Parents have shared great worry about the Government's recent changes to the Ontario Autism Program and we have heard your concerns. My colleague, MPP Monique Taylor, the Official Opposition Critic for Children and Youth Services, has been advocating strongly with parents and families. MPP Taylor is calling on the government to fund families according to the needs of their children, and stop any plan that forces families to cope with a cut.
Intensive therapies cost up to $70, 000 a year, but the funding model the Ford Conservatives unveiled today averages just $8,750 per year for children that start receiving funding at two years old.
Please sign our petition below.
TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:
WHEREAS every child with autism deserves access to sufficient treatment and support so that they can live to their fullest potential;
WHEREAS the Ontario Autism Program was badly broken under the Liberals, and the changes introduced by the Conservatives have made it worse;
WHEREAS the new funding caps are based on age and income, and not the clinical needs of the child;
WHEREAS Ontario needs a true investment in evidence-based autism services that meets the needs of autistic children and their families;
WE THE UNDERSIGNED petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to invest in equitable, needs-based autism services for all children who need them.