Wednesday April 6, in Question Period, I asked the Minister of Families about an 18 year old boy with autism who needs support services, but has so far been unable to get it.
Individuals with Autism - Support Services Criteria
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Madam Speaker,
I have written to the Minister of Families about an 18-year-old with autism who
clearly needs supports which are being denied them.
Because
their IQ is above 80, they do not fit the minister's category for support, yet
the 18-year-old's learning, processing, planning and functional deficits are
such that they desperately need the support in order to have the best chance
of success.
I ask
the minister whether she will do what Newfoundland and Labrador are doing,
which is to eliminate the IQ criteria for support for autism, and instead base
the support on functional needs.
Hon. Rochelle Squires (Minister of Families): I thank the
member for the question, and I'm always happy to talk about casework–preferably
outside of the Chamber. But since he's raised it in the House, I'm certainly
happy to respond to him about our government's approach to helping all
Manitobans with disabilities and lifting all Manitobans who are afflicted
with disabilities up and making sure that they get their diagnostics and that
they get their proper treatments.
We've
made some investments in building more diagnostics and assessments tools and
treatments for people afflicted with autism and certainly invested more in
children with disabilities. And there'll be more to come on April the 12th
when our Finance Minister tables the budget, which will be good news for people
with disabilities in the province of Manitoba.
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