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At Issue: Local Clinician, Parents Discuss Autism Funding Changes
New funding assessment guidelines in the Ontario Autism Program have local parents and behavioural therapists worried that kids may not receive the support they need.
According to a government report, released in early January, funding for the care and therapy of children who are living with Autism will be distributed by independent intake organizations.
According to an emailed statement from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the organizations will “determine each child’s profile of support need, managing the dispute-resolution process, and establishing coordinated and integral regional service networks across the province, in addition to many other roles.”
But that system seems unclear, says Amanda Baysarowich, founder and director of IBI Behavioural Services in Barrie, an organization that provides individualized therapy programs to kids living with Autism.
“There’s huge concern with the new needs-based program,” said Baysarowich. “It’s not going to be needs based, based on what the child clinically requires. It’s actually going to be needs-based, based on an independent intake organization.”
Some parents with children who currently access funding, which they say is integral to their kids development, are worried they might lose funding under this new system.
“If we don't continue to receive the minimal funding that we receive from the government, we don’t know what we’ll do,” said Katerina Henderson, whose six-year-old son was diagnosed with Autism at two years old.
Her and her partner were paying out of pocket for therapy for their son for over 18 months while on a waitlist for funding. That’s thousands of dollars per month.
“When you’re paying over a hundred dollars an hour for occupational therapy, it really adds up per month. And that’s just occupational therapy, on top of speech therapy and IBI therapy.”
In 2019, the Ontario government switched the funding model to a flat, $20,000 or $5,000 funding model. Baysarowich says that while that figure may seem like a lot to many Ontarians, it’s not adequate for the amount of care many kids who live with Autism need.
“When you really break down the cost of services, and intense services, inter-disciplinary services -- a psychologist on your team -- $20,000 is really just a splash in the pan, said Baysarowich.
After public outcry, the Ford government promised a switch back to needs-based funding. However, this model of assessing needs doesn’t line up with Baysarowich’s professional experience of identifying the amount of care a child living with Autism needs.
“You’re going to have someone see your child once in their lives, and then determine their need. And then you’re going to have someone who doesn't have clinical experience with your child, in a supervisory role, is going to benchmark your child, and tell your child how much longer they have in therapy.”
The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services stated the following about needs-based funding allocation: “Once a child’s profile of support need is determined, families will receive a corresponding funding allocation that can be used to purchase eligible core clinical services.
The determination of needs process is separate and distinct from the clinician-based assessment that would be completed by a clinician as the first step of treatment planning and core clinical service provision.”
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