Aug 16, 2018, Toronto Globe and Mail: The high cost of special-needs programming https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-the-high-cost-of-special-needs-programming/ Afshan Tafler has left no stone unturned in a bid to get help for her son, who has a form of autism known as pervasive developmental disorder and who also shows signs of giftedness. The Toronto-based whole-life coach enrolled him in a private school with smaller class sizes and an on-site occupational therapist. She also pays an additional $10,000 a year – above the school’s $23,000 tuition – for an even smaller, personalized program within the school that tailors the curriculum to his learning style. Then there are the specialized gymnastics lessons which cost $75 a week, the tutoring ($150 for two one-hour weekly sessions) and a $75 session a week with a psychologist who specializes in special-needs children. In the past, she has paid for physical therapy, play therapy, yoga and music programs, and speech therapy. She’s now enrolled him in a neurofeedback program, which involves tracking brain activity thorough sensors to try to identify neurological weaknesses and use visual cues to help the brain function better…. Many Canadian parents feel the public- and private-school systems simply can’t support their kids with special needs and are seeking out more specialized programs to help their children. But many programs aren’t covered under provincial or private-benefits plans, leaving parents out-of-pocket for thousands of dollars…. In addition to being underchallenged, many kids with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or learning disabilities simply get lost in large classrooms, says Aviva Goldberg, Toronto-based director of Works of Wonder, an in-home program that uses applied behaviour analysis (ABA) to help kids with autism, ADHD, or developmental disorders. Many languish on long waiting lists for school-led psychological and educational evaluations and other programs. … With funding dropping, parents step in. It’s why Ron Malis, a Toronto-based financial adviser, is all for using as many provincially-funded programs as possible. Seventy per cent of Mr. Malis’s clients are parents of kids with disabilities. “They are spending a significant amount of money on therapy, private schools and specialized child care,” he says, adding that programs such as ABA therapy can cost $5,000 a month….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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