Parents with children awaiting autism diagnosis and treatment say waiting lists are too long and access to the private system is not necessarily a viable option. There are private practices which offer speech pathology and occupational therapy for children diagnosed with autism, but those services can prove too expensive for some.
That's according to Ed Knox of Families for Effective Autism Treatment, who says the waiting list for diagnosis and treatment in this province through the public system is between two and three years. One parent says she had to leave the province for Nova Scotia to diagnose her two-year old, otherwise the child would have been close to school age before seeing a doctor. Knox says the private system is one option, but not all parents can avail of it, even after a child is diagnosed. He says some parents can't afford private care, while others are forced to give up work because they have to deal with the issues facing their children.
Parents have a rally planned at Confederation Building April 2nd.
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Waiting Lists too Long for Children with Autism: Parents