NDP promises millions for children with autism

A New Democrat provincial government would correct a Liberal broken promise
by investing $100 million a year to provide much needed services for children
with autism, says Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton.

"This is something we need to do," said Hampton at a playground in Bradford
on Saturday morning. "We can’t afford to allow children to languish on a waiting
list when we know we can make this kind of difference in their lives. And the
money is there. The money just hasn’t been spent wisely."

Accompanied by York Simcoe NDP candidate Nancy Morrison and several children
with autism including Morrison’s 8-year-old son Sean, Hampton pledged that the
new funding would be devoted to respite care, research into the causes of
autism, and — "most importantly" — clearing the waiting list for the autism
therapy known as intensive behaviour intervention (IBI).

Hampton and Morrison said the NDP would ensure that IBI services would be
available in classrooms for all children with autism who qualify by
psychological assessment.

"With our Ontario Autism Strategy, a child who qualifies for IBI treatment
will benefit from the day that they qualify. No more long waiting list," Hampton
said.

According to Hampton, the Liberal government has allowed the list to balloon
to around 1,100 names, more than 12 times what it was previously. Hampton said
he believes a NDP government could eliminate the list entirely within three
years.

Hampton also pointed to the Liberals’ lengthy legal fight against a group of
parents of children with autism, who took the Liberals to court for failing to
fulfill a 2003 election promise to fund IBI treatment for children over the age
of six.

The age restriction was eventually removed in the midst of the court
battle.

But Mary Turner, a 41-year-old mother of three children with autism,
said she still feels betrayed by the Liberals. "I feel like my vote has been
bought."

Turner said that in 2003, she voted for Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty "based
on his promise," only to watch children like her 10-year-old daughter Katie go
for four years without IBI treatment due to the government considering Katie too
old to qualify for funding.

Turner said she believes Katie’s development slowed down as a result, and it
breaks Turner’s heart to think about how beneficial the therapy would’ve been
for Katie.  "I think it’s lost time that we have to get back."

Hampton said the McGuinty Liberals spent $2.4 million in legal fees "to
justify the unjustifiable. Money was spent on lawyers that could have and should
have funded special treatment for children with autism for an entire year."

Asked how the NDP would pay for its proposed annual investment, Hampton said
that "the money was there, in this past budget year, to do this."

Hampton mentioned other Liberal money controversies such as a "secret $32.5
million slush fund" and $59 million originally slated for autism services until
the Liberals "quietly slid it out of the budget and spent it somewhere
else."

Asked why the NDP waited until now to announce its autism strategy, Hampton
said they chose Saturday to coincide with a day of action that was organized by
parents of children with autism.

Laura Kirby-McIntosh, a member of the Ontario Autism Coalition, said rallies
occurred on Saturday in six cities in the province, including outside Dalton
McGuinty’s offices in Ottawa.

Kirby-McIntosh said the coalition is "grassroots and independent," but she
was pleased by the NDP announcement. "It shows that one of the political parties
is taking the issue seriously."