000-in-ontario/

Parents of children with autism protested at Queen's Park to draw attention to delays in therapy and problems in special education affecting autistic children. As Tina Yazdani reports, the waitlist to access core autism services has grown to 60,000.

VIDEO: They were promised they would never have to do this again, but today parents of children living with autism were at Queen’s Part to highlight critical problems in the autism program, including a waitlist to access the program that has doubled since the premier took office.

A modest, but loud crow on the front lawn of the legislature: Parents fighting for a better system for their children with autism describing the current one as a failure….

... Vincent is one of 60,000 children on a waitlist to access core services through the Ontario Autism Program. …

In 2019, the Ford government tried to revamp the former liberal government’s autism program, promising to clear the waitlist, which was around 23,000 children then. They promised to clear the waitlist and they’ve in fact tripled the waitlist.

Children who are diagnosed now are looking to at least 5 to 7 year wait list.

This government has created a program where early intervention is not possible. …They’ve doubled the program’s budget this year to over 660 million.

That budget will on fund 10,000 children for core clinical therapies, according to the government’s own records. …

I don’t think from a political perspective that this crowd is going to call the attention of the premier.

We have to decide as a society, do we care? Can we come out and support other parents whose children are disabled? This can happen to any of us….