“I’d like to see a focus on inclusion”: Parents respond to the new plans for autism policy in Ontario

A4A Ontario

There are tens of thousands of families across Ontario who never accessed the former Liberal government’s autism funding (OAP) even though they would have benefited greatly from financial assistance. There are three big reasons for this:

1. Lack of funding for diagnostic services in the old plan (OAP);
2. Huge waitlists for services under the OAP; and
3. Only one type of service–an outmoded one—was available under the OAP.

Now we have a new government that has promised to start fixing these barriers to service. The Progressive Conservatives’ new plan:

1. Doubles the number of diagnostic services available;
2. Cuts the waitlist and serves an additional 23,000 families, focusing on families earning less than $55,000, who were underserved by the former plan;
3. Allows families a choice of service providers, not just ABA.

We wanted to get a sense of how parents are feeling, so we spoke to some of the parents who reached out to…

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