Sasha Montgomery and Brittany Smith speak of their challenges to access services for their autistic children during a visit to MPP Greg Rickford's office in Fort Frances
Parents with autistic children in the Rainy River district speaking out how funding changes are impact their ability to get services for their children.
They joined in a rally yesterday in front of Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford’s constituency office in Fort Frances.
It was part of an Ontario Public Service Employees Union campaign called “Families Know Best Voyage” in a fight for more autism and special services.
Sasha Montgomery of Atikokan worries about having to send her children to school.
“There’s already been so much cut that I don’t know if the children are going to get the opportunities that they need and deserve,” says Montgomery.
Brittany Smith, also of Atikokan, says she’s been told certain services may not be available to her son at school.
“We were supposed to get a school-funded, full-time EA (education assistant) for him. But now, we’re being told we’re either gonna have to look at other avenues to pay for that. The school board won’t be to pay someone,” says Smith.
Erin Rice with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, who has a grandchild with autism, says the government made changes without consulting people here.
“There was no consultations up in the northwest,” says Rice. “The government likes to say that they consulted in the north but they never (went) past Sudbury so there’s a whole other portion of us that are not getting our voices heard.”
The visits to Rickford’s office was intended to provide that voice to government.
The union, along with members of the Thunder Bay Family Network, also used the opportunity to also raise some money by selling persians.
