Ontario Expanding Supports For Children And Youth With Autism
Friday, June 16, 2006
- Organization: Ontario Ministry of Education
$13.1 Million In Extra Annual Funding To Enhance Services
TORONTO, June 16 /CNW/
The McGuinty government is providing funding for autism therapy to an estimated 120 more children starting this year through an expanded autism intervention program, as well as other supports to help youth with autism make a successful transition to adolescence, Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers announced today.
"Our government is committed to helping families, children and youth who live with the challenges of autism," said Chambers. "As children with autism learn and grow, we need to be able to help meet their changing needs. That is why we continue to improve and build on the continuum of services we offer these young people and their families." The Ontario government is investing an additional $13.1 million annuallyto increase the number of children receiving Intensive BehaviouralIntervention (IBI) and provide additional supports for children and youth withAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families. The investment includes: << - $8.6 million to provide IBI to more than 120 additional children withautism. As of March 2006, there were 795 children receiving IBI - 1.5 million to help youth with ASD to make a successful transition to adolescence through additional behavioural supports, crisis intervention and skills-based training - $1 million to help Autism Society Ontario (ASO) provide more supports to families of children and youth with ASD, including parent support networks, training, resource materials and access to consultation with ASD specialists - $2 million in each of the next three years to provide training, through the Geneva Centre for Autism, for up to 1,600 child care workers and early childhood educators who work with children with ASD. >> The new funding brings the province's autism services investment to morethan $112 million annually. Since 2003-2004, the government has more thandoubled spending on services for children and youth with autism, enablingagencies to hire more than 110 new therapists and increasing the number ofchildren receiving IBI. With this new investment, the number of childrenreceiving IBI will increase by approximately 70 per cent since April 2004, andthe number of children waiting for assessments has been reduced by 68 percent. Through the School Support Program for children with ASD, more than 180autism spectrum disorder consultants are now employed to provide consultationand support to educators in publicly funded school boards across the province. Minister Chambers made the announcement today at a conference hosted byASO, where she spoke to the upcoming launch of the organization's onlineregistry of Applied Behaviour Analysis providers. When launched, the registrywill give families an additional resource in seeking services for theirchildren who have ASD. "These funds will further the development of a continuum of treatment forchildren on the autism spectrum." said Margaret Spoelstra, Executive Directorof Autism Society Ontario. "This also represents the first time funds havebeen dedicated to this type of support, a need that has been long met bythousands of parents of children with ASD who also volunteer to help inform,train and support other parents in their local communities. We are pleased towork in partnership with the ministry to reduce the burden on parents raisingchildren with ASD." Today's announcement is the latest investment in the government's plan toprovide a continuum of services for children and youth with ASD from the timethey are diagnosed through their school years. Since July 2005, childrenreceiving services through the autism intervention program have not beendischarged from the program based on age - all regional autism providers areaddressing all referrals in a consistent manner. Other initiatives to better serve children and youth with autism andtheir families include: << - Engagement of parents, researchers and autism service providers through a provincial advisory group on ways to serve children and youth with ASD and their families - Providing $10 million more annually to Ontario's children's treatment centres to provide services to approximately 4,800 more children and youth with complex special needs, including autism - Through the Ministry of Education, providing $5 million over two years to the Geneva Centre for Autism to provide training for teachers' assistants who work with students with ASD. In 2004-05, school boards across the province identified approximately 7,000 students with ASD - In partnership with the Ministry of Education, establishing a reference group to provide recommendations on effective practices that school boards can use to improve the learning environment for students with ASD - Increasing the pool of qualified autism professionals through the creation last year of an Ontario College Graduate Certificate Program in Autism and Behavioural Science, in partnership with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities - Advancing research and expertise in ASD, in partnership with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies, through the establishment of the first Endowed Chair in Autism and Behavioural Science at the University of Western Ontario, as well as an Autism Scholar Awards program - Together with the Ministry of Education, reviewing the first year implementation of the School Support Program - Autism Spectrum Disorder to identify best practices and learn from the experiences of service providers and school boards. "Our government is determined to build a system that offers greaterintegration of services, best practices and the best trained individuals.We're working hard to enhance services for young people with autism spectrumdisorder and to respond sooner to their families' needs," said Chambers. Disponible en français www.children.gov.on.ca www.resultsontario.gov.on.ca >>For further information: James Ip, Minister's Office, (416) 212-7157;Anne Machowski-Smith, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, (416) 325-5156
TORONTO, June 16 /CNW/
The McGuinty government is providing funding for autism therapy to an estimated 120 more children starting this year through an expanded autism intervention program, as well as other supports to help youth with autism make a successful transition to adolescence, Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers announced today.
