McGuinty Government Delivering More Support For Students With Autism

    Nearly $6 Million Being Invested In New Autism Initiatives To Help     Students Succeed
    TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is improving the learning environment for students with autism spectrum disorders by directing all school boards to provide Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Education Minister Kathleen Wynne announced today.     “All students with autism deserve equal access to this vital teaching approach that can improve their focus on individual projects and strengthen their communication with other students in the classroom,” said Wynne. “We are implementing our plan to ensure students with autism receive the best education possible.”     The Ministry of Education instructed school boards today that they must provide programs that use ABA methods to students who need it. This directive is part of the government’s response to the recommendations of Autism Reference Group report, Making a Difference for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Ontario Schools: From Evidence to Action, received earlier this year.     The implementation of ABA will be supported by extensive staff training starting with six to eight representatives, including superintendents, principals, teachers, teaching assistants, school support staff and Special Education Advisory Committee members, from each school board over the next two months. This will be followed by school team training - funded through a $1-million investment - for up to 1,400 principals, educational assistants and teachers over the summer months.     Additionally, the government has provided a grant of $2.75 million to the Geneva Centre for Autism. “We are very grateful for the government’s support so we can provide further training on ABA approaches to school staff in the fall,” said Margaret Whelan, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Autism. “This investment will allow educators to help more students with autism succeed.”
    <<     The government is also taking the following initiatives recommended in the reference group report:
    -   Implementing research-based collaborative approaches with school         staff and community groups to deliver autism services to students.         This will be supported through a $2-million investment     -   Requiring principals to have transition plans for students with         autism when they start school, move between grades and schools, and         move on to colleges, universities or the workplace     -   Creating a resource guide for teachers, educational assistants,         administrators and other staff on the most effective ways to teach         students with autism     -   Encouraging school boards to establish multi-disciplinary teams that         include parents and provide input into a student’s individual         education plan     -   Meeting with the Minister’s Advisory Council on Special Education         regarding implementation of the reference group report. The first         meeting will take place on June 7.
    “The reference group’s report has been very helpful as we work to ensure that children and youth with autism spectrum disorder receive the supports they need to achieve success,” said Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers. “Our government has been making great strides on several fronts and we are determined to do more.”
    Other ways that the government is working together with the community to support students with autism include:
    -   Assessing all children referred to the Autism Intervention Program         since July 2005 regardless of age     -   Increasing the number of children receiving Intensive Behavioural         Intervention services outside of the classroom to more than 1,100 - a         105 per cent increase since April 2004     -   Tripling the support for children with autism and their families         since 2003-04 - increased funding to nearly $130 million in 2007-08     -   Increasing the number of qualified autism professionals graduating         each year from the Ontario College Graduate Certificate Program in         Autism and Behavioural Science to 220 by 2008-09     -   Reducing the wait list for assessment by 69 per cent since 2004     -   Training up to 1,600 childhood educators and child care workers and         5,000 educational assistants who work with children with autism         through the Geneva Centre for Autism
    “I’m very pleased that the government is taking action so quickly in response to the reference group’s report,” said Lynn Ziraldo, chair of the Autism Reference Group. “This government has shown a strong commitment to reaching every student with autism.”
                              www.edu.gov.on.ca                            www.ontario.ca/progress     >>
 

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For further information: Michelle Despault, Minister’s Office (416) 212-3747; Patricia MacNeil, Communications Branch, (416) 325-2676; Public Inquiries: (416) 325-2929 or 1-800-387-5514, TTY: 1-800-263-2892