Ontario Autism Program: What do you want?

A common question I get asked is: “You’re protesting the OAP reforms, but what is it you want, exactly?”

It’s a fair question, and it’s easy to understand the confusion when you examine the current state of affairs:

• There’s the government’s own internal report (the Baber report) that advocates substantial changes to the government’s plans. There’s also no less than five different groups that have released comprehensive reform plans, as summarized in this excellent piece by Louis Busch.
• Each of the six reform plans are dozens of pages in length, sacrificing brevity for comprehensiveness.
• There are significant differences between the six sets of recommendations.

I thought it would be helpful if I did the opposite, and sacrificed comprehensiveness for brevity. Here is what I am asking of the provincial government. I am not affiliated with any autism advocacy group or service provider. I only speak for me.

Here’s my five (plus one) asks of the provincial government. Why plus one? Because kids deserve extra.

Moffatt’s Five (Plus One) Ontario Autism Program Asks

By Friday, August 30, at 5PM at the latest, I call for the government to:

1. Abolish the colossally wasteful ‘Childhood Budget’. Services must be determined and provided on the basis of clinical need, not capped by age or any other factor, with service providers directly funded through OHIP.
2. Develop a system of strict regulation, regular audits and a standard rate card for autism service providers.
3. Reinstate the system of ‘first come, first served’ for autism services, with monthly public reports on the size of, and average waiting time for, each individual waiting list.
4. Produce and release a comprehensive plan, with key performance indicators, to increase capacity in the autism services system.
5. Provide and release a comprehensive plan, with key performance indicators, to provide support for students with autism in schools.
6. Issue a formal apology, by the Premier, to the children of Ontario, for the bullying, abuse, and insults they have endured from his government.

I’ll write up a longer piece later this week, explaining each. But this is what this parent is asking of the Ford government.