TORONTO - Ontario has a "piecemeal" approach to treating autistic adults that leaves some of society's most vulnerable without the help they need, an advocacy group said in a discussion paper released Wednesday.
The report by Autism Ontario, entitled "Forgotten," said the government needs to form a consistent policy for dealing with adults who have the developmental disorder.
Howard Weinroth, co-chair of the committee that compiled the paper, said the estimated 70,000 people in Ontario with autistic spectrum disorder -- including 50,000 adults -- need educational, employment and social opportunities, as well as supported living options.
"Failure to act now to alleviate the inadequacy of resources to this sector can only increase the growing cost to health care, social services and the educational system, along with lost productivity of individuals with autism," Weinroth said.
"Autism Ontario is ready to champion such a forward-thinking approach."
The paper called for funding that can't be "clawed back" through cuts, more programs and better access to professional supports such as psychiatrists, doctors and dentists.
The report also said there needs to be standard eligibility criteria for adults with autism spectrum disorder, instead of the current arrangement where, in some regions of the province, they don't qualify if their intelligence is too high.
Many people with autism have average or above-average intelligence but struggle with communication and social interaction.
Community and Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur said many concerns included in the report are being addressed by the Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, or Bill 77, which received royal assent last week.
"I look at their recommendations and quite a lot of the recommendations are the same recommendations we had when we did the review in preparation of Bill 77," Meilleur said.
She said the ministry took the recommendations "very seriously" and would study them and come back with an answer "sooner rather than later."
Weinroth said the act is a step in the right direction but is a long way from implementation.
"There are a lot of questions that still remain," Weinroth said. "There's a lot that isn't in Bill 77 to address our concerns."
The devil being in the details, advocates worry what the regulations will look like, he said.
Jeanette Holden is a Queen's University autism researcher whose 55-year-old brother suffers from the disorder. Years ago, she moved him and her mother from Vancouver so she could take over his primary care.
In May of last year, however, Holden was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia.
"I spent a month in the hospital and the only thing I could think of was what was going to happen to my brother now," Holden said.
"About a month after I finished chemotherapy, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.(His) two lifelines to the rest of the world were being held back."
Holden said she hopes to spend many more years caring for her brother, but worries about what will happen to him if neither she nor her mother can do it.
