Pandemic further delays autism support for kids who’ve spent years on wait lists – By Dan Taekema (CBC News) / Oct 10, 2022
Province says system was ‘broken’ and it will add 8,000 kids to core services by end of fall
Sonja Elliott is in a panic for her son Travis.
The sixth grader was diagnosed with autism four years ago and has been on a wait list for core clinical services from the Ontario government since.
In the meantime, she’s paying about $2,100 out of pocket each month for support, but estimates it’s still only half what Travis needs. The problem is, therapy centres aren’t taking on new kids.
“Every therapist I call … is a minimum six month wait time. A lot of them are up to a year or even longer.”
Some centres in Ottawa have closed their wait list altogether, according to Elliott.
CONTINUE > https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/autism-support-wait-list-covid-19-pandemic-1.6607071
