Parents with autistic children are leaving their home provinces for Alberta, which pays up to $60,000 per child annually on an intensive treatment that some other places don't cover at all.

Autism, or autistic spectrum disorder, is a neuropsychiatric disorder that impairs a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. It is estimated to affect between two and six children in every 1,000.

Cynthia MacKenzie, who wasn't impressed with Saskatchewan's services for her autistic son: 'When you hear that you know not only can they do very little, but you're going to wait years for anything, I mean, you're just devastated.'
(CBC)

A treatment called applied behavioural analysis (ABA) has spurred controversy and lawsuits in several provinces in recent years, as parents battled to have governments pay the $30,000 to $80,000 a year that it costs per patient.

Other parents have simply opted to pack their bags and move to Alberta — including Cynthia MacKenzie and her family, who moved from Regina to Edmonton in search of better care for their four-year-old autistic son.

Saskatchewan does not pay directly for ABA, which experts say should involve 20 to 40 hours of therapy a week and start while children are young. Schools are expected to meet the needs of all students — even those with autism — from education funding.

Anson MacKenzie now lives in Edmonton, where he has access to many more supports for autistic children, including a special preschool.
(CBC)

MacKenzie said that in Regina, her family had to pay about $1,000 a month out of pocket for half of the ABA treatments they felt were needed by their son, Anson. They also faced long waiting lists for the treatments.

"When you hear that you know not only can they do very little, but you're going to wait years for anything, I mean — you're just devastated," MacKenzie said.

Stark contrast after move to Edmonton

In contrast, Alberta pays up to $60,000 annually per qualifying child up to age 18 — and anyone who comes to the province can apply.

Once the MacKenzies arrived in Edmonton, they were able to enrol Anson in a special preschool. If the family qualifies, he could also receive up to 40 hours of therapy a week worth about $40,000 annually.

The city has a centre of excellence in autism treatment and several agencies with workers who travel to people's home to deliver the therapy.

"The early intervention program looks at picking up those children at a very young age," said Terri Duncan, who runs one of the programs, Stepping Stones Autism Institute.

MacKenzie said she is delighted at the therapies available for her son and only regrets not moving sooner.

Influx straining system?

But some families with autistic children who have lived in the province for years are concerned that the influx is straining the system.

Sandra Weitzman, who lives in Calgary, said she was worried that her son has lost much of the support he got when he started treatment eight years earlier.

"His biggest deficit is communication, social skills, and he requires speech therapy," said Weitzman. "Now we have to pay for that service privately."

Provinces faced suits over ABA costs

Autism advocates say the solution isn't to move, but to press provincial governments for supports similar to those offered in Alberta.

Ontario has gone through several levels of court recently after being sued by parents with autistic children. The province currently pays for ABA for qualifying children under six, but the parents wanted the funding to be extended beyond that age.

In July, Ontario's Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the province. The parents behind the suit said they intended to try to take the case before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruled in late 2004 that the B.C. government had the right to decide whether to pay for the costly early treatment. A group of parents had argued that the province's refusal to do so amounted to discrimination against children with autism.