Above: Theres much more awareness of autism, but what support you get depends on where you live and how long the wait lists are. Shirlee Engel reports.
TORONTO Lack of funding and long wait times for autism treatment can mean many Canadian children dont get the early intervention that one mother believes makes all the difference.
I just feel like [early intervention is] well worth it, said single mom Brigitte Forget. When you see what my son has accomplished in seven monthsits amazing.
Forgets son is three-year-old McKeigan, who she moved from Ottawa to Alberta to get faster treatment. Forget left her two older children, both in their 20s at the time, back in Ontario.
I had no choice at that time. It was just what I could do to better his life and where I could get help as soon as possible for him, said Forget.
At an autism workshop in Ottawa soon after McKeigan was diagnosed, she was told if she wanted treatment quickly, it would mean $160 an hour for a speech pathologist.
And thats just a speech pathologist, not an occupational therapistIm a single mom. Theres no way I can make this on my own out here and pay for these services to get them done right away, said Forget, who moved to Calgary about seven months after his diagnosis. McKeigan was three years and three months old at that time.
WATCH: Extended interview with Ottawa mother Brigitte Forget, who moved to Alberta to get treatment for her autistic son.
One month after they arrived, he was in a program four days each week.
Forget said her friends back home are taking out second mortgages just to fund private care.
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Autism treatment means months on wait lists, relocation for some Canadian families