Ontario is planning to upgrade their social programs and improve its Autism services. In a plan to reduce the Autism program's waitlist and reach out to more families affected by autism, Ontario invests $333 million of its 2016 budget to the new Ontario Autism Program.
This new expansion aims to provide convenient and accessible services to families with autistic children. The expansion will focus more on providing flexible programs that are flexible enough to cater to the children's specific, individual needs.
It also seeks to mitigate the expanding waiting list by shortening waiting times. There will also be intensive therapy services available to the children during early development years. Metronews Canada says that the revamped program promises to dramatically decrease the waiting time for children's autism services by more than a half within two years.
The period to the new Ontario Autism Program will involve information dissemination to affected families, clinical experts and the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Expert Committee. The new approaches are coherent with scientific evidence and is estimated to have completely transitioned within two years.
The transition from the old program to the new integrated program will focus on Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI) services to children ages two to four, the Ontario Newsroom reported. After this developmental window, Applied Behavior Analysis services will be provided to children five years old and above who have undergone IBI.
The new program involves a series of therapies that progresses as the child ages. There will also be an $8,000 funding to each family with children five years and older as financial assistance to purchase service and support that are specific to their child's needs.
The transition phase will also be monitored and regularly assessed by an advisory group composed of experts and parents that will provide strategic advice and make sure the transition phase goes smoothly. This kind of support from the government will surely improve the welfare and conditions of families with autistic children and will pave the way for these kids to live better lives and achieve their full potential.
