Thread by @ottawa_asd_mum

Thread.
My son, Jack was diagnosed with ASD privately in August 2016. We had taken him to our Pediatrician with concerns in November 2015. These concerns, largely to do with language & communication were brushed off, and it wasn’t until visiting an SLP in March 2016 that autism

even entered the storyline. Once diagnosed Jack started private ABA in October 2016.

I like to consider myself to be proactive. Informed. And still it took nearly a year to organize ourselves, educate ourselves, face waitlists even in the private sector in order to get

Jack the help he desperately needed. I will never forgive myself for that year, of failing to follow my gut. Of inaction while on a waitlist to be diagnosed. Of failing to see the signs earlier. That year, that year from the time Jack was 2.5, was lost. It could have been

used to deliver desperately needed early intervention. But we didn’t know. We didn’t know the signs. The system. The appropriate path to take to help our son.

Which brings me to what bothers me most about @MacLeodLisa’s tone-deaf policy and painfully ill-informed stance on

the future of the OAP.

Should parents have the CHOICE to determine what’s right for their kids? Yes. Should the onus be placed on them to figure that out on their own? ABSOLUTELY NOT. A strictly Direct Funding Model makes me concerned for the marginalized families in our

community; for the families who may not be fluent in an Official language, for those who may not have immediate access to professionals and providers, for those who are under so much stress the task of managing services is too much to bear, for those who may be in denial, or

unsure, or who have been encouraged to “wait and see”. Families should make the choice, yes, but we need guidance, and a clear path and *available resources*. There is a crack in the ground in Ontario and the @fordnation government is tearing it open. Children aren’t

falling between the cracks, they’re pouring into a sinkhole as @MacLeodLisa assaults our support systems with a wrecking ball and casually chalks it up to “re-jigging”.
And the undervaluing of time is particularly unsettling. The only thing we could have on our side is time,

and that is being stolen from us. Pillaged without mercy, as the Minister repeatedly states that the Waitlist will be cleared in 18 months. Now 15 months. And the money has yet to flow. Where is this $600M, Premier @fordnation? Where is this money that will finally lead the

languishing to productivity & support?Why do we continue to wait when the emphasis was clearly on how sickening it was to leave kids unsupported on an endless waitlist? What about the children who weren’t able to access private therapies? What about the children

who have already sat on Waitlist for upwards to 3 years? Sometimes for more than half their lives. This government and Ministry have shown zero respect for our time. Have associated no value to each day that passes without a sound policy. This government is sitting by idly

as a critical period of learning is pissed away for children who deserve a fighting chance at life and who need a hand up to do it. In the meantime, they are being excluded from school. Are sitting on private waitlists. Are struggling at home. Are outcasts in a society that

isn’t built for them and that standard and that example is being set by the @OntarioPCParty.

If you require the Coles Notes:
1. Time is valuable: Your actions do not communicate your acknowledgment or appreciation of that fact.
2. You are destroying an already overwrought

private sector by downloading the province’s waitlist to private providers while failing to recognize that these business require funding into order to function.
3. You are piling families into lifeboats and sending us into the ocean without a paddle. We require support

and guidance to navigate this complicated system, while exhausted, and drained, and confused and scared.

This government is slapping a 2-tier sticker on health care and placing everyone connected to the Autism Community firmly on the bottom shelf. There is no sense of

urgency, no respect for our time, no concern for ‘our’ science, no transparency, no reassurance, no value for ‘our’ professionals.

This is a disaster, an active crisis that is only going to get worse as standards are lowered, families are denied care, and the only

ones that stand to lose are ABSOLUTELY EVERONE. Pay now, or pay later.

For the love of all that is good in this world: Listen up. Smarten up. Hurry up. Human up.
#AutismDoesntEndatFORD #autismdoesntendatLisa #ScrapTheAgeCap #NeedsBasedFunding #SOS #onpoli

@MTaylorNDP @JoelHardenONDP @AmyFeePC @JR_Ottawa @AndreaHorwath @MacLeodLisa @fordnation @maritstiles @LisaThompsonMPP @jamiewestndp @JohnFraserOS @DrFullertonMPP @gghamari @mflalonde @NDesRosiers @JILLSLASTWORD @MitzieHunter @coteau @beyrima @Kathleen_Wynne @VictorFedeli #onpoli

Adding to the thread, now that we have a new Cabinet Minister for the Autism File. Minister @ToddSmithPC—please take the time to connect with families, to understand their struggles, and know that current plan ignores the crux of what makes Autism so unique. It is a spectrum,

and a one size fits all solution is not a solution at all. Please read our story, and those of others to understand the real life consequences of your new mandate. Best wishes, we want nothing more than for you to succeed. We have absolutely everything riding on your success.

@ToddSmithPC @JillDunlop1 @fordnation #AutismDoesntEndAtFORD #onpoli #ScrapTheAgeCap #NeedsBasedFunding #HumanUp