Autism Service in Nova Scotia or Ontario???

Question

Our son is 8 years old and he is autistic(but not a severe case),he has language(can speak,read and write),but occasionally has behavior problems at home and in school.We're going to immigrate to Canada from USA and we're wondering if anyone can give us your best advice which Province (Nova Scotia or Ontario) has the best Autism Service and best funding for Therapy in schools for Autistic kids.Which Province do you think is best for our son to live in and get the best Autism Service,NS or ON???Thanks so much for your advice.

Answer 1

I'm St N's daughter and my best friend has a son who will be 7 at the end of this month and, from the way you're describing your son, they have the same types of issues with their autism. She lives in Northern Ontario and since she's been going through this I asked her for her recommendation. Ontario seems to have the better services within the schools and outside for help. I'm not sure if you already have jobs lined up in specific cities in either NS or ON, but if you don't, either Sudbury or North Bay have some of the best services in the province. They work on a referral basis so you will want to either talk to a General Practitioner (family doctor) or the local health unit where you settle. I can tell you that where my best friend lives, each school has an Educational Assistant that works with Autistic children in the classroom.

I realize my Dad said that Ontario may not be the best anymore because of recent funding slashes but it's actually not the case. Despite the fact that our Premier didn't come through on an election promise, Ontario's funding is still better than most of the other provinces. The big thing that did not come through is the speech therapy funding so, if your son's problems are limited to the behavioural spectrum, you shouldn't encounter many problems.

Best of luck on your move.

Answer 2

I've copied your question to my daughter who has a best friend who's child is autistic. Ontario has been doing some recent slashing to funding for autism, so we may not be a good bet anymore.