Ice cream makers: Making Money System

A lot has been made in the debate about Autism and healthcare, because of the potential burden it will place on insurance companies, who will most likely trickle that cost down to everyone. I'm not going to get into the debate as to whether or not insurance coverage for Autism is right or justified, but rather I want to talk about the costs of Autism. Or, more specifically, the overall toll Autism plays on families.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is the only therapy or "treatment" that seems to work with children with Autism. It uses the Behavioralist method of teaching by encouraging correct behaviors with rewards. It also uses the Environmentalist teaching method, in that practitioners eliminate distractions from the classroom environment, making it easier for the children to learn. It's great, when done correctly, and it can be expensive.

In order for it to work, you need to have a psychologist on staff, your therapist, an occupational therapist (manages sensory needs as well as motor skills), and a teacher. Most often your staff to student ratio comes very close to 1:1, and that's expensive. These are all highly trained individuals that have worked hard, studied hard, and spent a lot of money to get their education customized to work with these children.

Now, many good school districts, much like the one we are currently in, have great programs that provide all this as part of the Public school system. Most do not, from what I understand. Therefore parents need to go to special private schools, often costing them between $28,000 to $50,000 a year per student. If they have two children, it's doubled, and so on for each child on the Spectrum. It's not the most encouraging sign.

And, of course, these schools and supportive school districts are few and far between. That means either driving long distances, or moving to locations that have support for children on the Spectrum. This limits job mobility, housing opportunities, and a feeling of control that many people have naturally. That goes to piece of mind, and is a hidden stress point on families with children on the Spectrum.

But therapy isn't the only thing that is expensive! When the child goes home, they need to continue the same routines that they are being taught at school. Therefore parents need to modify the home environment to match, as much as possible, the school environment. For some families, that means providing a "sensory room", where children can pull out of their fog by being provided the sensory stimulation or deprivation they need, depending on their sensory needs. So dark rooms, soft music, indoor swings, trampolines, full body massagers, and a ball pit are just some of the things that can help children. Some of those things are pretty cheap, but others can be expensive.

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Large families remain crammed into cold, mould-stained shacks with no bathroom or running water. More than 90 people live in an old construction trailer with no smoke alarms and doors that are padlocked at night to keep vandals out. Staples like oranges cost more than $10 for a three-pound bag at the local grocery store — when it`s on sale.

Yet just 80 kilometres away, a mining operation is extracting diamonds from the ground.

Sadly it's not the only First Nations community in Canada that's suffering under such deplorable conditions, said Liberal Leader Bob Rae, who toured the reserve Saturday with aboriginal affairs critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett.

"We talk a lot about the Third World, we talk about Haiti, we talk about poverty in other parts of the world," he said. "This is our Third World. It's right here at home. These are our fellow citizens."

A young woman coming out of the grocery store spent $250 on condensed milk, diapers and "not a heck of a lot" with one baby at home and another on the way, he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper`s approach — handing control of the band`s finances to a third party — is wrong, Rae said.

"It's a continuation of the colonial attitude," he said. "There's a need to work with people on finding solutions, but bringing in third-party folks — even the former auditor general Sheila Fraser said that third-party administration is full of problems, that it didn't work and it wasn't a sustainable solution."

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who is seeking to block third-party management with a court injunction, isn't the only resident who's angry with the federal government.

Willie Sproule, 71, who works at the store, said he's fed up with Ottawa`s neglect of First Nations communities.

"I`m ashamed to be called a white man," said Sproule, who has lived on the reserve with his aboriginal wife for 20 years.

When it was revealed that Defence Minister Peter MacKay had racked up steep travel expenses, he wasn`t treated the same way, he added.

"They want third party here," he said. "They should put third party in Ottawa."

Ottawa has transferred about $90 million to the 3,000-member First Nation over the past five years, and Harper has said he has not seen adequate results for the money.

The federal Tories insist the reserve remain under third-party management, but say Jacques Marion of BDO Canada will only stay in place until the housing crisis is under control — likely just a few months.

The government wants the housing plan well underway by the end of next March. At that point, the third-party manager could relinquish control of the band's finances and a full audit of the last five years of spending would start.

The band chief and council have agreed to the audit, if only to prove Harper and others wrong in their stated belief that the band has mismanaged its money. They continue to refuse to allow Marion access to the reserve.

Many bands placed under third-party management spend years in that situation, only to see their underlying problems remain unresolved or even deteriorate further. Evaluations by the auditor-general, outside experts and government analysts have all said the third-party system is deeply flawed.

While many would be shocked by the conditions in Attawapiskat, the housing crisis doesn`t appear to have dampened the community`s holiday spirit.

Five-year-old Verna Lahtal, who lives with 20 other people in a two-room house, was all smiles as she showed off the Christmas tree she made out of brightly coloured bits of construction paper.

The community will find a way to celebrate the season, said Spence. Tom Jackson is expected to bring some holiday cheer next week with a concert on the reserve.

"Even though we face hardship, we still celebrate life," she said. "We`re not going to give up."

Ice cream makers

Monday, December 26, 2011

Making Money System

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