1/My son is autistic. He’s 9.5. Amazing. Solid. Unfettered strength that can take both his parents down. Non-conversational. Developmental age of under 3. No regard for danger. Hyperactive with a low attention span and rarely sits still for longer than a minute. He uses movement 2/to self-regulate. Lives his best life, every day like it’s his last. No time for anything that isn’t in his Top 5 of awesome things to do. He goes to school for half days in the mornings, and attends a therapy program in the afternoons. His schedule was built this way

1/The hand off.

My son is severely autistic with an intellectual delay. He is 9 & can use limited words to ask me for juice, to go outside or demand his weekly Timbits ration. Beyond that, we cannot converse. I don’t know how he’s feeling, if he’s nervous, unsettled or scared. 2/ I have only the cues and clues we are able to gather from tears & giggles, and the signs of eagerness or apprehension.

I dreaded the day he started school. The thought of handing him off to a stranger in the care of 30 other 4 yos was not something my mind could compute.

1/Children in Ontario have the right to an education. That should be the case whether they have a disability or not. Educational Assistants are ACCESSIBILITY PERSONIFIED for children with disabilities.

They enable access. They allow my child & others to enter a school. Without 2/EAs the doors to education are closed to my child every day of the year.

I am nothing less than disturbed that the government elected by 40% of our population fails not only to value, but to recognize the value of these individuals who care for the province’s most

1/ I have a child with an autism diagnosis and intellectual delay. He is 9. He spends his mornings included in a Grade 4 classroom. 2/ He is not doing what his classmates do. He works at his own pace, with his own (extremely) modified curriculum while he practices sitting at a desk for longer than 20 minutes.

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Dear @Sflecce:
I wish you could understand how unsettling, nerve-wracking, *insert uneasy synonym here* it is to approach a new school year as a parent of a special needs child. But you won’t. You may have read a handful of briefings or listened to colleagues tell you how your government is doing a “stand up” job at special education—but until you’ve fathered children of your own who may need a little more in Ontario, you won’t know.

I wish you could know how maddening it is to hear you talk about how “wonderfully” your govt is

I’ll continue to say this as it hurts too much not to. @fordnation is either lying, or is so misguided that he believes the lies he’s being fed.

Both should prevent him from sitting as Premier.

@fordnation has the *GALL* to *CAMPAIGN* on an *UTTER POLICY DISASTER* that is *CURRENTLY* hurting families and will *CONTINUE* to do so for years because of stupidity and inaction.

The Ontario Autism Program is NOT fixed. It is NOT Needs Based. If does NOT have clinical direction and it is NOT “designed by the community for the community” because

Daily Reminder that @fordnation HAS NOT fixed the Ontario Autism Program:

What would constitute ‘fixed’?

1️⃣ Adequate funding, with the $600M promise being spent.
❌ Ford did not spend the promised funding and continuously fell short.
#50KIsNotOk #onpoli 2️⃣ A program that recognizes that AGE has no bearing on a child’s needs.
❌ Ford’s program penalizes children by clawing back funding as they celebrate birthdays.
#50KIsNotOk #onpoli

@MacLeodLisa is my MPP in #Nepean. How unbelievably sad that over the years we’ve become completely desensitized to her antics; this type of story is almost expected. I have autistic children. We have been deeply, deeply hurt by MacLeod’s policies. But we’ve also had enough face

https://twitter.com/ctvottawa/status/1523755357570736128

time (or attempted face time) with the Minister to know that #Nepean deserves so much better. Our community has been publicly accused of trying to run her out of office. I think her record might do the job on its own.

We had been invited to an Autism Roundtable in January 2019.

1/ I am the parent of autistic children and I need to stop watching Question Period in the Ontario Legislature.

I need to stop putting myself within earshot of redundant, scripted talking points that may sound good on paper, that may yield an MPP an “attaboy” (or girl) from 2/ someone on the sidelines who doesn’t know any better, that may earn someone political points for “making good” on promises their opponents failed to keep.

