News Release
For Immediate Release December 10, 2013
CHILDREN WAITING TOO LONG FOR ACCESS TO AUTISM PROGRAMS, AUDITOR GENERAL SAYS
(TORONTO) Screening for autism is often occurring late, and children
who are diagnosed then face long waits for access to some of the programs that
could help them, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says in her 2013 Annual Report.
In addition, certain services are not being directed to those that may benefit
the most.
“The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has quadrupled autism
funding over the last decade, but there are still more children with autism
waiting for government-funded services than there are children receiving them,”
Lysyk said today following the release of the Report.
Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBI) is the Ministry’s primary autism
program, and the Ministry has also introduced several other programs, including
applied behavioural analysis (ABA)-based services, and respite programs.
The audit found that children with autism are diagnosed in Ontario at a
median age of a little over 3 years, later than the screening period of 18 to
24 months old endorsed by the Canadian Pediatric Society for children with risk
factors. Then, due to long wait lists, Ontario children do not typically start
IBI until almost age 7. Research has shown that children who start IBI before
age 4 have better outcomes than those who start later. In addition, although
scientific research shows that children with milder forms of autism have better
outcomes with IBI, the program is currently available only to children
assessed with more severe autism.
Following are some of the Auditor General’s other significant findings:
• ABA-based
services, the only type of funded therapy available to children with mild to
moderate forms of autism, allow a child to work on only one goal at a time and
may not be sufficient for those who have many behavioural problems or goals to
achieve. After achieving one goal, the child returns to the bottom of the wait
list.
• The lead
service agencies decide how to allocate Ministry funding for IBI between two
service-delivery options: direct service, where the child receives service
directly from a service provider at no cost; or direct funding, where the
family gets funds from the lead agency to purchase private services. Wait times
for IBI services can differ significantly between the two options and among
regions. In one region in 2012, the average wait for IBI services under direct
funding was five months longer than under direct service. In another region,
the situation was reversed.
• Children
discharged from IBI services in 2012/2013 under the direct-funding option
received on average almost one year more of services than those under the
direct-service option (35 months versus 25 months). As well, children receiving
IBI under the direct-service option often received fewer hours of therapy than
they were approved for.
• Children
transitioning to high school and beyond receive minimal support.
• Since 2006,
the Ministry has reimbursed up to 60 individuals a total of $21 million for the
cost of IBI therapy and other expenses outside of the regular service system.
Per child, this represents more than double the value of services that a child
in the regular service system typically receives.
For more information,
please contact:
Bonnie Lysyk
Auditor General
(416) 327-1326
For more information and to view the
full 2013 Annual Report, please visit
www.auditor.on.ca
Which proves yet again that gov't mandated ABA is a failure. It proves yet again that only 25% of parents actually push and work hard to get the services that their children require.
ReplyDeleteSorry.... I saw the article in CBC and I rolled my eyes at those parents. I have had 3 parents since June ask me for advice and each and every one has refused to do what is necessary.
No sympathy here at all.
FW2 I knew what you were going to say before I read your comment. You had a negative experience with ABA which can happen with any therapy/treatment/intervention as we found out when my son suffered an adverse reaction to his Lamotrigine anti seizure med and we came close to losing him. The fact remains though that Lamotrigine is widely reported as successful for approximately 99% of those who receive it. ABA does not work for all but your bad experience does not negate the hundreds of studies reviewed by the US Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics, MADSEC (Maine) and other state agencies and the autistic children who have made gains from ABA. We didn't have access to ABA for Conor to any significant level pre school years. What we were able to learn and apply helped us communicate with him when ordinary communication did not work in important areas of life like pre-school toilet training and management of meltdowns. You are free to tell your "ABA didn't work for us" story as often as you want but you really should give some consideration to the studies done over the decades and the autistic children who are reported to have made substantial gains from ABA. Other than our usual ABA and autism discussion, and notwithstanding your stated lack of sympathy for others, I wish you and your family a happy holiday season.
ReplyDeleteI would like to wish you, Conor and your wife and other children
ReplyDelete(if you have.)
A happy holiday season.
Your wife deserves alot of credit. The pictures your posts show a loving and caring person.
ReplyDeleteHarold,
The additional conditions associated with autism can limit the effects of ABA on various functions in life like toilet training.
A child must be physically ready for toilet training. The retaining and pushing of bowels
needs to be physically mastered as well as the social mastery of the process. Often an expert in the field of occupational therapy would
be a better expert to see rather then an ABA therapist. For this reason ABA alone is sometimes not the solution.
10:24 pm
ReplyDeleteThank you.You make a number of good points. On toilet training though I actually toilet trained my son who is severely autistic with "profound developmental delays" a couple of years before he started school. I did it by literal application of the true principle underlying ABA ... by rewarding success. Conor had a stomach flu one weekend. I stayed with him watching his every expression and noise. If I saw the slightest sign of discomfort I rushed him to the bathroom and seated him on the toilet. He was seated on the toilet for every bowel movement that weekend. Success every time! We have literally never had problems with toilet issues since that weekend. I do realize though that much depends on individuals, not all are the same.
I completely disagree with anon 10:24. Intensive toilet training programs (such as the one written in the book A Work In Progress-love this one!) work and work very well with kids on the spectrum. It makes clear to the child the connection between going/producing and rewards which then helps them to understand what they are feeling when they need to go and then where to go.
ReplyDeleteAn FYI anon, I can't tell you how many kids I have helped who were total toilet training failures at advanced ages due to some OT or some lame aide telling parents it's sensory and they need to be ready. Foolish. Toilet train at around age four and use an intensive program and the child will be trained in days.
Also, Farm Wife must have had the ABA team from hell or she is a very difficult parent because many aspects of ABA are very effective with kids on the spectrum. She sounds difficult IMO and most sane BCBA's would walk awasy from her which is what I expect happened and now she is very bitter towards the entire industry.