Last week Children and Families Minister Mary Polak cut funding to Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) programs targeted at working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), saying that the $70,000 that was given to families was unfair the the other families throughout the province who received $20,000 and then went on to say that regarding the EIBI programs they were "not seeing any appreciable improvements in the outcomes for those kids".
Really? Do you live with a child with Autism? Have you had a child at the age of four sit in fits of rage lashing out at you because they cannot explain to you verbally what it is that is bothering them or because you tried to hold their hand? Have you then sat with that same child a year later who has had sessions with speech therapists, interventionists, and behavioural analysts and has begun to communicate either verbally or with picture cards and can handle physical contact? Having had a summer of working with children with ASD through Recreation Integration Victoria, kids who had been in the EIBI programs and those that had not, it's amazing to see the difference those intervention sessions provide to both the child and their families.
Now Polak is trying to take back her statement, saying that the comment was based on four-year-old research and that sure, the program has made a lot of advances, but the reason for closing down the EIBI programs has nothing to do with quality, it has to do with fairness. She nows says "this is an issue of equity and it's an issue of access".
Ok, my reaction to this is I think what she is only now trying to get at, they're trying to take the money that was directed to the EIBI program and boost the $20,000 families were getting to $22,000. Good step, but not enough. $22,000 still does not make up for the fact that many families do not even know where to begin when it comes to Autism intervention. I think that the mother of one child with ASD, Laurie Cole, says it best, "they should be equalizing in the other direction by creating more EIBI programs". If they chose to take these successful programs and begin to create more and have them in various rural and urban communities, more families will be able to benefit. How hard is it to come to that realization? I know there is stuff I'm probably missing from the ministry/application side, but come on!
Scrapped autism program was unfair: Polak
You know we are living in dark days indeed when the government begins dismantling the therapy funding for helpless children. I suppose it is a smart move by the government as these children can’t voice their concern over the negative impact this will have on their future and huge increase in cost it will later have to society.
ReplyDeleteIs this the type of government we voted for?
Approximately one in a 150 boys is diagnosed with Autism and this continues to rise at an increasing rate.
In a recent 50 million dollar Lotto 6/49 jackpot, the odds were one in 13,983,816. Hundreds of thousands of parents bet on this jackpot. Your odds are considerably better with an Autism diagnosis.
Save your lottery money, you will need it if your child is diagnosed.
The government of British Columbia offers these families $20,000/year to cover therapy up to the age of six. Therapy costs approximately $80,000/year. This therapy is scientifically proven to be effective and is well documented. This means families who have a child who has been diagnosed with Autism have to find $60,000 from somewhere. This is often debt.
Most of these parents divorce. Selling the family house to fund therapy is common. The sale of most items of value to generate funds for therapy is a given. A life of guilt and depression is to be expected. Alienation from friends and family will occur.
Their life as they knew it is now over.
If they are lucky their child won’t bolt and get lost for days. If they’re lucky their child will learn to refrain from self damaging behavior. If they’re lucky, their child will learn not to throw up after eating. If they’re lucky, their child will learn to speak a few words. If they’re lucky their child will not be teased, ridiculed, beaten up and harassed on a daily basis at school. If they’re lucky their child will graduate from high school.
Most won’t be that lucky.
Last week, without any consultation or warning, the Mary Polak (Minister of Family and Children Development) pulled the rug out from under these parents who are already enduring so much by eliminating their ability to control these funds. The government, who have consistently failed to understand the needs of these families has taken it upon itself to eliminate the option to do Direct Funding (direct from the parents to the service providers) and has instead dictated that these parents have to tow the line of mandated Invoice Funding where the government pays the service providers. This will increase overhead costs, delay the payments, reduce the quality of care and will make paying these service providers extremely difficult therefore reducing the amount of usable funds and discouraging assistance.
The frustration in the Autism community lies in the fact that these parents, who are on the brink of financial collapse, already spent precious funds to fight the government in the courts a few years ago to protect their children and won the Auton lawsuit (Auton vs BC Gov). The government at that time did finally put Direct Individualized Funding into place. This allowed parents to fund their child’s ABA programs and since that time parents have built a strong, quality base of ABA service providers that is making a real difference to these children. The ABA program takes a child who would otherwise be lifelong financial burden on the society and in many cases makes him/her self sufficient.
In these financial times are we prepared to sacrifice the children? Do we want to go down this low moral road? Are we prepared to make the small amount of funds these parents receive that much less and that much more difficult to put into action? Why is the government spending more tax money just to make it difficult for these parents?
For all that is good and decent, please spare the children.