Armed with signs and loud voices, autism activists took to the streets in downtown London, protesting the lengthy wait times children with autism face when searching for resources.
Jessica Ashton, an advocate and London mom, organized Wednesday’s walk up Richmond Street from Victoria Park to Liberal MPP and minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, Deb Matthews’ office. Her son, Ashton, was diagnosed with autism in June and is number 787 on a list for therapy.
“Act now, act fast. We don’t have six months, we don’t have a year to wait for them to implement these changes, we need change today,” she told 980 CFPL.
Research shows early intervention is crucial for children with autism, with 25 per cent of kids showing few signs of the disorder by the time they reach grade one, Ashton explained.
“My son no longer has that one-in-four chance, because he’s three-and-a-half and he won’t get early intervention.”
Ashton wants the government to offer direct funding for the 23,000 children province-wide who are waiting to receive therapy.
“You don’t have the overhead. You don’t have the administration fees. The money goes straight to the children.”
“Hey hey, ho ho, autism wait times have to go!” exclaimed several dozen parents, children, and advocates who chanted their way to Matthew’s Piccadilly Street constituency office.
Among them was 29-year-old Elsbeth Dodman. Diagnosed with autism at the age of 14, she said there’s been a lot of change in the supports that exist for people who fall on the spectrum — but things aren’t changing fast enough.
“It’s good to see people in support of young folks on the spectrum, and right now we have ridiculously high wait lists that are, frankly, unacceptable.”
But as an adult with autism, Dodman feels even more like she’s been left to her own defences and considers herself to be lucky working 13 hours a week at Heroes Comics.
Ontario Autism Coalition President Bruce McIntosh told 980 CFPL he and his wife nearly went bankrupt trying to get supports for their son Cliff, who was diagnosed a week before his third birthday.
The 18-year-old has a job and attends a regular school, his dad explained.
But things would be different if it weren’t for IBI (intensive behavioural intervention).
“They need to train more people to work with our kids,” explained McIntosh.
Last week, Ashton went to Queen’s Park with London West MPP Peggy Sattler, who presented a petition with more than 6,500 names and urged Premier Kathleen Wynne to take action.
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