Mar 8, 2019, Hundreds of families and advocates protest Ontario autism program changes https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/hundreds-of-families-and-advocates-protest-ontario-autism-program-changes-1.4327562
TORONTO -- Hundreds of families and advocates of children with autism protested at the Ontario legislature Thursday to plead with the government to reverse changes they say will leave kids without the therapy they need. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod announced last month that in order to clear a waiting list of 23,000 children, kids with autism would receive direct funding to pay for treatment. Families will get up to $20,000 per year for treatment for children under six and $5,000 a year for children six to 18, but intensive therapy can cost up to $80,000 a year…. Parents, advocates and some within the school system say if children with autism who are currently in intensive therapy no longer have those costs fully covered, they will be in classrooms before they've had the chance to develop necessary skills. That also means already-stretched educational assistant resources will be spread even thi