The Ontario Disability Coalition will report on the Lack of Hands On Therapy for Children and Youth with ALL Disabilities.

The Ontario Disability Coalition (the “ ODC”) is holding a press conference at Queen’s Park on Monday, December 4, 2017 from 1:00-1:30 PM, to raise awareness of the crisis in the Rehabilitation Services in Ontario for Children and Youth with ALL Disabilities.

Co-Founders Sherry Caldwell, and Lynda Reusse will release the results of a survey on experiences of parents with children and youth with special needs when accessing Rehabilitation Services across Ontario.  Samadhi Mora-Severino and her son Ethan will share their experiences.

Families of Children and Youth with ALL Disabilities should have a choice of Direct Funding or Direct Service options to eradicate wait lists and have timely access to hands on Therapy across various types of therapies.  Currently, the system centered framework provides various levels of funding with limited types of therapies only provided in short treatment block.  Every Ontarian deserves to be treated equally and be provided with the opportunities to be able to live without discrimination of the services, and facilities that they need to survive, thrive and succeed.

The ODC is calling upon the Ontario government to extend direct funding for therapy to ALL children with ALL disabilities.  Adequate therapy funding is needed to meet the needs of all children, regardless of diagnosis and severity.

Specific concerns include:

• Special services are provided by skeletal front line staff at the Children’s Treatment Centres
• Types of therapies that are provided vary across the province
• Frequency of therapy is extremely limited & Endless Wait-lists
• Discrimination based on Disability
• The amount of funding across the Children’s Treatment Centres is inequitable

Electronic Media Kit

• ODC Survey Summary https://odcoalition.wordpress.com
• Thrive Report  http://www.cheo.on.ca/uploads/AboutUs/Files/THRIVE Report 2017.pdf 
• Deloitte Report http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/system/services/lhin/docs/deloitte_shss_review_report.pdf
• ODC Equity Chart https://odcoalition.wordpress.com
• We Have Something to Say https://www.provincialadvocate.on.ca/documents/en/We-Have-Something-To-Say-Report-EN.pdf
• CHEO #mycomplexlife http://www.cheo.on.ca/en/MyComplexLife
• deareverybody.ca Position Paper (page 7 & 8) http://deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Dear-Everybody-Position-Paper_FA.pdf

Lynda Reusse CoFounder, Ontario Disability Coalition
Sherry Caldwell  CoFounder, Ontario Disability Coalition
Manda Krpan Mesic CoFounder, Ontario Disability Coalition
Geoff Feldman Director, Ontario Disability Coalition
Samadhi Mora-Severino Advisor, Ontario Disability Coalition