Councillors join McDowells in celebrating Autism funding victory

July 8, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

Town of Shelburne CAO John Telfer and Councillors Walter Benotto and Wade Mills joined Julian and Kelly McDowell on Monday to mark the significance of the McDowell’s role, as well as the Town’s, in helping to convince the Provincial Government to reverse its decision on autism policy changes, which dictated funding cuts for Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) therapy for autistic children five years of age and older.

The McDowells’ five-year0old daughter Emily had only just begun IBI treatment last fall and was making great strides. Under the changes, Emily’s parents would have lost government funding for the treatment which costs approximately $70,000 per year.

The Town of Shelburne was the first Ontario municipality to sign a resolution, presented by Kelly McDowell to Council, asking the Liberal Government to reconsider its changes to autism therapy funding. This led the way for over 50 other municipalities, which then also passed the resolution.

“The Town of Shelburne is pleased to receive news that the Liberal Government has reversed its plans on IBI funding and has announced a new information package,” said Shelburne CAO and Clerk John Telfer in a statement.

Mayor Bennington indicated that he is “delighted that the Government has listened to outcries of the families involved and the resolutions of support from several municipalities and agencies across Ontario.”

“We are so glad that this issue was brought to our Council table and we are thankful for all the support from municipalities and regional governments across Ontario which assisted with the revised decision that the Liberal government has made on the IBI issue, he said.

Added Mr. Telfer: “The victory is that we are continuing to help children, who should not be denied the access, nor needed funding regardless of their age. It is noted that the program funding has been so effective in the developmental stages of children affected by autism.”

For the McDowell’s, it now time to play the waiting game as they hold their breath until the exact guidelines for therapy designations are released by the Ontario government, as promised this week, and they can be sure that Emily will, indeed, be able to get the treatment she needs in this province via a clinical evaluation.