Virginia Mazzone-Ahou’s 10-year-old son Anthony spends one day a week at school and four days a week at a therapy centre in Durham, Ont., for children with autism. But come June, his funding is about to be cut by two-thirds.
Anthony is just one of at least 4,000 kids impacted by changes made to the Ontario Autism Program.
Parents and advocates of the autism community say they have had enough of their five-year battle with the province, fighting for support for children with autism.
Advocates say the Ontario government is failing to meet the needs of parents and children with autism in the region.
New guidelines set an age cap on funding, which means as of this spring, thousands of Ontario students in the legacy autism program will have their intensive therapy cut and be moved into the school system. Youth and parents say they’ve been left in the dark, with no communication of a set plan, and no transition process in place.