'I'm at an end': Quebec parents demand therapy funding for children with autism

CTV Montreal: Autism funding A father fighting for funding for his daughter with autism was joined in support by other parents in the same situation.

Samuel Kuhn is among several parents sitting outside the office of Lucie Charlebois, Quebec’s youth protection minister, this week, demanding access to speech therapy and training for his daughter following a futile five-year wait.

Kuhn’s seven-year-old daughter Charlotte has autism. But just last week, Kuhn was told that Charlotte is no longer eligible for a government grant because she’s too old.

"I don’t know what else to do," Kuhn told CTV Montreal. "I can’t afford therapy for my child so I’m at an end."

Kuhn said Charlotte received occupational therapy in the fall of 2017 and saw significant progress.

"I know that Charlotte would prosper, would do wonderfully, with therapy. And so I have to do everything, as a father, that I can do to get my child the help that she needs," he said.

Kuhn isn’t alone in his struggle to access government-funded speech therapy services for his child. Several other parents who stood outside with Kuhn this week expressed similar frustrations.

"My daughter is ten and she has never received any speech therapy, and she can't speak," mother Reetta Hasanen told CTV Montreal.

"I can’t believe this city, this province, is letting our most vulnerable kids and adults down like this. The reality is, is that the funding that is being provided is so minute that it can't address the needs of everybody."

Kuhn and Hasanen were also joined on Tuesday by members of Autism Montreal, an organization that supports people living with autism and their families.

Electra Dalamagas from Autism Montreal told CTV Montreal that more needs to be done to help children of all ages, including those who may need assistance into adulthood.

"It shouldn’t be one at the expense of the other," Dalamagas said. "These are individuals who are going to need services throughout their entire lifespan."

When asked about government-funded care for children living with autism, Charlebois told CTV Montreal that she’s "very concerned," but that the province is making some progress.

"I want to help them . . . I can understand that maybe they're not satisfied, but they cannot tell me that we're not doing more with forty million [dollars]," Charlebois said.

"I know that we’re doing better."

With a report from CTV Montreal’s Tarah Schwartz