When Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop hosted a roundtable discussion on autism last summer, she told attendees she wanted to reconvene in six months.
“At the time, I was thinking, ‘That’s a hell of a long time. A lot can happen in that time,’” said Simon Mena, who attended the meeting.
As it turns out, “not a lot has happened,” added the Coldwater resident, whose nine-year-old son has autism.
Mena recently reached out to Dunlop to inquire about reconvening the roundtable, as it has been six months since the first one.
Dunlop said she plans to bring the group back together in March to provide an update on the province’s plans for the autism program. It would have been “unfair,” she said, to report back on a program that is still being worked on.
“They take time to roll out,” she said. “I can understand (Mena’s frustration), but, at the same time, the program that is being developed … is a lot of work. We’ve seen that when things get rushed, they aren’t always rolled out the way they should.”
The province formed a panel consisting of experts and people with lived experience to come up with recommendations after the government faced backlash over its initial plan. That panel issued its report in October.
“I’m proud of the recommendations that were made and the work that they did,” Dunlop said, adding once the new plan is in place, “the autism community will see a program that was developed for (them).”
One of the recommendations is to have “care co-ordinators,” who will serve as a “one-stop shop” to help families navigate the system.
“Right now, we don’t have any trained care co-ordinators hired,” Dunlop said.
Todd Smith, minister of children, community and social services, recently announced the new program would not be in place by April 2020, as previously stated. Instead, it will be rolled out in phases until April 2021.
“It’s causing all kinds of stress, not knowing what we can plan for,” said Mena. “We’re in a constant state of stress.”
His son’s treatment is being funded, but Mena isn’t able to relax until he knows it will continue to be covered under the new plan.
“It’s just another delay. It seems like they keep punting it further,” he said.
He is looking forward to meeting again with Dunlop next month.
“I hope to get an idea of what they’re putting together and if it makes sense. We need to know what we’re preparing for,” he said. “Are we preparing for another fight? I hope not. I want to get back to taking care of my kid.”
