Opinion: Ontario’s disability policies can do more for children and families
Parents in Ontario surveyed consistently described a complex and frustrating system that leaves their children without the critical supports they need
Article content
A $175 million increase to Ontario’s Autism Program announced in this year’s provincial budget is welcome news for families of children with autism who endure long waits for support services.
With this extra funding the province has given itself the opportunity to make significant progress toward living up to a promise made 20 years ago when the provincial legislature passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and proclaimed that Ontario would be fully accessible by 2025.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Opinion: Ontario’s disability policies can do more for children and families Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Today that promise remains unfulfilled, with shortcomings in provincial disability policies preventing persons with disabilities—including children—from fully participating in society. It is time for the provincial government to take action to change that reality for children with disabilities and their families.
We are two authors of a new report for Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) that lays out provincial and territorial disability policies nationwide. Our research includes input from families of children with disabilities on how well the policies—and the programs that spring from them—are working.
The Ontario parents we surveyed gave the province’s policies poor grades. They consistently described a complex and frustrating system that leaves their children without the critical supports they need.
Among the biggest problems identified are the complex and lengthy application processes for accessing services—including autism resources, respite programs and funding for at-home supports.
In all, 82 per cent of the Ontario families we surveyed said they experienced some level of difficulty applying for disability programs, with over half saying the process was very difficult.
Parents pointed to highly detailed and technical application forms that require input from their child’s healthcare providers and program staff to complete. Families applying for multiple programs often have to answer the same questions over and over again.
The process leaves families exhausted, with one parent describing the paperwork as “emotionally taxing to fill out because you have to be very honest about the hardest parts of your life and your child’s life—the parts you mostly try to ignore.”
Just as burdensome are the long waits. Almost everyone we heard from spoke about significant delays in getting their child into needed programs because of long waitlists—the waitlist for the Autism Program alone stands at over 60,000 children.
Some families spend years on waitlists only to see their child age out before accessing needed programs.
One parent shared their frustration with trying to access respite care funding through the province, saying, “(They) waitlisted us and basically said there was nothing they could do. The wait for respite (care) through regular channels in our area is 7-10 years.”
The lengthy wait times force some parents to pay out of pocket for private services or leave their employment to care for their child—placing a financial burden on the family and leading to further inequities in access.
The concerns families raised echo problems identified in a 2023 expert review of the AODA.
The AODA mandates that governments, private-sector businesses and other organizations meet accessibility standards in key areas, including information and communications, employment, transportation, customer service and the design of public spaces. (Standards for healthcare and education are still being developed.)
That review found significant problems with the legislation, including poor outcomes and deficiencies in data and research, accountability, leadership and enforcement—calling the state of accessibility in Ontario a crisis and the AODA a failure.
Ontario cannot afford to ignore these problems. The shortcomings marginalize Ontarians with disabilities and their families—raising questions about whether the province is living up to its Accessibility Act and human rights commitments.
They also erect barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from joining the workforce or taking part in other activities. According to Statistics Canada, there are more than 740,000 working-age adults in Canada with disabilities who are unemployed, but eager to work if they had accommodations.
Eliminating barriers and closing service gaps will significantly help those with disabilities—including the parents of children with disabilities—more fully participate in society.
Dr. Jennifer D. Zwicker is Director of Health Policy at the School of Public Policy and an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
Brittany Finlay is a Senior Research Associate at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.