"Our government is committed to helping families, children and youth who live with the challenges of autism," said Chambers. "As children with autism learn and grow, we need to be able to help meet their changing needs. That is why we continue to improve and build on the continuum of services we offer these young people and their families." The Ontario government is investing an additional $13.1 million annuallyto increase the number of children receiving Intensive BehaviouralIntervention (IBI) and provide additional supports for children and youth withAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families. The investment includes: << - $8.6 million to provide IBI to more than 120 additional children withautism. As of March 2006, there were 795 children receiving IBI - 1.5 million to help youth with ASD to make a successful transition to adolescence through additional behavioural supports, crisis intervention and skills-based training - $1 million to help Autism Society Ontario (ASO) provide more supports to families of children and youth with ASD, including parent support networks, training, resource materials and access to consultation with ASD specialists - $2 million in each of the next three years to provide training, through the Geneva Centre for Autism, for up to 1,600 child care workers and early childhood educators who work with children with ASD. >> The new funding brings the province's autism services investment to morethan $112 million annually. Since 2003-2004, the government has more thandoubled spending on services for children and youth with autism, enablingagencies to hire more than 110 new therapists and increasing the number ofchildren receiving IBI. With this new investment, the number of childrenreceiving IBI will increase by approximately 70 per cent since April 2004, andthe number of children waiting for assessments has been reduced by 68 percent. Through the School Support Program for children with ASD, more than 180autism spectrum disorder consultants are now employed to provide consultationand support to educators in publicly funded school boards across the province. Minister Chambers made the announcement today at a conference hosted byASO, where she spoke to the upcoming launch of the organization's onlineregistry of Applied Behaviour Analysis providers. When launched, the registrywill give families an additional resource in seeking services for theirchildren who have ASD. "These funds will further the development of a continuum of treatment forchildren on the autism spectrum." said Margaret Spoelstra, Executive Directorof Autism Society Ontario. "This also represents the first time funds havebeen dedicated to this type of support, a need that has been long met bythousands of parents of children with ASD who also volunteer to help inform,train and support other parents in their local communities. We are pleased towork in partnership with the ministry to reduce the burden on parents raisingchildren with ASD." Today's announcement is the latest investment in the government's plan toprovide a continuum of services for children and youth with ASD from the timethey are diagnosed through their school years. Since July 2005, childrenreceiving services through the autism intervention program have not beendischarged from the program based on age - all regional autism providers areaddressing all referrals in a consistent manner. Other initiatives to better serve children and youth with autism andtheir families include: << - Engagement of parents, researchers and autism service providers through a provincial advisory group on ways to serve children and youth with ASD and their families - Providing $10 million more annually to Ontario's children's treatment centres to provide services to approximately 4,800 more children and youth with complex special needs, including autism - Through the Ministry of Education, providing $5 million over two years to the Geneva Centre for Autism to provide training for teachers' assistants who work with students with ASD. In 2004-05, school boards across the province identified approximately 7,000 students with ASD - In partnership with the Ministry of Education, establishing a reference group to provide recommendations on effective practices that school boards can use to improve the learning environment for students with ASD - Increasing the pool of qualified autism professionals through the creation last year of an Ontario College Graduate Certificate Program in Autism and Behavioural Science, in partnership with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities - Advancing research and expertise in ASD, in partnership with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies, through the establishment of the first Endowed Chair in Autism and Behavioural Science at the University of Western Ontario, as well as an Autism Scholar Awards program - Together with the Ministry of Education, reviewing the first year implementation of the School Support Program - Autism Spectrum Disorder to identify best practices and learn from the experiences of service providers and school boards. "Our government is determined to build a system that offers greaterintegration of services, best practices and the best trained individuals.We're working hard to enhance services for young people with autism spectrumdisorder and to respond sooner to their families' needs," said Chambers. Disponible en français www.children.gov.on.ca www.resultsontario.gov.on.ca >>For further information: James Ip, Minister's Office, (416) 212-7157;Anne Machowski-Smith, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, (416) 325-5156
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