Autism Treatment Still Remains As a Dream for 16,000 Children in Ontario

Children waiting for autism therapy for more than 10 years increases to thousands and the number of children actually receiving the treatment has dropped in Ontario.

The Ontario waiting lists for applied behavior analysis (ABA) and intensive behavioral intervention (IBI) topped 16,158 children in 2014-15.

‘Ministry of Children and Youth Services revealed that there was a decrease in number of children getting autism treatment though the funding has increased in Ontario.’

In the year 2005-2006, 753 were waiting for IBI but now it has reached to 2, 192 whereas for ABA it has increased from 2, 786 to 13,966. The number of children receiving ABA has dropped from 8,926 to 8000 this year.

Estimates from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services show that the wait lists are growing exponentially faster than the number of children receiving government-funded treatment.

Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Children & Youth Services and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues, said, "The government is constantly working to improve the services it provides and is investing more than $190 million in autism services this year, an increase of more than $100 million since 2004."

"We have new diagnostic tools, which may be contributing to the upward climb. The reality is the numbers on the wait lists are too high. I would totally agree with that. It's a huge area of focus for me," she added.

Source: Medindia