Backlash sparks more changes to autism program, parents still push for needs-based funding

Some parents in Windsor say Ontario's latest changes to the autism program are positive, but they are only a small step in the right direction.

Fierce backlash ensued when the PC government announced that funding will be handed out to families based on age of the child and income of the household, rather than the needs of the child.

Rallies took place across the province, with a large protest on the lawn of Queen's Park in early March, where hundreds showed up to protest.

On Thursday, the province changed course, announcing that household income will no longer be a consideration. However, funds will still be distributed based on the child's age. 

Jillian Fenech, a Windsor mother of an 8-year-old with autism, was one of those protesters.

"Having income testing was not only unnecessary, but really insulting to families," she said.

Another positive for Fenech is that funding has now expanded to cover speech language pathology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

However, Fenech wants the province to take on a needs-based funding model.

Program under the most recent changes

Currently the proposed program sees kids under the age of six eligible for $20,000 a year, to a lifetime maximum of $140,000. Once a child turns six, funding would drop to $5,000 a year until they are 18.

For children who enter the program after six-years old, they would be eligible for up to $5,000 a year up to a maximum of $55,000 by the time they turn 18.

Fenech said autism is a spectrum disorder and "a one-size-fits-all plan" is not going to help the kids.

"As they grow, they may need more support or less support," she said. "For individuals on the spectrum, their needs change as they develop."

Sherri Taylor, another Windsor mom, agrees. She had been advocating for her son for four years.

"We still need to look at those needs based funding model, simply because when you meet one child with autism, you've met one child with autism," Taylor said.

Listen to Taylor's conversation with Afternoon Drive's guest host Jonathan Pinto by tapping the player below:

During the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod's announcement on Thursday, she said she will be taking parents' input to assess how to "better support those with complex needs and provide additional supports for them."

'This plan is a bad plan'

While Fenech and Taylor are glad to see some change in a positive direction, NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky criticizes MacLeod for the "incredible amount of turmoil" that parents have experienced.

Not only that, she said the roundtables that the province held before the initial program revamp announcement did little to inform the changes.

"It was clear that they had already made up their mind as far as the plan, that the whole process of having these roundtables was a sham," said Gretzky.

She thinks the province needs to go back to the drawing board.

"This one teeny little step that they've tried to make really isn't changing the fact that this plan is a bad plan, and it needs to be scrapped," she said.

The new program is set to take effect April 1.