About Us
“ABA as needed, where needed”
Autism Resolution Ontario (ARO) is a network of Ontario families with children who have autism, and we are seeking prompt, accessible and sufficient ABA therapy for our children. ABA is the only scientifically proven autism intervention that has decades of solid research behind it and a proven track record of success in helping children with autism learn to appropriately communicate and socialize.
Our children range in age from toddlers to teenagers, and each has faced significant obstacles in trying to access this vital therapy to help them develop and to ultimately become functional and independent members of society. From waiting for years to receive publicly funded ABA, to having their ABA prematurely cut off without suitable alternatives provided, to having to choose between receiving therapy and an education, our children face discrimination at every turn.
In addition to the challenges we face in caring for our children’s special needs, we face an extra burden: the immense financial expense of paying for private therapy. Our children are being forced to wait years for this essential therapy, and at a stage in their life – in the early years – when ABA can make the most difference. As parents, we cannot sit by idly and allow our children to miss out on the significant benefits of early intervention. However, ABA is a one-on-one intensive therapy that requires 20 to 40 hours per week of participation to be effective, and as such is costly, ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 per year. This high cost prohibits most of us from getting our children the amount of ABA they actually need. Many families in our community go into serious debt, or even bankruptcy, trying to pay for sufficient private ABA therapy.
ARO’s ultimate long-term goals are improving autism diagnosis protocols, services, service funding procedures and service provider regulation in Ontario.
Mission
To achieve prompt access to provincially subsidized Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) therapy for all kids with autism, in all relevant environments, for as long as required.
Vision
All children with autism living in Ontario will have access to government-funded ABA immediately after they are diagnosed, so as to enable them to make maximum progress through early intervention. As autism is widely recognized as a lifelong condition that improves over time with appropriate intervention, ABA must be available to children with autism for as long as they require it. A child’s need for ABA must be based on sound medical evidence and long-term data, and determined in collaboration with frontline therapists and families. ABA will be available to children in school, in either individualized or group format (depending on each child’s need), so that they may also receive the education to which every child in this province is entitled.
Our approach
We will fight for our children’s rights to timely, appropriate and ongoing (as needed) ABA through a variety of formal and informal advocacy initiatives, including awareness-raising events and civil disobedience. Primarily, we plan to substantially increase public awareness about our issues through a variety of activities that generate media attention, and act as a valuable information resource of ABA and autism services solutions for policymakers.