Children with autism need more support

photo - helpyourautisticchildblog

Charlottetown Guardian – CHRISTINA RODD

It’s not a secret that there is a shortage of qualified individuals on the Island available to work with our children facing autism.

Lack of incentive to stay employed as ‘tutors’ (a term in itself that is dated, non-specific, and definitely not fitting for the individuals that don’t just ‘tutor’ our children, but teach them to talk, play, love, and become independent), stressful work environments, limited support, and zero opportunities for advancement etc. are all contributing factors.

However, instead of marketing positions, providing specific training from a recognized educational institution or providing incentives for the qualified individuals who are currently in the field to stay (hourly wage is $10/hour with zero benefits, personal days, vacation, or system for increasing wage upon experience) our early intervention team has partnered with the Passport to Employment strategy and is supplying Island families with individuals who have received up to one week of training in intensive behaviour intervention (IBI) and autism. It was advertised as five weeks but four consist of writing a resume and computer use and are not specific to the job itself.

This is not only insufficient training for the people who will be placed into these positions with very limited supervision or any professional development, but also a slap in the face to those who have spent two years, or more, dedicating their time and education to the field of early education, human services, psychology, or education.

Families are given limited support as it is, are not only required to interview and hire the ‘tutors’ for their children, but often have to try and train them about something they have no training in themselves, and now are being given a haphazard solution to a growing problem that is critical to these children’s development and learning. Parents and concerned professionals have been fighting this battle for decades and are told over and over again that their voice will be heard. But this is obviously a delay tactic as no one has seen any progress in the situation, or in the quality of services provided.

If the people we entrust our children’s futures to are not looking out for their best interests, but instead quick solutions to spiralling problems, who will?

Instead of putting a temporary patch over a gaping hole, perhaps the departments, educational institutions and governmental figure-heads involved could put in place a pro-active solution including bachelor degrees, master degrees, professional development for individuals currently employed, recruiting strategies and, most importantly, extensive revisions to the services and funding in place so that they better suit each individual child, instead of a cookie-cutter program that fits a very small amount of children, if any at all.

There needs to be knowledge and enticement for individuals to become a part of a challenging, yet rewarding, career in the field of autism. There also needs to be a reason to stay involved on Prince Edward Island instead of moving off-Island to gain the proper education and training, because if anyone is serious about staying in the field they have no choice but to leave, thus leading our kids and families back to square one with finding qualified individuals to implement and carry out programming.

To the individuals that are able to make the changes necessary but haven’t, remember: Our children don’t exist just to provide you with a position and a salary; your position exists to provide our children with an education, paths for learning and progress so that they can become independent, productive members of society.

Christina Rodd of Charlottetown is a masters student in behavioral education with an emphasis on autism at Simmons College in Boston.