Friday, January 23, 2009

Letter to My MPP, Kevin Flynn.

Dear Mr. Flynn,

I am writing to you via email in hopes that you will respond to me to discuss an issue that is of a very urgent nature. My son, Max, was diagnosed with Autism in December. He is only 2.5 years old. Max is a wonderful little boy (as you can see from his picture), and we are doing everything we can to get him treatment. The main course of treatment for children on the Autistic spectrum is IBI therapy (Intensive Behaviour Intervention) and the key years for the therapy to be most effective are between the ages of 2 and 5. The recommended number of hours per week is a minimum of 21 hours. At $45 per hour, plus program planning, this therapy costs $1000 a week. As I am sure you can understand, this is simply not feasible for the majority of Canadian families, mine included.
To understand Max's condition, you would need to meet him. I would like to invite you to our home to introduce you to our son, the light of our lives. Max is not able to speak, except for a handful of words that come and go (he is not able to consistently retain language). This inability to communicate is very frustrating for him and for us as it makes it difficult to meet his needs. He often falls and hurts himself because he is not able to relate to his surroundings, and he rocks back and forth and hits his head to cope with stress. He is not able to relate to other children, and has meltdowns and tantrums when his routine is disrupted. Max is not able to sleep throughout the night without waking and getting very upset. Episodes last up to 2 hours. We have to monitor Max every minute of every day to ensure the he does not hurt himself, and to assist him in every task that he undertakes (be that "play", getting dressed, or eating).

The current wait list to receive support from ErinOakKids is currently at 24-36 months. This is unacceptable. If IBI services do not receive a drastic increase in funding, Max will miss the key period for intervention altogether. I implore you to assist us in getting funding for Max. The quality of his life depends on it. Funding for him now would in fact be significantly less than the ongoing funding he will need throughout his entire life should he not receive this vital treatment now.

Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss this matter.

thank you,

Katrina C.

4 comments:

  1. If I win the lottery, I'm giving it to Max.

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  2. $43 million this weekend!!!

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  3. Okay then, if I win the lottery, I'm giving SOME to Max!!! haha

    ReplyDelete