A new infusion of cash for the Ontario Autism Program in the recent provincial budget will bring annual spending to nearly $1 billion, money advocates hope will go directly toward core therapy for children.
The Ontario Autism Coalition says it welcomes the new $189 million, but worries it will not make enough of a dent in the wait list for core therapy, which includes applied behaviour analysis, speech language pathology and occupational therapy.
Advocates say the wait to access those services is now five years and figures obtained through freedom-of-information requests show that growth in the number of families seeking services is outpacing the number of families being enrolled and receiving funding.