But I know better.

I know that best intentions from professionals were put on paper then twisted beyond recognition

1/ Offering peace of mind to 25% of children will not placate 29k desperate families.

A year ago, thousands across the province rallied against a generalized funding program that would meet the needs of some, create waste where unneeded and leave many without the support they 2/ desperately require; particularly those with severe needs and those who are over the age of six.

After years of waiting, immediate funding, even if it falls far short, may very well be “better than nothing”. Families in crisis may prefer to take something for fear that they

1/ Today is November 19, 2019. And we are still waiting for a plan from the Ontario Government.

Advocates, parents, researchers, therapists, stakeholders have reiterated to the @fordnation government, time and again, that urgency is critical.

And here we are. 2/ going on 10 months since @MacLeodLisa flogged us with her “plan” to remedy the Ontario Autism Program we are no better off than where we were.

Throughout the summer, while @ToddSmithPC was touring the province ‘listening’, the consistent answer to our questions was that

1/ Tonight, maybe three blocks away from where I sit, a Santa Claus parade is still chugging it’s way down the Main Street in Barrhaven, #Nepean. I was there. But I had to leave.

My husband left maybe 10 minutes before I did. My son Jack has severe autism, and each year we try 2/ our luck with the parade, and each year, it’s no better than the last. Too late, too many flashing lights, too many bad memories from the year before. This year may have been the nail in the coffin. He doesn’t have many words to tell us, but it’s clear this “fun” Christmas

1) Hi @ToddSmithPC. I hope you can find a moment for this, and I’m willing to try every avenue to reach you, as this is important.

I’ve spent the past year trying to advocate for services for my family. I have two children with ASD and had the opportunity to tell you about them 2) In person on July 3 in Ottawa, and again on August 19. I’m tired, @ToddSmithPC, but I’m privileged and I know it. I have a partner who stands equally beside me in every aspect of parenting. I have extended family who have been ready and willing to support us both

1/ Suppose we woke up tomorrow morning feeling 100% optimistic and satisfied in the @fordnation government’s promise for the Ontario Autism Program. The anger is gone, the trust is there, and come April 2020, our kids will begin transitioning into a Needs Based Program. Cool. 2/ For the first time in a year we wouldn’t feel compelled to protest, rally or advocate constantly for the well-being of our kids. I bet it would feel good, just to trust, to relax, to appreciate what we’ve been promised.

Let’s sit with that for a moment.

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If in Ontario, and your child is diagnosed with Autism, you will need:

1. Savings. If you’re hoping to purchase the bare minimum of health care services for your child.

2. Credit. Because savings will run out in a matter of months, if not weeks. 3. Collateral. As therapy can span years. Selling a car or remortgaging a home so your child can learn basic life skills is a reality.

4. Six-figure salaries. And even this isn’t the answer; no one has an extra $80k lying around to pay for clinically recommended services.

1/ Today, the autism community is desperately scrambling to their mailboxes hoping that the post(wo)man may deliver a cheque. Others are taking to social media looking for clarity: is their child on a waitlist? How do they check? Do they need to reapply? Are they waiting on a 2/ letter? Is their cheque lost in the mail? While others are receiving cheques, without direction, a start date, list of eligible services or a phone number to call.

On July 7, one quarter of the way through the 2019-2020 fiscal year, 260 families have received their Budgets.

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

@timporter_ONT If this is your idea of consultation, then I think we might have discovered the crux of the problem, here. Firstly, I don’t believe there is a single member of the Autism Community who believes those Dec-Jan “RoundTables” were actually consultation.

https://twitter.com/timporter_ont/status/1127937901097041920

The Ministry’s Plan was prepared. Those meetings were a smokescreen. A last attempt effort to try to get approval for your disaster program you were preparing to unleash on families in crisis. I would love to see evidence that even one parent consulted supported an age cap.