Autism court appeal starts
Province says age cut-off needed for pricey treatment Families urge McGuinty to drop appeal on ruling
While protesters and their autistic children gathered near the courthouse yesterday, government lawyers defended Ontario’s early intervention program as a world leader in the field. The lawyers are trying to overturn the decision of a Superior Court Justice who ruled in a lawsuit brought by 30 families that the government had violated the constitutional rights and “ human dignity” of their autistic children when it cut off funding at the age of 6 for a treatment program.
Justice Frances Kiteley ruled the program known as intensive behaviour intervention was effective for autistic children over age 5 — not just preschoolers between 2 and 5 — after a massive five- month trial involving many expert witnesses.
“ I find that the age cut- off reflects and reinforces the stereotype that children with autism over age 6 are virtually unredeemable,” Kiteley ruled in April. “ To deny the plaintiff children the opportunity to have ( treatment) after the age of five is to stereotype them, to prejudice them, and to create a disadvantage for them. The age distinction . . . perpetuates this stereotype.” Kiteley described the plight of families who went deep in debt to pay for treatment costs of up to $ 80,000 per year as “ heart- breaking.” Some of those families gathered for a rally at Nathan Phillips Square shortly before court was to begin. The protesters carried signs proclaiming “ It’s time to help all children with autism. No more excuses,” and “ My sister deserves healthcare.”
Laura McIntosh, one of the organizers, said the protesters planned to walk to Queen’s Park to convey a message to Premier Dalton McGuinty: “ Honour your election promises and drop the appeal.” Other family members crammed into the courtroom when Crown lawyer Robert Charney stood up to make his submissions to Justices Stephen Goudge, Janet Simmons and Eileen Gillese. Charney said Ontario’s record of treating autistic children since the province created an early intervention program in 2000 has made the province a world leader in the field. He noted the province had provided the program to more than 1,200 since the program began, funded the training of more than 900 therapists to provide the interventions, and increased spending significantly every year.
“ The age limit focuses
the limited capacity on
those children who
will benefit most . . .
who are most in need,” he said. Charney cautioned the judges that opening up the treatment to school-age children would result in longer waiting lists for pre- school children and cut pre-school age children from the program. Crown lawyer Sarah Kraicer argued that Kiteley had ignored the “ controversy” surrounding the treatment of older children with intensive behavioural intervention, and that expert evidence during the trial did not support her conclusions on the effectiveness of the program.
In the Legislature yesterday, both opposition parties accused the Liberals of breaking election promises to extend the intervention treatment and called on the party to end the appeal. Attorney General Michael Bryant said the government is appealing because “ it is the Legislature that is in the best position to provide the services,” instead of leaving it up to judges in individual court cases. He told the Legislature the government is paying appeal court costs for the families involved.