Ontario autism advocates are calling for greater staffing and funding for special education in the province in order to address what they say is a lack of adequate in-class supports to allow their kids to fully participate and be safe.
The Ontario Autism Coalition circulated a survey about the education system within the special needs community and found a rising percentage of parents saying schools put their kids on a “modified schedule,” allowed to attend less than full time.
Shannon McNally says the Ottawa school that her seven-year-old son attends told her in February that he would be reduced to a two-hour school day because they did not have enough supports to keep him there safely for a full day.
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Owen has autism and other complex special needs and his mom says she had to quit her job and spent months advocating for him to instead be placed in a specialized classroom.
Many parents also reported in the autism coalition survey that they worry about their child’s safety while at school, and Chantelle Bissaillion says her family recently experienced this firsthand.
She says her nine-year-old daughter with autism and other special needs just last week left school property during recess and was missing for an agonizing two hours before being found by a neighbour.
Education Minister Paul Calandra has said the Progressive Conservative government has significantly increased special education funding since coming to power in 2018.
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