Once Canada's Autism Wasteland Has Saskatchewan Made Any Meaningful Progress?

Apparently Saskatchewan is still having difficulty providing necessary levels of early autism intervention.  I once described it in a September 2, 2007 commentary as Canada's Autism Wasteland:  Canada's Autism Wasteland To Take First Step Forward.   At the time of my commentary Saskatchewan was one of the few provinces with no intervention program for autistic children.  

A recent Global News article by Amber Rockliffe, Saskatchewan Families Moving Due to Lack of Autism Funding indicates that not enough hours of intervention are being delivered to Saskatchewan's autistic children and some families are moving out of province to find the help their children need:

"Sheri Radoux, has moved south of the U.S. border to Minnesota. “I think the services in Saskatchewan are probably the worst in Canada or one of the worst in Canada,” said Radoux. “We moved down to Minnesota and we got full-time therapy for all of our children, paid and funded by the state.” Saskatchewan spends about $7.5 million annually on autism treatment and services. ...   ..... “When we were looking, you could get one hour a week of therapy. And that’s like saving a sinking boat with a thimble,” explained Radoux."

With respect to the number of intervention hours received by Saskatchewan's autistic children The Global News article references Shannon Hill, mother of an autistic child:

“Hill, who now works with autistic children herself, says many of them receive only several hours of behavioural therapy a week. It’s basically a waste of money on the government’s part because it doesn’t produce any outcomes.”

Article author Rockliffe obtained information that the province's Ministery of Health had increased autism funding 1400 per cent.  The funding has apparently not resulted in delivery of autism intervention to autistic children at anywhere near required levels. 

Saskatchewan Still Canada's Autism Wasteland

More than two years since I described Saskatchewan as Canada's Autism Wasteland the government of Saskatchewan is still dithering, and delaying instead of putting a quality system of autism services in place to help that province's autistic children.

In all fairness to Saskatchewan's political and public service elite they may not know much about autism disorders, or the importance of timely early intervention in helping autistic children live fuller, richer lives. Their failure to provide an autism intervention system with quality and integrity for autistic children across Saskatchwan appears to indicate a lack of any real understanding about autism disorders or the importance of early intervention in helping autistic children make real gains that will help them live fuller lives.

The Leader-Post reports that parents of autistic children rallied at the Saskatchewan legislature Thursday to protest lack of funding and provision of properly trained autism support workers. Tim Verklan, president of SaskFeat, Saskatchewan Families for Effective Autism Treatment, commented on the lack of properly trained help:

"We get warm bodies — with good intentions, but warm bodies — working with our children and they just fall farther behind.”

Apparently the Saskatchewan government has a plan in place but does not understand the urgency, the time sensitive element of providing intervention to autistic children:

"NDP health critic Judy Junor said parents aren’t getting access to adequate treatment.

“It’s very time sensitive. These children can really progress so quickly with intensive therapy that meets their particular needs,” Junor said outside the assembly.

Parent Arden Fiala, whose daughter has Asperger syndrome, said she wants government to know there’s an urgency to the call for a strategy and for “individualized” funding in the interim that is not income-tested.

“The start of the action plan of the (Premier Brad) Wall government is just that — a start. It is not addressing the immediate and critical needs on the front lines and we’ve yet to see the benefits,” Fiala said."

Timid, incremental, baby steps will preclude many autistic children in Saskatchewan from obtaining the help they need.

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Autistic Children Lost On Waiting Lists In Canada's Autism Wasteland

In Waiting list for help is long the Leader-Post this weekend reports on the autistic children getting lost on the waiting lists in Saskatchewan, Canada's Autism Wasteland. The Leader-Post reports that Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada without a comprehensive treatment program for autistic children. At the Autism Resource Centre in Regina one child has been on a waiting list for services for 2 1/2 years and is still number 66 from the top. Once at the top of the list, a child will receive a program plan and some support services but no treatment program. The extremely valuable early years development time is being lost due to government indifference.

The school years are no different in Canada's Autism Wasteland where the Saskatchewan government nonchalantly relies on the approach that schools are expected to provide all students' needs from special education funding - without the funding and trained personnel to provide autism specific educational assistance to autistic children. The result - autistic students - even non verbal autistic students - are dumped in the mainstream classrooms without proper help.

What is it in the air or the water in Saskatchewan that has caused its political and civil service leadership to be so indifferent to the needs of autistic children? How can they just ignore the needs of vulnerable children?

It is not simply a money issue. New Brunswick is on a similar economic and population footing as Saskatchewan but much more has been done here for our autistic children and much more continues to be done.

It is not like the Saskatchewan leadership can rely on ignorance as an excuse. With internet communications today it is impossible for any conscious, and conscientious, leader to pretend that they do not know that 1 in 150 children in their jurisdiction will be diagnosed with this neurological disorder.

It appears that, apart from calloused indifference, the explanation for Saskatchewan's inaction may lie in proximity to Canada's wealthiest province - Alberta. The much healthier funding for autism services in Alberta has resulted in some Saskatchewan families moving next door to obtain treatment for their autistic children.

Why is Saskatchewan Canada's Autism Wasteland? Is it possible that the Saskatchewan leadership is simply leaving it to their Alberta neighbors to deal with? It certainly looks that way.

No Autism Talk in Saskatchewan Election

Saskatchewan's Leader Post is covering autism this weekend, including profiling some autistic children and their families and notes that in Canada's Autism Wasteland the politicians are remaining silent on autism during the Saskatchewan election with none of the parties featuring an autism plank in their party platforms.

The lack of discussion of autism issues is featured in Autistic children get lost in election shuffle an article which also features SASKFEAT's Lisa Simmermon, herself the mother of an autistic child and a long time autism advocate. The provincial politicians in Saskatchewan are using their own delay and neglect of autistic children as an excuse for not being in a position to provide autism services, using the standard, "we have to consult the stakeholders", lines to explain why they are not in a position to start implementing autism specific programs.

We went through that song and dance years ago in New Brunswick when the Interdepartmental Committee on autism services took 18 months to report that there were few autism specific services in New Brunswick. That report then went unread by the lead minister on the Committee, then Health Minister Elvy Robichaud for almost a year.

In another flashback moment, a Kim Campbell moment, the Leader-Post reports that Lisa Simmermon was told by one provincial politician that "an election is not a time to comment on government services." Yeah, right.