The Ontario government began rolling out the first phase of its new program for families with autistic children on Friday, but critics and parents remain skeptical of the plan.

Minister Todd Smith announced that a needs-based Ontario Autism Program will be phased in over two years, instead of being up and running in April as previously promised.

The panel, made up of parents, adults with autism, psychologists and behavioural analysts, was appointed after a massive outcry forced the government to backtrack on its plan.

The Ontario government's decision to reverse funding cuts to a child benefit program and the province's children's aid societies marks the latest in a series of instances in which Premier Doug Ford's or his ministers have backtracked on previous announcements.

OPSEU Local 474 is asking for "more consistent and reliable autism services provided by professionals and high-quality, needs-based autism services."

Ontario's Progressive Conservative government says it plans to regulate clinicians who provide applied behaviour analysis, a form of therapy used to support people with autism.

“Governments are forgetting people like me."

In a release, the Ontario government said it was instead charging its autism expert panel to consider what a “new needs-based and sustainable autism program would look like.”

KidsAbility announced Thursday that provincial government changes will force it to lay off 50 per cent of its staff at the beginning of next year.

Ontario's integrity commissioner says there are insufficient grounds to conduct an inquiry into alleged Lisa MacLeod comment.