About
25 parents of children with autism — many struggling with medical
bills that can exceed a year’s salary — rallied yesterday outside
Dalton McGuinty’s Ottawa South constituency office to make funding for
autism treatment an election issue.

"We don’t want Dalton
McGuinty re-elected," said Andrew Kavchak, an Ottawa South voter whose
son has autism. "He doesn’t deserve our trust."

Among the parents
were David and Lesley Lander, of Kanata, whose two-year-old son,
Jordan, was recently diagnosed with autism. The couple is spending
about $40,000 a year for behavioural, speech and occupational therapy.

Two-year-old Jordan Lander, who was recently diagnosed with autism, joined parents
David and Lesley outside Dalton McGuinty’s constituency office
yesterday. The Landers spend about $40,000 per year on treatment.

Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen

One-third is paid by private insurers, and two-thirds comes out of their pockets.

"I’ve
been let down by the health care system," said Mr. Lander, a
35-year-old software developer. "The only thing I’ve ever received is a
one-hour visit with a social worker."

The demonstration was organized by the Ontario Autism Coalition, which held similar events across the province.

The
coalition wants specialized instructors to work with autistic children
in schools and treatment provided to everyone who qualifies for it. The
group is also pushing for proper training and formal accreditation for
therapists.

"They have a very serious situation and they really
need government support," said Richard Raymond, the Tory candidate
running against Mr. McGuinty. "They seem to be falling through the
cracks."

Parents of autistic children took the McGuinty
government to court in 2003 over a broken election promise to fund what
is known as intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) for autistic
children over six years of age.

The treatment can cost up to $60,000 a year, but is considered the only scientifically proven treatment available.

The parents won the initial decision, but the province won on appeal.

Although Mr. McGuinty recently announced $10 million for IBI services in the classroom, some parents remain skeptical.

"For
the last four years he denied our children," said Sam Yassine, an
Ottawa member of the OAC executive committee. "Now, before the
election, he announces $10 million. We find this very cynical. It’s
another promise to be broken."

The NDP yesterday announced they
would provide publicly funded IBI services in classrooms and would
clear the wait list for autism services.

"Every child who needs
IBI therapy should have access to it," Ontario NDP leader Howard
Hampton said. "It’s a practical, doable and sensible thing we can do
that will make an immediate difference to the day-to-day lives of
today’s families."

The PC platform on autism includes clearing
the wait list for treatment for children under the age of six, offering
parents direct funding for private services and expanding respite
programs.

"Under Dalton McGuinty’s watch, children on wait lists
for autism treatment has grown from 89 to 1,100," said Lisa MacLeod,
opposition critic for children and youth and Nepean-Carleton PC
candidate.

It can take four years to get publicly funded
treatment, even though experts stress the importance of early diagnosis
and treatment for autism, a developmental disorder that affects
communication.

"It takes nine months to get an assessment from a psychologist,"
said Mr. Lander. "Then it takes about a year to get approved into the
preschool autism program. Then it’s two to three more years of waiting
until you actually begin to receive treatment."

A spokeswoman for
Mr. McGuinty noted that the government has eliminated the age cutoff
and that about 60 per cent of children in the IBI program are six years
of age or older.

She said that the government more than doubled
the number of children receiving IBI from 531 in 2004 to 1,400 today,
more than tripled spending on autism services for children and youth
from $44 million in 2003-04 to $140 million in 2007-08, and created a
college program to train new therapists.