They're all over the internet:
boldfaced laments of parents whose children have withdrawn,
stopped talking, seemingly started growing backwards.
"THIS WEBSITE REPRESENTS THE LIBERAL
GOVERNMENT'S BETRAYAL OF DISABLED CHILDREN," accuses
one. "... ABANDONMENT OF FUTURES, HOPES AND PROMISE
FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN & THEIR FAMILIES," screams
another.
The betrayal in question is the
Supreme Court of Canada's recent decision that the British
Columbia government cannot be forced to fund the popular
but expensive Lovaas treatment for autism. Lower court
judges had found earlier this year that Lovaas was "medically
necessary," and ordered the government to pay, which
in turn prompted the province to take its case to a
higher court. The latest ruling promises to have wide
ranging implications for coverage across the country.
BUT
IT WORKS
The approach, named after Dr Ivor Lovaas, the UCLA psychologist
who directed its development, is a variant of Applied
Behaviour Analysis (ABA). Treatment involves 35-40 hours
per week of intensive one-to-one instruction with a
qualified practitioner who breaks tasks down into small
steps and positively reinforces desired behaviour.
The treatment seems to work. According
to one 1997 study from the American Journal on Mental
Retardation, eight of 19 children who received the
treatment were socially and intellectually indistinguishable
from their peers by the age of seven. That's heady stuff
for a condition that was seen, until recently, as more
or less hopeless. The problem is, the Lovaas treatment's
brand of intensive intervention doesn't come cheap:
most estimates place the cost at up to $60,000 per year,
a figure that gives the BC government's bean counters
pause for thought.
OTHER
TREATMENT OPTIONS
Although Lovaas has the best credentials, it's not the
only treatment around. "There are a variety of treatments,
mainly based on ABA," explains Clair Schuman, Executive
Director of the Vancouver-based Autism Community Training
Society (ACT BC) and herself the mother of an autistic
son. "There are new forms of treatment that offer a
lot of hope." She cites a treatment called Relationship
Development Intervention that "seems to address the
core deficiencies of autism" and is starting to deliver
promising results.
The BC government has assured all
parents affected by the ruling that it will continue
to provide the same funding it's offered for the past
four years. The government currently funds ABA treatment
up to the age of six to the tune of $20,000 per year.
For children aged six to nineteen, other forms of treatment
are allowed, but funding decreases to $6,000 per year.
Ms Schumann and other parents aren't
totally convinced by the government's reassurances.
"We're aware that there is a provincial election coming
up, so the sceptics in the crowd are wondering, what
happens next?"
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