Wait lists growing for autism treatment in Ontario

Thousands more Ontario children with autism are on waiting lists for treatment than 10 years ago, and government figures suggest the number of kids receiving treatment may actually be dropping.

7-year-old boy waiting for government-funded treatment for 3 years

Allison Jones The Canadian Press Posted: Nov 03, 2015 9:54 PM EST | Last Updated: November 4, 2015

Tracy MacCharles, Ontario's Minister Responsible for Women's Issues, agrees that the wait list for autism treatment in the province 'are too high.' (CBC News)

Thousands more Ontario children with autism are onwaiting lists for treatment than 10 years ago, and government

figures suggest the number of kids receiving treatment may actuallybe dropping.

The NDP submitted a Freedom of Information request for thenumbers of children with autism spectrum disorders on wait lists forIntensive Behavioural Intervention and Applied Behaviour Analysisand found dramatically increasing numbers.

In 2005-06, there were 753 kids waiting for IBI and now there are2,192. In 2011-12, when ABA funding began, there were 2,784 kids onthe wait list and now there are 13,966, though some children may beon both lists.

Kara Onofrio's seven-year-old son has been waiting forgovernment-funded treatment for three years, and she has been toldhe will likely be on the wait list for another two. In the meantime,Onofrio has been paying $40,000 a year out of pocket to have her sonin therapy part-time, she said.

"You feel like your child's not going to live a full life untilyou start to see the results from therapy," Onofrio said. "For myhusband and I, $40,000 a year is worth it, but not a lot of familiescan do that and it's not fair that they have to suffer."

Life-changing therapy

Onofrio, who also established Autism's Angels -- an organizationthat raises money for autism charities -- said the therapy Justin hasreceived has been "life changing."

"I can't fathom where he would be if he didn't have thatintervention early," she said. "It scares me."

Estimates from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services showthat the wait lists are growing exponentially faster than the numberof children receiving government-funded treatment.

Only five more children were expected to receive IBI treatmentthis year than last, an increase of just 61 more children since2007-08. The number for ABA actually dropped from a high of 8,926 in2013-13 to 8,000 this year -- though some children may receive morethan one ABA treatment in a year.

Tracy MacCharles,Minister of Children & Youth Services andMinister Responsible for Women's Issues, said after question period she was"not entirely sure" about the decrease.

The government is constantly working to improve the services itprovides and is investing more than $190 million in autism servicesthis year, an increase of more than $100 million since 2004,MacCharles said.

But she couldn't point to what specifically the government woulddo to tackle the wait lists, saying it would be part of an autismstrategy based on expert advice.

"We have new diagnostic tools, which may be contributing to theupward climb," she said. "The reality is the numbers on the waitlists are too high. I would totally agree with that. It's a hugearea of focus for me."

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Wait lists growing for autism treatment in Ontario

7-year-old boy waiting for government-funded treatment for 3 years

Life-changing therapy

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