To the Editor:

I want to take this opportunity to thank Miranda Healey for the love and insight she put into the story published, in the Thompson Citizen, on our family Feb. 3. She was thorough in gathering the information, considerate of my time – considering I have four children under the age of seven – and was truly a pleasure to work with. She warmed my heart when she stated that this was her favorite story, thus far, in her journalism career.

I do, however, want to clarify a few points in the story because my phone has been ringing off the hook regarding a couple matters that confused the general public:

Our family is fully funded for Avery to receive applied behavioural analysis (ABA) tutoring, full time, for a maximum of three years in our home or at a daycare. This is not dependent on our decision to not have our children attend public school. The problem arises with the government officials who regulate daycare ages. Usually children would be in public school full time by the age of six (despite the law that regulates a child does not have to be in any form of education until the age of seven) and therefore would not require daycare within regular school hours. What we require is an exception so that Avery can attend Riverside Daycare every morning, accompanied by his full-time tutor. The daycare spot and hours are paid for, just like any other child, and the St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg pays for the tutor position. We simply need the distinction for him to be considered "pre-school" or "kinder" not "school age." If this does not happen, we will still receive ABA tutoring but he would be in our home the entire time. We feel that the daycare facility provides a wonderful learning environment that is sensitive to the needs of a special needs child and allows him to adapt to circumstances he would not find at home. The daycare staff, including the current director, Jane Samborski, has been outstanding in their support of this program and has even gone far above any expectations to make this work for our family.

Avery receives six hours of one-on-one tutoring from Monday to Friday. He spends the mornings at the daycare and then the tutor joins us in our home for the afternoons (after a 30-minute lunch break). They have a designated area where they can work and yet still be a part of our busy household. The ABA staff in Winnipeg oversees the program and creates the outlines for tasks to work on. They keep in touch regularly through telephone, Telehealth and e-mail and the training Consultant will travel to Thompson on a regular basis to oversee the program closer and to provide further training for our Tutor.

The matter of not having tax breaks or subsidies for curriculum, as a home school family, is a separate matter entirely. This is not an issue for just families of autistic children but for all Manitobans who choose to educate their children at home. We are starting the movement of incorporating ABA into the home school by being the first family in Canada to do so, and we simply require the support of our community and government officials to make that choice.

Our wonderful tutor wishes to remain anonymous at this point and is not able to comment on her participation at this time. She is not available to offer individual tutoring to other families outside of the jurisdiction of ABA, but further actions are being made to ensure this program is available to other families in the North. The biggest need right now is staff. If people are interested in training to become an ABA tutor please contact the St. Amant Centre directly at (204) 256-4301 or by e-mail at: employment@stamant.mb.ca, so other families can have this wonderful option.

We, as a family, simply wanted to reach out to the public to bring awareness of this condition and to offer hope to those in the same situation. Resources are hard to come by due to lack of funding but you shouldn't give up!  There are many people and organizations in this town who want to support your child and will bend over backwards to see them have a bright future.  ABA simply made this light brighter for our family and we truly hope it can do the same for others.

Blessings.

Caroline Winship

Thompson