www.yorkregion.com
Mar 16, 2008 04:06 PM
Re: Autistic kids deserve better treatment, editorial, Feb. 21.
I agree with your editorial on the subject of the Dalton McGuinty government?s poor treatment of children with autism and their families.
On Feb. 11, I attended proceedings at the Ontario Court of Appeal, where a three-judge panel was asked to decide if a class-action lawsuit could go ahead on behalf of autistic children seeking treatment within the Ontario public school system.
I was there to show my strong support for these parents whose own Liberal MPP had refused to attend.
This government?s continued discrimination against children with autism is a deplorable breach of trust. Children with other special needs receive education and therapy within the public school system, whereas autistic children in need of intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) and applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapies are forced to seek treatment elsewhere.
Only two children in the entire province receive IBI therapy while attending school full-time.
Ontario is the only North American jurisdiction that does not deliver IBI treatment within the public education system.
A March 2007 memorandum written by the deputy minister of education stated the focus of a policy memorandum on autism spectrum disorders would be the use of ABA teaching practices and not IBI.
By not permitting IBI treatment within schools, the McGuinty government is forcing the parents of autistic children to choose between education and therapy.
Just like any other child in Ontario, autistic children are entitled to an education and do not deserve to be treated as second-class citizens.
We need a comprehensive educational strategy that addresses the unique needs of all Ontario children, including those with autism.
What we don?t need is a government that chooses political expediency over even-handed assistance to all Ontarians, notably to those needing it most and least able to stand up for themselves.
Peter Shurman
MPP, Thornhill