Northern families join collective voice to 'bring a light' back to autism issue

The past year has been a roller coaster ridefor Ontario families with children on the Autism spectrum, with all the changes madeby the provincial government.

And families still have to wait another year to see what the government's new needs-based system will look like.

That's not good enough for parents like Sean Staddon of Sudbury.

Both of his children are on the autism spectrumand both need costly therapy and treatment. He says they can't afford to wait another yearand neither can other parents in northern Ontario.

"It's been one year of inaction by this government," said Staddon, who also speaks forthe Northern Ontario Autism Alliance.

In February 2019, the Conservative government announced the first adjustment to the autism program, where families would be given a fixed amount of money for therapy based on income and their child's age.

The program was tweaked in July, when then new Minister ofChildren, Community and Social Services Todd Smith saidthe February revamp wasn't working and that a needs-based program would be forthcoming.

Then in December, the provincial government announced that the needs-based program would not be ready until 2021.

"The temperature in the [autism] community is that we can not wait anymore and we need action," Staddon said.

Despite all the twists and turns, Staddon says the advocacy by parents and other supporters has gotten stronger during the past year.

"We're having service providers reach out to us for advice, other parents, and now we can't stop," he said.

"The momentum is being built, and it's really something that's near and dear to me."

'Services aren't there' in the north

On Tuesday, Staddon and about 30 others from Sudbury will head by bus to Toronto for a large rally at Queen's Park.

"This government only responds to negative press. They care a lot about their image, and not really about the fundamentals of doing good things for people," said Staddon, who is scheduled to speak at the rally.

"So I really hope that this brings a light back to some of the things the autism community has been through and that it speeds up Minister Todd Smith's ideas and gets the program back on the tracks."

Staddon says he wants to make sure provincial politicians understand the realities of having a child with autism in northern Ontario.

"Any child with a special need or an exceptionality is going to have challenges," he said.

"You can multiply that tenfold when you live in communities like Gogama, Manitouwadge or Timmins, or anything like that because the services aren't there."