Mary Beth Rocheleau just wants for her son what every other parent expects
for their children: a good education.

But unlike most other parents, Rocheleau said she has had to constantly fight
with the provincial Liberal government to ensure her seven-year-old son Gregory
and others like like him who have autism are granted a fair chance at education.

Rocheleau and about a dozen others continued their fight Saturday as they
held signs and chanted slogans such as "No more excuses!" and "No more lies" in
front of Windsor-West MPP Sandra Pupatello’s office as part of the province-wide
Autism Day of Action organized by the Ontario Autism Coalition.

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Mary Beth Rocheleau, centre, demonstrates along with supporters in front of Windsor-West MPP Sandra Pupatello’s office as part of the
Ontario Autism Coalition’s province-wide day of action Saturday. A mother of a
seven-year-old boy with autism, Rocheleau is calling on the government to invest
in programs and services to help autistic children.

Roberta Pennington, The Windsor Star

The demonstrators also displayed a life-size cardboard cutout of Premier
Dalton McGuinty with a foot-long wooden stick poking out of his face as his
nose.

"We want to bring attention to the citizens of Ontario about the issues
regarding autism and put some pressure on the politicians because we’re tired of
their broken promises," Rocheleau said. "When Dalton McGuinty got into office he
made a lot of promises … but he didn’t follow through."

Rocheleau and other coalition supporters, who also picketed at the office of
Essex MPP Bruce Crozier and several other locations throughout Ontario, maintain
McGuinty’s government failed to live up to its pledge to help children with
autism. Instead of boosting funding to reduce the number of autistic children
waiting for specialized therapy, Rocheleau said the Liberals have done "very
little" while in power.

"When (McGuinty) got into office, there was less than 100 kids on the wait
list, there’s over 1,000 now waiting for the therapy," she said, stressing the
need for funding to cut the educational therapy wait list.

Additionally, the activists are calling for the specialized therapists —
known as intensive behavioural intervention instructors — to be accredited and
allowed into the public school system.

"It’s the only scientifically proven method to work with children with
autism," Rocheleau said, adding her son has to be kept home from school to
receive the therapy. "If Gregory was deaf or blind, he’d be allowed to bring his
facilitator in. We’re just asking for the same rights for kids with autism."

Pupatello’s office was closed at the time of the demonstration and no one
from her Party showed up for the event. Candidates representing the Progressive
Conservative and NDP camps for the Windsor-West riding stopped by to show their
support.

Lisa Lumley, a Conservative candidate for the district, said it is critical
for the government to financially support programs to help families with
autistic children.

"We’ve got to put more financing into it so they can get the help that they
need," Lumley said. "We need to be there to help them. John Tory is planning on
providing them I believe it’s $75 million more to help clear the wait
lists."

NDP leader Howard Hampton also made a campaign promise — at a Brampton
playground as the setting — to invest $100 million toward services for children
with autism.

For Jennifer Jones, whose four-year-old son has autism, the attention the
coalition’s activism has captured gives her "hope" for her son Mitchell’s
educational future.

"Within this next year we hope something will change," Jones said. "We’re
hoping, we’re hoping. Every year we can hope."