Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 200 Canadians and 1 in 165 children. It is the most common form of neurological disorder or severe developmental disability of childhood, and recent epidemiological studies show that the prevalence has increased from 40 to 60 per 10,000 which represents approximately 190,000 Canadians.
Treatment
The Autism Treatment Services Center of Canada advocates early intervention as the early years are crucial to the development of language and social behavior in autistic children. ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) is intensive and expensive but has led to many breakthroughs: therapists spend the majority of every day implementing behavioral therapy theories, like rewarding patients with a favorite food every time they accomplish a desired behavior.
Breakthroughs
13 year old Carly Fleischmann from Toronto is unable to speak a single syllable and, until 2 years ago, family and doctors had no way of understanding her erratic behavior. In 2006, after many years of intensive therapy, she began expressing herself by typing her thoughts on a computer. She is now offering researchers a rare glimpse into the world of autism and bringing new hope to patients. However, Carly's family has been paying in the vicinity of $80 000 a year for her treatment, a price most Canadian families cannot afford.
Medicare and Autism
According to the Autism Society of Canada, patients of Autism need to see drastic improvements to the Medicare plan. The restrictions leave Canadian families unable to afford the proper treatment their children need, and wait lists are known to be extremely long.
- Alberta: Funds up to $60,000/year per child for ABA up to age eighteen
- British Columbia: Funds up to $20,000/year up to age six
- Manitoba: Funds 36 hours of ABA per week up to age six, with five of those hours provided by the family
- New Brunswick: Funds 20 hours of intervention up to age five
- Newfoundland & Labrador: Funds up to $40,000 for 30 hours a week for two years up to age six
- Northwest Territories: No formal ABA program in place
- Nunavut: No formal ABA program in place
- Nova Scotia: Funds 15 hours/week for six months, then 10 hours a week for a further six months. Only available for a year to randomly selected children up to six years of age.
- Ontario: Funds some ABA programs with a previous cut-off at age six. Now, parents complain that children are being cut off arbitrarily if they are doing poorly or doing too well
- Prince Edward Island: Funds up to $200 a week up to the age six
- Quebec: Funds 20 hours per week for ABA programs for ages two to five
- Saskatchewan: Funds up to 10 hours with very limited availability or access
- Yukon: Full coverage up to the age nineteen
Families Taking Action
Organizations like the Families for Early Autism Treatment of BC are now launching a nation-wide campaign to elect MPs who will vote for legislation to include autism treatment under the health care system. Parents of children with autism are calling on the federal government to publicly commit to changing the Canada Health Act to include effective, science-based treatment for autism for all Canadians, regardless of age or where they live.
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