Lynn Shane, who last year pulled her son, Adam, out of Grade 2 at Ashgrove Public School in Clarkson because he was falling behind due to the rigours of balancing classes and 21 hours of weekly at-home therapy, has joined forces with five other Ontario families in hopes of launching a class-action lawsuit against Queen's Park and seven school boards. The Peel District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board are among those named.
In essence, the parents want to be able to send their autistic children to school while also getting them the therapy they need. Because outside therapists aren't allowed in schools, though, Shane, and parents in the same situation, must choose between school or therapy.
"No one will give us a specific reason, and the only reason is that therapy cannot be done in school," said Shane, who more recently has been teaching her son at home and driving him to Burlington four times each week for therapy.
"These kids deserve the same opportunities as the rest of the kids who attend school in Canada."
Some 1,500 Ontario families find themselves in similar circumstances, and they could join the lawsuit if it moves forward.
Education Ministry spokesperson Patricia McNeil said there's no provincial policy that prohibits therapists in schools, but added it's the school boards that make such decisions.
"There are space issues with many schools," said McNeil. "They just don't have the area to enable the proper delivery of the therapy. Boards also have different policies regarding the use of their space by private service providers."
The Peel Board, under its special education operating procedures, forbids anyone or any agency from paying for in-class help for students.
It prohibits students from bringing private tutors to class, or autistic pupils bringing their therapists to school, said Brian Woodland, director of communications for the Peel Board.
"No matter what the role, the concerns are there because you have a child on a completely different program from anyone else, but you have a teacher employed to deliver that curriculum," said Woodland. "The operating procedure, because of the issues, is what serves the Board well."
Shane said Adam would need only to have a therapist by his side to walk him through the same work other students in class would be doing. His mother says he's a great learner.
"It makes me terribly sad that he's not given the opportunities," said Shane. "He's going to grow up and he's going to be a teenager, and he's going to miss out on everything."
David Baker, lawyer for the families, said an unfavourable ruling from the Appeal Court, which could derail the lawsuit, would be a huge disappointment for the parents.
"Most of them have mortgaged their houses, or sold their houses, and used up their RRSPs to pay for education to go with the therapy," said Baker.
One of the families, however, has made inroads. The Martinis' two autistic children, Noah and Jonah, receive on-site therapy while attending their York region school.
"Nobody else has been permitted to do it, and nobody can explain why they've been permitted to do it," said Baker.
McNeil said parents have to make a choice.
"At the end of the day...parents have to look at their child's needs and decide what's going to assist their child the best. Not all schools can accommodate that type of one-on-one therapy," she said.
Ideally, for Shane, her four-year fight would end without lawyers and judges.
"(Ideally), the school calls me up and says bring him in and bring anything he needs," Shane said. "We just need someone to sit with him and say, 'this is the lesson the other students are doing; let's break it down,' so he can learn it. It is not a big deal."
There could be hope on the horizon, though, from Queen's Park. In the Liberal platform from the 2007 election, the party promised to, "provide $10 million to prepare schools to deliver IBI therapy on-site for the first time."
That's the same therapy Adam and other autistic children receive.
cmacbride@mississauga.net
