A new federal research chair will look at effective treatments and interventions for autism, the federal government announced on Tuesday.

Health Minister Tony Clement announced four other projects to bolster information and monitoring, and to share best practices on autism or autism spectrum disorder – a neuropsychiatric disorder that affects aptitude for communication and personal interaction.

"Thousands of Canadians and their families are suffering, and as a result our society needs to act now to help fill the knowledge gaps," Clement said. The programs are expected to cost about $800,000.

The other measures are:

• An autism surveillance program to shape research.
• A stakeholder symposium in 2007.
• A new web page on autism on Health Canada's website.
• Designating the health policy branch of Health Canada as the lead agency for actions related to autism. 

For people with autism and their families, life is often filled with seemingly insurmountable challenges, Clement said.

"There's anxiety, frustration, yes, even depression, and they all too often can overcome the joys of family life," Clement told a news conference on Parliament Hill.

Several questions remain about autism, such as what causes it, why the number of children with it is growing and why there are regional differences across Canada. On top of this, a consensus is lacking on what constitutes adequate and appropriate treatment, he said.

In July, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the province does not have to pay for specialized autism treatment called applied behavioural analysis (ABA) for children age six and older.

In ABA, which costs between $30,000 and $80,000 a year per patient, therapists lead children through multiple repetitions of tasks until they are learned. It was developed by Norwegian doctor Ivar Lovaas in the 1980s as an early intervention therapy.

Laurel Gibbons, whose five-year-old son has autism, said the announcement gives her some hope, but the federal government should do more to address differences in how provinces cover autism programs.

"We literally were told, 'I'm sorry, your son is too old for the preschool autism school program, but here's the names of a couple of books, here's a prescription for an anti-psychotic, start a private ABA program and we'll see ya in six months,' " the Ottawa resident recalled.

In 2004, the Supreme Court refused to order the B.C. government to fund ABA saying the province had the right to set its own priorities for health-care funding.

Clement said it's not his place to dictate to the provinces about treatments.

Other federal politicians at the news conference, including one Liberal senator looking into the topic, said it's the role of the federal government to enforce national standards in health care, including treatment programs for children with autism.

Autism spectrum disorder is estimated to affect between two and six children in every 1,000 children in Canada.