TORONTO (CP) - The thorny issue of public funding for treatment of
children with autism leapt into the Ontario election campaign Saturday, as
the New Democrats announced a proposal to provide blanket therapy for all
children who need it right in their classrooms - a strategy the Liberals
say is unsustainable.

An NDP government would provide publicly funded Intensive Behavioural
Intervention - a very expensive, one-on-one treatment - in classrooms for
all autistic children, Leader Howard Hampton said during a campaign stop.

Speaking at a park in a suburb north of Toronto, Hampton said he would
clear the waiting list that 900 children currently are on within three
years. About 1,400 kids are funded for the IBI treatment; many other
families pay out of pocket.

"With our Ontario autism strategy, a child who qualifies for IBI
treatment will benefit from the day they qualify," he said.

"No more long waiting lists, no longer the need for families to
mortgage or sell their homes to pay for their children’s therapy."

But, in an interview, Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne
Chambers said the issue can’t be solved by tossing money around.

"There simply aren’t enough autism support providers in Ontario to
provide one-on-one treatment with every child who needs it," she said.

The Liberal government has been working to hire more specialists and
establish and expand college training programs for therapists, Chambers
said, noting that spending on autism has tripled since the party took
power in 2003.

Sorting out what to do about funding for treatment for children with
autism has been a sticky issue for the Liberal government.

Critics have said the Liberals haven’t done enough to help parents
cover the costs, yet the government spent $2.4 million over seven years -
including several under Progressive Conservative rule - to fight parents
suing for treatment for kids over six.

Before July 2005, autism treatment was extended only to children under
the age of six. The change was the result of a campaign promise by Premier
Dalton McGuinty in 2003.

While schools are required to provide a broad range of Applied
Behavioural Analysis therapies, the decision on whether to allow IBI
currently remains at the discretion of school boards and principals.

Parents gave a mixed reaction to the NDP policy announcement, stressing
they are tired of the politics being played and want only whatever is best
for their children.

Mary Turner of Bradford, Ont., has three children with autism whom she
wishes could receive treatment in the classroom.

"My school is fantastic with my kids, and they would love to help them
more, but the funding just isn’t there," Turner said.

"It would be nice if the politics and policies weren’t there, and they
were looking after the best interests of the kids, and we could actually
get my private therapist into the school to help the school staff," she
said.

Turner said she needs to pull her daughter out of school to get the 20
hours of treatment the government allows. "We can’t do that and have her
still be a child," she said.

Cindy DeCarlo, the mother of a five-year-old autistic boy and
co-founder of the Alliance for Families with Autism, said while she’s
pleased by the attention being given to autism, she is concerned about
having an adequate infrastructure to support the children and therapists.

It’s encouraging that the three main political parties are considering
the needs of families touched by autism, but parents shouldn’t be given
false hope, she said.

"Regardless of who gets elected, there’s a lot of work to be done and
it’s not going to be a Band-Aid solution," she said.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory released an autism policy in
February, saying his party would clear the wait list for children under
six, continue support for school-age children, and provide a variety of
funding and service options to parents.

The Conservative policy would cost an additional $75 million annually.
The NDP policy would require an additional $100 million each year on top
of the $116 million the government now spends.

Hampton’s announcement was timed to coincide with a provincewide Day of
Action for children with autism, sponsored by the non-partisan Ontario
Autism Coalition.

Co-founder Laura Kirby-McIntosh, who has a seven-year-old son with
autism, said her group held rallies in six cities to raise awareness and
make sure autism is on the political agenda.

"We’re hoping that by visiting so many Liberal offices today we’ll
provoke a response out of them," she said.

The coalition, one of several broad-based autism groups in the
province, is calling for an end to the wait list, a framework to bring IBI
therapists into schools, and a formal accreditation system for therapists,
Kirby-McIntosh
said.